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The 2024 high school swim season is slowly coming to an end. And Addison Lee, despite his high school career ending soon, hasn’t slowed down.
Lee, and a handful of other Gulf Breeze swimmers, just got back from the Region 1-3A meet in Gainesville. Lee is expected to be at the FHSAA Class 3A State Meet in Ocala. Results won’t be posted until the end of the weekend.
He has had a strong postseason, starting with a pair of first-place finishes at the Santa Rosa County Championships (that event is what pushed Lee to win Athlete of the Week). At the meet, in the 200-yard individual medley, Lee posted a time of 2 minutes, 4.51 seconds; following that up, he claimed the county crown in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1 minutes, 1.72 seconds. Lee was also part of the winning 200-yard medley (1:44.90) and 400-yard freestyle (3:29.78) relays.
Lee claimed a pair of third-place finishes at the District 1-3A meet, as well, which is much larger now, featuring teams from the Tallahassee area.
For his efforts, Lee won the PNJ Athlete of the Week award for the week of Oct. 14-19, earning 53.02% of the poll’s votes on PNJ.com. Each weekly winner is awarded a one-of-a-kind PNJ Athlete of the Week shirt provided by BSN SPORTS.
Here’s a quick question-and-answer session with Lee after speaking with PNJ sports reporter Ben Grieco.
Q & A with Gulf Breeze swimmer Addison Lee
PNJ: Your senior season is wrapping up now that we’re in the postseason. Is it weird to be near the end of your high school swimming career?
Addison Lee: “It feels really strange. Freshman year felt really long. It feels like it’s sped up so fast. Every year feels shorter than the year before it.”
PNJ: Have you been able embrace different moments of your senior year, knowing it’s your last ride?
AL: “It’s really weird going through things for the last time. I’ve really enjoyed the team this year. I’ve tried to go to everything swim team related.”
PNJ: In the pool, do you feel like you’ve accomplished what you’ve wanted to so far?
AL: Just at the last meet (at regionals), I accomplished two goals I’ve had for awhile, which was going under a minute in the 100-yard breaststroke and under two minutes in the 200-yard individual medley. I got those done.”
PNJ: The week you won Athlete of the Week, you won twice at the Santa Rosa County championships. Is there anything special about that meet in particular?
AL: “It’s a really high-energy, fun meet. It’s not districts or regionals, but it’s fun to have all the people you know from the county racing each other. It’s a really fun meet.”
PNJ: Is it a good tune-up for the postseason?
AL: “It’s a good meet. Obviously we’re all racing really fast, because we want to win the county championship.”
PNJ: You also had some top finishes at the District 1-3A meet. What’s that like?
AL: “Especially considering how fast our district has been recently, it was good to get a feel for the high-intensity racing, wearing the tech suits and everything. Just getting geared up for regionals and states.”
PNJ: Did the district meet feel any different given how big the district is now, with schools out near Tallahassee coming to Pensacola?
AL: “It definitely felt different than it did in previous years, because of how many teams have been relocated. It’s so much faster. Our district is kind of like how regionals felt last year, and our region felt like how state did last year. It’s so competitive now and fast.”
PNJ: You just got back from regionals in Gainesville. Anything stand out for you at regionals?
AL: “I was really happy with our 400-yard freestyle relay. We got in the top eight, so we might go to state in that, too. I was happy with the relays, for sure.”
PNJ: Did the region feel that much bigger, even with the expanded district?
AL: “It definitely did. A lot of the top teams in the state championship are in our region now, so it’s really competitive.”
PNJ: What does it mean to go back to state this year, as well?
AL: “I was kind of expecting it this year. But it’s nice to know I’ll probably be going back again. State is good competition and a fast meet.”
PNJ: Now that the season is ending, do you have any goals to swim in college?
AL: “I’m looking at some colleges for swimming. I might end up swimming club for someone like Auburn. But I’m looking at some Division II schools for swimming as well.”
PNJ: Now for some quick ones, do you have any pre-race or pre-meet superstitions or traditions?
AL: “Not necessarily. Sometimes I’ll have some energy-boosters, like caffeine sports beans. … Generally, I’ll try to eat a carb-heavy meal before.”
PNJ: That leads me to my next question: any personal favorite pre-meet meal?
AL: “It’s usually mac and cheese, that’s a favorite. Just carbs and cheese.”
PNJ: Do you listen to any sort of music before a race?
AL: “I don’t really have a hype song or anything. I just go up there and race.”
PNJ: You mentioned that you swim the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke. If you had to swim any “off-event,” what would you choose?
AL: “I’d probably go for the 500-yard freestyle. I really like that event. … A lot of people don’t agree with me, but I think it’s a fun event.”
PNJ: Any major swim influences that you follow?
AL: “I follow Léon Marchand and Caeleb Dressel. There’s a kid who’s really fast in breaststroke that I follow, Josh Bey. Generally, a lot of really fast swimmers, I’ll follow them.”
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