ISLAMORADA, September 14, 2022—Defending champion Connor Signorin topped a field of 450 swimmers from around the nation to capture his second consecutive Swim for Alligator Lighthouse, an 8-mile open-water swim held off the Florida Keys on Saturday.
Signorin, 30, of the Tampa Bay area and former University of Florida swimmer, finished the race in 3 hours, 7 minutes and 8 seconds. Last year he won in 3:05:37.
The five time All-American and the rest of the field swam to Alligator Reef Lighthouse off Islamorada, rounded the beacon, and swam back to the start and finish points at Amara Cay Resort.
Islamorada’s Corley Smith, 17, of Coral Shores High School and Florida Keys Swim Club, coached by two-time Olympian Jon Olsen, won the women’s race in 3 hours, 43 minutes and 13 seconds.
In other divisions, Greg Hodson and Joan Wheeler had the fast two-person relay time of 4:05:44.
Lynnette Hennessey and Kolby Minckler of Hilton Head, S.C. and Joe Green from Bluffton, S.C. won the three-person class in 4:08:13.
The winning four-person team was Marty Berman, Andrew Freeman, Keith Kessler and Michael Miller of Ponte Verde in 4:27:46.
The annual swim was created by Florida Keys artist “Lighthouse Larry” Herlth to raise awareness for the need to preserve the 150-year-old Alligator Reef Lighthouse and five other aging lighthouses off the Florida Keys.
The swim also raises money for college scholarships for Keys students interested in competitive swimming.
Alligator Reef Lighthouse is named after the USS Alligator, a U.S. Navy schooner that ran aground on the reef in 1822 and sank. Despite misconceptions, there are no alligators around the lighthouse since those reptiles primarily live in fresh water.
Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://swim4soflo.com