School's Swim Team Finds Surprise Competitor in Pool

Members of a Florida prep school's swim team encountered a surprise interloper when they showed up for practice on Friday. ClickOrlando.com reports the swimmers found a 3-foot-long alligator in the eight-lane, 25-meter competition pool at Montverde Academy, located in central Florida, halting the team's practice. Per a Facebook post, two deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's Office showed up to handle the situation, with one of them using a safety hook to drag the gator to the side of the pool, while the other grabbed it.

The gator's mouth was taped up to keep everyone safe, and it was brought to Lake Apopka, into which it was "released on its own recognizance," per the sheriff's office. Authorities noted neither the gator nor anyone else was hurt during the incident. Commenters soon chimed in, per the Miami Herald, which notes there are around 1.3 million alligators in the Sunshine State. "They should have kept the little guy in there! Would have made the team swim faster and help improve their times!" one Facebook commenter suggested. Another had a more pressing question: "Did the alligator make the Swim team??" (More alligator stories.)