Nine one hundredths of a second. The tiny difference between first and second in the 200 individual medley for Gabe Parnell.

“I was pretty upset,” said Parnell.

“Gabe just couldn’t quite get to the wall and get his hand on the wall,” Lake Brantley head coach and Gabe’s father Clay Parnell said. “That last stroke needed to come over just a little quicker, he just barely missed it, it was tough man, tough to watch.”

So with a silver medal in hand, Gabe’s best finish at the state meet ever mind you, the Lake Brantley senior now had to prepare to swim in the 100 breastroke final.

“I went back to my tent, just started pissing and moaning and getting all upset, and then my coach came, he was like,” Gabe recalled.

“A 1:47:50 is one of the top times in the nation this year, so I tried to tell him that,” Clay said. “He was having a hard time hearing that, but I was like that was a fantastic swim no matter what.”

“So I just looked at the bright side and said next I’m going to get gold in this event.”

Parnell did just that, convincingly winning the 100 breaststroke.

“I thought I was actually going to get second or third so that felt pretty good.”

But that wasn’t the end of Parnell’s winning’s, as a team, Lake Brantley finished runner up. A pretty solid way to go out before he heads to LSU to swim next year.

“I really am excited to be pushed by some very fast people in the SEC.”