CHATTANOOGA, TN- On Friday, September 30th three Baylor School swimming alumni were inducted into the Baylor School Sports Hall of Fame. Will Hunt ’89, Sloane Pitman ’09, and Coach Jim Stover were a part of the eleven-member Sports Hall of Fame class of 2022. They were celebrated and inducted during an all-school assembly held on the annual Baylor School alumni weekend (Sept. 30-Oct. 2).
Coach Jim Stover
was the Head Coach of the Baylor Swimming program for six years. He was also the founder of the Baylor Swim Club in 1977. During his tenure, Baylor swimmers set the standard for success by garnering 49 individual Prep All-American awards and 15 Division I college scholarships and winning the team title at the Eastern Interscholastic Championships. In both 1979 and 1980, the Baylor team was ranked second in the country by Swimming World Magazine. Notable achievements from that era included several individual and relay Junior National Championships and records, two national prep records, and one national age group record. Stover also coached Baylor’s most well-known swimmer, Geoff Gaberino ’80, who was world-ranked while at Baylor and won a Gold Medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as part of the U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay team.
Will Hunt ’89 was a two-time state champion and All-American in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events in 1988 and 1989, Hunt was named Baylor’s Most Outstanding Swimmer for both seasons. He was captain of the Baylor swim team his senior year and, to show his versatility and school-first attitude, was a state finalist in the 400-yard for the Baylor track team that spring. He also swam on an All-American relay team and took the team’s Most Improved Swimmer award in 1987. As a member of the Greater Chattanooga Aquatic Club, Hunt was a six-time national qualifier.
Sloane Pitman ’09 enters the Baylor Sports Hall of Fame as a seven-time state champion swimmer, three titles as an individual and four more as a relay team member, and a winner of five titles at the Eastern High School Championships. In 2009, she was the Female Swimmer of the Meet at both the state and Eastern championships. Pitman earned All-American honors 15 times, six as an individual and nine as a relay member, and set four individual school records and three relay school records while swimming for the AquaRaiders. She set a USA Junior National record in the 50-yard freestyle in 2008 and was the first female swimmer in the Chattanooga area to break the five-minute mark in the 500-yard freestyle. Pitman competed in the 2009 World Championship Trials.
