Stamm Family Invitational
Friend, teammate, leader, scholar, athlete, outgoing, fun loving, compassionate, intense, spiritual, stubborn, caring, polite, hard working…
these are few of the words most frequently used to describe Alan Ebersole. Alan began swimming at the age of three and was a Vicksburg Swim Association team member until his tragic death October 29, 2004. The 20 year old was on a training trip with the men’s swimming and diving team from Princeton University in Florida when the accident occurred while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.
At St. Aloysius High School, where he was Salutatorian, Alan played basketball, swam and participated on the yearbook staff. Alan was a National Merit Finalist, a U.S. Achievement National Mathematics Award winner, only two points shy of a perfect score on the American College Test, a Boys State member, and a United Way teen volunteer of the year. He was a charter member of the teen portion of the United Way in Vicksburg. A member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church, Ebersole was also an altar boy.
In high school he especially loved the challenge of learning Spanish. After completing the two years of Spanish that St. Al offered, he studied two more years one-on-one with a teacher. At Princeton he was majoring in politics with a Spanish minor because he felt it would be extremely important to know Spanish in the years to come. Alan spent the summer of 2004 running a local congressional campaign in Mississippi and had already mailed in his absentee ballot at the time of his death.
Alan was a state champion swimmer in breaststroke for both high school and Mississippi US Swimming and was an influential leader in the pool. He served as Senior Athlete Representative to Mississippi Swimming and a Mississippi Zone Championship team member. Alan was a VSA Carol Guider Sportsmanship Award winner. Several universities heavily recruited him to swim, but he made the decision to study politics and Spanish at Princeton and “walk-on” the swim team. At Princeton he swam the 200- and 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley.
During his high school commencement, he told fellow students to, “Follow up on the knowledge and lessons we have learned and always work towards your goal.” Alan’s family, friends, and teammates were blessed by the time they shared with him and will strive to live each day to their fullest potential….just like Alan would have wanted.
June 4th – 6th
Vicksburg City Pool
