MOC Meet Notes

Meet of Champions Features Wilson County Swimmers

December 13, 2004……Excel Aquatics, a USA Swimming Silver Medal Level Swim Club hosted the annual Meet of Champions December 10-12 in Brentwood TN. The Meet of Champions is the largest Preliminary/Finals format meet in the Middle Tennessee region during the Fall Swim Season. This year 667 swimmers from 30 clubs spread across Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and Mississippi converged to see who was the best among the best.

Nine swimmers from Wilson County who train with host team Excel Aquatics were in attendance, competing against some of the top talent from in the South. “For these nine swimmers who attended the meet it was a great experience. The more they are exposed to the best of the best and championship formatted meets, it helps them understand what they need to do to elevate their game. We’re grateful that other teams across South understand the value of this annual meet and turned out in droves to experience the top competition in the area.” Excel Assistant Coach and Wilson County resident, John Barnes commented.

Wilson County residents competing in the meet were Stephen Claycomb, Conrad Claycomb, Bradley Gillilan, Kelsey Copeland, Taylor Wallace, Hannah Morgan, Meagan Maxwell, Alek Nochowicz, and Austin Barnes. Collectively among the nine of them, there were 29 swims resulting in Personal Best Times, and 14 placements of 16^th place or better in an event during the meet.

In a Prelim/Finals type of meet, the top 8 to 16 performers in each morning Preliminary event move on to a Finals swim in the evening. 8 move on to the Finals from the 10&Under and 11-12 age categories, while 16 move on from the 13-14 and Senior age levels. The same sort of Prelim/Final format exists in Championship meets across the nation, from Southeasterns, to the Tennessee High School State Meet, to the NCAA’s, and to the Nationals. “This type of meet gives the kids a great learning experience as to the different efforts of swims necessary in order to reach the Finals, and then to improve in the Finals held later in the day. It’s both a psychological and physiological adjustment, they have to learn to adapt their brains and bodies in order to improve their times in identical swims in a short period of time.” Wallace, Gillilan, and Stephen Claycomb all reached Finals during the meet in various events.

Time drops of note: West Wilson Middle School 7^th Grader Gillilan dropped 38 seconds in his 1,000 Yard Freestyle to finish third. MJ Middle School 7^th Grader Wallace dropped 3.8 seconds in his 100 Yard Breaststroke to finish third. MJMS 8^th Grader Copeland dropped 0.4 seconds in the 200 Yard Backstroke. Lebanon resident Conrad Claycomb dropped 7.6 seconds in his 100 Yard Backstroke, while his brother Stephen Claycomb dropped 2.4 seconds in his 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 58.65 seconds. Carroll-Oakland School 7^th Grader Austin Barnes dropped 8.9 seconds in his 100 Yard Breaststroke. Willoughby Station residents Alek Nochowicz dropped 16 seconds in his 500 Yard Freestyle, and Hannah Morgan dropped 1.5 seconds in her 200 Yard Breaststroke. And WCHS 11^th Grader Meagan Maxwell dropped 2.5 seconds in her 200 Yard Breaststroke.

“People are starting to sit up and take notice of the talent coming out of Wilson County. These nine kids train at three different locations with Excel Aquatics, 6 go to Gallatin, 2 travel to Brentwood, and 1 drives down to LaVergne. No other club offers swimmers 3 convenient training locations, coaches with direct ties to the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, as well as 6 different training squads suitable for all levels of experience and skills.” For more information on Excel Aquatics and complete Meet Results, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

Wilson County swimmers go to Illinois Meet

Excel Swimmers Descend on Southern Illinois

November 22, 2004……Swimmers from Wilson County took to the water at the University of Southern Illinois Shea Natatorium this past weekend. For the young swimmers from Wilson County it was a great opportunity to swim in a Division I Swimming Facility. “Most of our young swimmers who train with us have a goal of swimming in college one day, in effect following in the footsteps of Wilson County native, Excel Swimmer and current University of Texas swimmer, Andrew Davidson. This was a great opportunity for them to experience the environment in which collegiate athletes train and compete.” Excel Aquatics Assistant Coach and Lebanon resident John Barnes stated. “This meet had over 580 swimmers, and is the largest of its type in that area. It gave our kids a unique opportunity to hit the road and see how they could do versus swimmers from all across the Midwest states. As a team Excel won the “500” title in that we had the strongest showing of any team in the 500 Yard Freestyle events. I think that is significant because it shows our competitiveness at longer distances. Excel also won the Overall Team Title for the meet.”

7^th Grade West Wilson Middle School student Bradley Gillilan was one of four Wilson County residents who made the trip to the Saluki pool in Carbondale IL. Bradley competed in the 500 Free (4^th Place - 5:41.76), 200 Free (5^th Place – 2:10.68), 100 Breast (6^th Place - 1:22.31), 10 Back (7^th Place – 1:13.64), 100 Free (1:01.12), 50 Back (:34.93), 50 Free (:29.40) and 50 Fly (:32.50). “Bradley’s 500 time was an incredible 10 second drop, and he improved in 6 of 8 events he entered. He is constantly improving in all aspects of his training, strokes, and competitiveness. He’s going to be a tremendous asset to Wilson Central High School in a few years.”

Alek Nochowicz, a local 8^th Grader, who spends his summers competing for the Willoughby Station Waves summer league team in Mount Juliet, attended his third meet at Carbondale. Alek swam the 50 Free (:29.78), 100 Back (1:22.95), 200 Back (2:55.88), 200 Free (2:30.32) and 200 IM (2:53.98). “Alek dropped times in 4 of his 5 events, with significant time drops in the 200 Back and 200 Free. He is improving as a direct result of his increased work with Coach Andreea.”

Meagan Maxwell, a Junior at Wilson Central High School, continued her quest to improve her strokes and times in preparation for the High School season. Meagan competed in the 50 Free (:30.98), 200 Breast (2:52.12), 100 Breast (1:20.74), 100 Fly (1:15.41) and 200 IM (2:36.05). “Meagan dropped times in 3 of her 5 events, and tied her best time in one event. She is doing great, especially in the Breaststroke.”

A 7^th Grader form Mt. Juliet Middle School also made the trip, Taylor Wallace. Taylor swam in the 50 Breast (1^st Place - :34.18), 100 Breast (3^rd Place – 1:17.03), 200 Breast (3^rd Place – 2:48.52), 50 Fly (5^th Place - :30.87), 50 Free (6^th Place - :28.03), 100 Fly (7^th Place – 1:12.56), 200 IM (7^th Place – 2:33.16), and 100 Free (1:01.34). “As usual Taylor did great, he places in the Top 8 in every meet he attends, no matter where it is. In this meet he placed in 7 of his 8 events, and improved times in 5 of those 8 events.”

Excel’s next meet is December 10-12^th in Brentwood, at the Excel Meet of Champions.

· For more information on Excel Aquatics and complete Meet Results, visit www.excelaquatics.org.

Swim Races at Thoroughbred Meet

Thoroughbred Swim Meet – Off to the Races…..

November 7, 2004……The 3^rd Annual Thoroughbred Swim Meet was held this past weekend in Brentwood at the Williamson County Indoor Sports Complex. Six youth swimmers from Wilson County residents competed in the meet representing Excel Aquatics.

Two county Middle School 7^th Grade boys competed. 12 year old Taylor Wallace led the way with Personal Best Times in every event he swam in, with Top 8 Finishes in all events as well. Wallace swam in the 100 Free (1:02.37, 7^th Place), 100 IM (1:10.58, 5^th), 50 Breaststroke (0:35.17, 4^th), 100 Fly (1:12.80, 8^th), 50 Fly (0:30.86, 4^th), 100 Breaststroke (1:17.00, 4^th), 50 Free (0:27.65, 5^th), and 200 IM (2:34.12, 7^th). Bradley Gillilan, also 12 years old, placed in the 50 Back (0:35.68, 8^th), 200 Free (2:12.84, 8^th), 100 Breast (1:24.99, 6^th), and 100 Back (1:15.26, 7^th). “Both of these boys had a great meet, Bradley had tremendous drops in his 200 Free and 100 Breast, and Taylor just keeps marching on in his progress as well.” Coach John Barnes stated.

On the 8^th Grade level, Kelsey Copeland, a 13 year old, improved in 7 of 8 events she participated in. “Kelsey had some great swims, she dropped almost 6 seconds in the 200 Backstroke, and based on what she turns in the 100 Back, she will continue to improve in the 200 Back as she gains more experience and learns how to pace the event.” Coach Barnes noted. Alek Nochowicz, also a 13 year old 8^th Grader, improved in all 5 of the events he entered. “Alek had some notable drops in all of his events. We were glad to see him step up and swim the 500 Free, his pacing of that event was exactly as we had discussed prior to the swim, for that matter he was open to instruction and swam every event as we wanted him to. He went out and applied those strategies and his times dropped considerably.”

At the High School level, two local girls competed. Hannah Morgan, of Mt. Juliet Christian Academy improved her times in all 3 events, the 200 IM, 100 Free, and 200 Breast. Meagan Maxwell, of Wilson Central High School, dropped times in the 200 Free, 200 IM, and 200 Breast. “Meagan was just slightly off on her 100 Breaststroke, which is one of her events she is striving to achieve a State Qualifying Time for. The coaches discussed with her what she needs to improve on, and then on Sunday she went out and applied that strategy to her 200 Breaststroke with a time drop to show for her efforts. She’ll get to that 100 qualifying time this year as her High School dual meet season gets underway.”

“It’s great to see these kids working hard, improving their times, and growing as individuals in this highly challenging sport. I’m a firm believer that kids have more fun in sports as they continue to improve in their techniques, in their understanding of the strategies involved in swimming, and in their times as a result of their efforts. We’re intense in our training and competitive in our meets, and as a result we have fun.” For more information on Excel Aquatics and complete Meet Results, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

Wilson County Residents swim in Memphis Meet

Wilson County Swimmers Converge on Memphis

October 18, 2004……In the birthplace of the Blues and where Cotton is King, swimmers from Wilson County and competing for Excel Aquatics converged in Memphis for the Memphis Tigers Fall Swim Meet.

Competing in the Senior Girls category was Wilson Central High School Junior, Meagan Maxwell. Maxwell lowered her personal best times in the 200 Breast, 50 Free, and 100 Fly, and was just off on the 200 IM, 100 Breast, and 100 Free. “Meagan is swimming great for this time of the year. Kudos goes to Meagan; she has been training hard and is looking better than I have ever seen her look.” Coach John Barnes noted. “As long as she keeps focused on doing the little things right, she should have a good High School season.”

Competing in the 13&14 Boys category was Holy Rosary 8^th Grader and Willoughby Station resident Alek Nochowicz. Nochowicz dropped times in the 200 IM, 200 Free, 100 Back, 50 Free, and was just 4-hundredths of a second off his best time in the 100 Free. “Alek had nice time drops, and is doing well. He has a lot of raw ability, and we expect to see more of him at practice and doing even better in the future.” Coach Barnes explained.

Three 7^th Graders from Wilson County represented Excel in the 11&12 Boys category. Mt. Juliet Middle School’s Taylor Wallace, West Wilson Middle School’s Bradley Gillilan, and Carroll-Oakland’s Austin Barnes. Wallace placed 3^rd in the 100 IM, 3^rd in the 100 Breast, 4^th in the 50 Fly, 5^th in the 50 Free, and 7^th in the 200 IM. Gillilan placed 5^th in the 100 IM, 5^th in the 100 Fly, 6^th in the 50 Fly, 6^th in the 200 IM, and 6^th in the 200 Free. Barnes dropped times in the 50 Free, 100 Breast, 100 IM, and 50 Breast.

“All of our boys did well, and are working hard. The fact that we took four middle-school age boy swimmers from Wilson County to this type of competitive meet shows that swimming is taking a foothold in this county.” Coach Barnes exclaimed. “All of these boys want to achieve the success that Wilson County resident and current Univ. of Texas swimmer Andrew Davidson has had.

· For more information on Excel Aquatics and complete Meet Results, visit www.excelaquatics.org.

Fall Fest Meet Recap

Claycomb Brothers Excel at Gallatin Swim Meet

September 26, 2004……The water was just right, the crowd was buzzing, and the swimmers were ready to compete. In the first USA Swimming Sanctioned Short Course swim meet of the 2004-2005 season in the region, three Lebanon residents dove in the water at the annual Fall Festival Swim Meet just north of the Wilson County border in Gallatin. They were representing Excel Aquatics.

Competing in the Boys 13&14 Year Old age group, Conrad Claycomb set personal best times in the 50 Yard Freestyle (0:30.47 – 7^th Place), and the 500 Yard Freestyle (6:43.78 – 6^th Place). Conrad also competed in the 200 Yard Freestyle (11^th Place) and the 100 Yard Breaststroke (11^th Place). “Conrad did very well this weekend at the meet.” Coach John Barnes, also of Lebanon, stated. “He stepped up and started training with my group six weeks ago, and is working hard. He’s knows what I expect from him, and is doing what I’m asking of him. I look forward to continued improvement from Conrad.”

Stephen Claycomb competed in the Boys Senior Category. Stephen took home first place in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a time of 0:23.02, earning the title of “Fastest Sprinter In Wilson County”. Stephen set personal best times in the 200 Yard Free (1:55.62 – 2^nd Place), 100 Yard Breaststroke (1:11.46 – 7^th Place), and placed in the 100 Yard Backstroke (1:01.24 – 3^rd Place) & 500 Yard Freestyle (5:37.64 – 6^th Place). “While Stephen’s time in the 50 Free was a tenth of a second off his personal best, I think this bodes well for his High School season. He’s been putting in some yardage in practice, and like the rest of our kids was not tapered for this meet.” Barnes noted. “I think he’ll shine at High School State this year, if he continues to work hard and does what he is capable of, he’ll make Finals in the event.”

Austin Barnes, a 7^th Grader at Carroll-Oakland Elementary in Lebanon, competed in the Boys 11&12 Year Old age group, and improved in all four of his events that he competed in. Austin swam the 100 Yard Free (16^th Place), 50 Yard Backstroke (15^th Place), 50 Yard Breaststroke (15^th Place), and the 500 Yard Freestyle (6^th Place). Austin trains with Coach AJ Miley in Gallatin and has improved in his stroke technique across all events. “Austin is my son, and I’m proud of his efforts lately. Coach AJ is doing a wonderful job laying the technical groundwork that Austin will need when he competes for Lebanon High School in two years, as well as instilling in him a sense of pride of accomplishment and drive to do better in swimming.” Coach Barnes commented.

Excel Aquatics is a 2003 and 2004 USA Swimming Silver Medal Team with training squads in Gallatin, Brentwood and LaVergne.

· For more information on Excel Aquatics and complete Meet Results, visit www.excelaquatics.org.

Barnes Named Site Coordinator

Excel Aquatics names local coach as Gallatin Site Coordinator

August 8, 2004……Excel Aquatics, a year-round USA Swimming Silver Medal Team based in Gallatin, Brentwood, and LaVergne has named Wilson County resident John Barnes as their Gallatin Site Coordinator. Coach Barnes, who is also an Assistant Coach with the MJHS Swim Team, took an offer to join the coaching staff at Excel Aquatics in the Spring of 2004, and began assisting with their Gold and Xtreme training squads in Gallatin. By assuming the duties as Site Coordinator at Excel-Gallatin, Barnes will be responsible for leading the Gallatin coaching staff in the planning and implementation of the training program of Excel swimmers across all skill levels, as well as handling the multiple other swimming related issues that arise on a daily basis. He will report directly to Excel Head Coach Mark Walker who is based in Brentwood.

Coach Walker noted that “I’m proud to announce that Coach Barnes will be leading our Gallatin training location. John is the right person at the right time for this newly created position within our Gallatin training squad. Since he has been with us he has made a positive impact not only on the swimmers in his group, but with the parents as well. He brings a lot of energy to the team on and off the deck. We are close to finalizing the rest of the coaching staff in Gallatin which we will be announcing soon. I know that everyone is going to be pleased with of the quality of the coaching staff we are assembling. There is going to be a lot of fresh ideas and excitement on deck this coming season with Excel Aquatics.”

Cumberland University graduate and Mount Juliet resident Johnny Davis, who is the Head Coach of the Willoughby Station Waves Summer League team, noted that “Coach Barnes was my mentor in coaching swimming. He’s an old fashioned coach who genuinely cares about his swimmers and demands their best in whatever they do. He wants them to realize that they are capable of far more than the limits they tend to impose upon themselves. I have no doubt that he will bring that same philosophy to all aspects of the Excel-Gallatin program as well. He’s not only great coaching the kids; he’s also great at coaching coaches.”

• Excel Aquatics is a 2003 & 2004 USA Swimming Silver Medal Club. Excel will be holding placement trials and a free two week trail beginning August 23^rd at the Gallatin Civic Center. For more information, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

County Residents compete at SES LC Championships

Wilson County Residents Compete at

Southeastern Swimming Long Course Championships

August 1, 2004……Three Wilson County swimmers took to the water at the Southeastern Swimming Long Course Championships in Tuscaloosa this past weekend, July 29-August 1^st. Competing for Excel Aquatics were 7^th Graders Bradley Gillilan and Taylor Wallace, and rising University of Texas Senior, Olympic Trials Qualifier, and fellow Wilson County resident Andrew Davidson.

Taylor Wallace, competing in the 11&12 Year Old Category, swam the 50 Breaststroke, 50 Freestyle, 50 Butterfly, and 100 Breaststroke. “Taylor had an outstanding meet, he really got going and applied himself this weekend and showed that he is capable of doing outstanding things.” Assistant Coach John Barnes stated.

Bradley Gillilan, also in the 11&12 Year Old Category, took to the water in the 400 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, 200 Individual Medley, and 50 Butterfly. “In the 800 Freestyle Bradley placed 7^th in the Southeast, his time was terrific and he is learning how to pace himself in this distance events, it will only help him get better in all his events.” Barnes stated.

Olympic Trials Qualifier, Andrew Davidson, put on a show for those in attendance, including his two younger teammates that hope to follow in his footsteps. Davidson won the Men’s 17 & Older 200 Backstroke, showing what he is capable of doing by dominating the last 50 meters and winning hands down. Coach Barnes noted that “Andrew has incredible underwater technique and strength off the starts and turns, he used the same capability to dominate the 200 Back and win the 100 Butterfly as well. It was a clinic to all swimmers in attendance down there in how to use that aspect of swimming to your advantage. Head Coach Mark Walker was pleased that Andrew would take the time out of this training regimen at Texas and come back to compete for Excel and set an example for our younger swimmers.”

· For more information on Excel Aquatics and complete Meet Results, visit www.excelaquatics.org and come to the Excel New Swimmer Placement Trial on August 23^rd at the Gallatin Civic Center.

Free Try-Outs to Local Swimmers

Excel Aquatics offers Free Try-Outs to local Summer League Swimmers in response to questions from Wilson County parents.

July 26, 2004….. The summer of 2004 has been an exciting time for swimming in Wilson County! Wilson County proudly watched as one of their own, Excel Aquatics Swimmer Andrew Davidson, participated in the US Olympic Trials in early July. Then, from July 23-25, nearly 150 youth swimmers based in Wilson County participated in the Nashville Swim League City Championships.

“Before the Summer Season even concluded I heard from Willoughby Station Waves Coach Johnny Davis that Waves parents were coming up and asking him what’s next? How can their children continue training and building on what they have accomplished this summer?” Excel Aquatics Assistant Coach and Wilson County resident, John Barnes commented. “I’m going into my fourth year of working with swimmers from Wilson County, and I have never seen this level of interest before.”

In direct response to the interest from Wilson County parents, Excel Aquatics, a USA Swimming Silver Medal Club based in Gallatin, Brentwood, and LaVergne is pleased to announce that they will be holding Placement Trials on Monday, August 23^rd at the Gallatin Civic Center from 4:30-6:00pm, to evaluate Wilson County swimmers who are interested in continuing swimming into the Fall and Winter. Coach Barnes emphasized that “this Placement Trial is certainly not limited to just Summer League swimmers. Anyone with a child that wants to compete in swimming this Fall and Winter is invited to attend the evaluation. We get children all the time that have no summer league experience, but have learned how to swim and want to take it one step further.”

“Wilson County is centrally located between our three training facilities. My family lives north of Lebanon and we choose to go to Gallatin as do some other local families. We have some families here in Wilson County that choose to go to Brentwood for training, and our newest location in LaVergne is easily accessible as well.” Coach Barnes noted. “We encourage anyone wanting to give year-round competitive swimming a try to come to the Placement Trials, in addition to that free evaluation, we will be offering a free two week try-out period to those who come to the Trials.”

For more information, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

A Rising Swimming Star in Wilson County

A Rising Swimming Star in Wilson County

June 26, 2004....Bradley Gillilan, a rising 7^th Grader at West Wilson Middle School, put some Wilson County Sizzle in the NAC Summer Sizzler Swim Meet held in Nashville from June 25^th through the 27^th.

Gillilan, who trains with Excel Aquatics, took to the water in 8 events over the weekend, and had considerable time drops in 5 of them. “Bradley has been training hard these past 4 weeks since school let out, and quite frankly the time drops he had were great considering that he did not taper.” Coach John Barnes commented. “He has the benefit of training at three different locations this summer, with three different coaches watching him, working with him, and pushing him. We are looking for him to follow up this strong performance with another one at the Southeastern Swimming Long Course Championships at the end of July.”

Gillilan swam in the 11&12 year old Boy’s category placed 7^th in the 200 Meter Free, with a time of 2:27.66, a 3.71 second drop; 7^th in the 400 Meter, 5:09.78, a 4.27 second drop; 12^th in the 100 Meter Butterfly, 1:20.56, a 2.44 second drop; 18^th in the 100 Meter Breaststroke, 1:38.39, a 2.19 second drop; and 22^nd in the 200 Meter Individual Medley, 2:55.01, a 2.88 second drop. He also finished 22^nd in the 50 Meter Backstroke, finishing in 0:40.12; 23^rd in the 100 Meter Backstroke, 1:24.79; and 28^th in the 100 Meter Freestyle, 1:13.00.

· For more information on Excel Aquatics, visit www.excelaquatics.org