Baylor Meet features Wilson County Swimmers

Wilson County Swimmers Compete in Chattanooga

January 15, 2005……The swimming youth of Wilson County traveled down to Chattanooga TN and competed at the Baylor School in the shadow of Signal Mountain. Lebanon residents Conrad Claycomb and Austin Barnes combined with Mount Juliet residents Kelsey Copeland, Bradley Gillilan, Alek Nochowicz, and Taylor Wallace to make the trip.

Gillilan, a 12 year old who attends West Wilson Middle School, led the way with personal best times in 6 of his 9 events. Most notable were drops in his 200 IM and Breaststroke events. “Bradley is really becoming a well-rounded swimmer, working to achieve a proficiency in all of his strokes, and not being labeled as a one-stroke wonder.” Lebanon resident and Excel Assistant Coach, John Barnes commented. “His sprint events have improved and are now on par with his distance events in terms of competitiveness. As long as he keeps listening to his coaches he’ll continue to make improvements.”

Copeland, a 13 year old MJ Middle School student, dropped times in 4 of her 8 events she had prior experience in, plus adding experience in the 100 Fly swimming it for the first time. Time drops occurred in the 100 Free, 200 Back, 200 Free, and 100 Back. “When Kelsey enrolls at MJHS next Fall she will automatically become their #2 Girl in terms of time. She is training very well, and has recently started moving over to different lanes in practice to take on more challenging sets and time intervals which as a coach you love to see them stepping up as she has. Now she has to continue to translate that practice effort into performance in meets.” Barnes noted.

Claycomb, 14 years old, had a significant time drop in the 200 Free, taking 8.71 seconds off his previous best time, as well as finally going under a 30 in the 50 Free. “Conrad has done very well this year, and we still have some things we need to continue to work on.”

Nochowicz, a 13 year old, had significant time drops in the 500 Free, 200 Free, 200 Back, and the 200 IM. “Alek is another one of Coach Andreea’s swimmers that just keep getting better and better every meet. He has kept up his attendance this year at practice and his time drops have reflected this.” Wallace, a 12 year old, placed in the Top 8 in 5 of his 8 events.

Barnes, a 11 year old who attends Carroll-Oakland, dropped times in all 6 of his individual events. “As a parent I’m pleased with Austin’s performance. He has been training under the tutelage of Coach AJ Miley and Coach Andreea Ianoli-Mitrofan, and has improved remarkably since we moved him over to Excel Aquatics. As a parent I am highly pleased with his coaches and the work they are doing with him on his techniques.” Coach Barnes proclaimed.

The next swim meet for all these student/athletes will be the Excel Middle School Invitational on January 29^th, being held in Brentwood TN. For more information on year-round competitive swimming in the region, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.