More Time Cuts at Stars and Stripes Meet

Excel Swimmers Make Their Mark at Swim Meet

May 27, 2007……Madison Blackwell of Mount Juliet led a contingent of seven Wilson County residents in competing at the Excel Aquatics Stars & Stripes Long Course Swim Meet in Brentwood TN this past weekend. Joining Madison from Lebanon were Austin Barnes and Bradley Gillilan; from Watertown were Chelsie Barlettano and Dallas Barlettano; and also from Mount Juliet were Samuel Blackwell and Luke Blackwell. All seven compete for nationally recognized Excel Aquatics.

The Long Course format is swam in a 50 Meter Pool, the same pool dimensions as the Olympic Games.

Madison Blackwell garnered Southeastern Swimming (SES) Long Course Swimming Championship Meet Qualifying Times in the Girls 11&12 year old category for the 50 Meter Backstroke and 100 Meter Butterfly. Madison had previously attained a qualifying cut in the 100 Meter Backstroke. In the 100 Meter Butterfly, Madison turned in a time of one minute, twenty one seconds, and 86 one-hundredths of a second (1:21.86), good for a 7^th place finish. “I knew Madison’s time was faster than anything I remember for girls that age in Wilson County, and after coming home to check several websites I’m fairly confident that it is the fastest time ever for a girl from Wilson County in that age group in that event.” Excel Assistant Coach and Lebanon resident John Barnes stated. “Her time in the 100 Meter Backstroke also is the fastest time ever for a Wilson County girl that age.”

Blackwell placed 6^th in the 100 Meter Backstroke with a time of 1:20.36, dropping 87-hundredths of a second in the process. In the 50 Meter Backstroke, Blackwell popped a 0:38.28, a SES Qualifying time.

“Madison continues to do very well with Excel Aquatics, and I was ecstatic with her big time drops in both the 50 Meter Butterfly and the 100 Meter Butterfly.” Barnes commented.

Chelsie and Dallas Barlettano competed in their first Long Course Meet, and showed that they were up to the challenge. Both turned in impressive times. Chelsie swam in the 100 Meter Breaststroke and 50 Meter Freestyle, while brother Dallas took to the water in the 100 Meter Freestyle, 50 Meter Backstroke, 50 Meter Freestyle, and 50 Meter Breaststroke.

Austin Barnes competed in the 400 Meter Freestyle, 100 Meter Freestyle, and 100 Meter Backstroke; setting personal best times in all three events.

Samuel Blackwell, competing in the Boys 8&Under category swam to a 4^th Place finish in the 50 Meter Breaststroke, 6^th Place in the 50 Meter Backstroke, and 9^th Place in the 50 Meter Freestyle with best times in all events.

In the older 13&14 Boys division, Luke Blackwell and Bradley Gillilan proved once again why they are the most well rounded male swimmers in the county. Gillilan increased the number of SES Long Course Qualifying Cuts to 11 in the 13&14 age group, while Blackwell closed close in bringing his total to 10. Gillilan added two Boy’s 13&14 year old SES cuts in the 200 Meter Individual Medley and 200 Meter Backstroke (13&14). He added cuts in the 15&16 year old category in the 200 Meter Breaststroke, which was also a Senior Boys cut.

Blackwell added qualifying cuts in Boys 13&14 year old category in the 400 Meter Individual Medley, the 100 Meter Freestyle, the 200 Meter Breaststroke, and the 1500 Meter Freestyle. In the 200 Meter Breaststroke the time was also good enough for a 15&16 year old qualifying cut; while in the 1500 Meter Freestyle Luke’s time of 18:06.36 was both a 15&16 cut and a Senior cut.

“This was another great meet for these two boys. Bradley’s time in the 800 Meter Freestyle was phenomenal, just hundredths of a second off a qualifying cut in the 15&16 year old category.” Coach Barnes commented. “Luke turned the meet on its ear with his time in the 1500 Meter Freestyle, coming out of nowhere to place 2^nd in his age group in the event. Honestly, I was stunned by his 1500 Free and his 400 Meter Individual Medley swim on Friday night. That 1500 swim was the fastest swim by a Wilson County boy I’ve been able to find in results databases and website searches. Both boys swam great in the Individual Medley events, something we work on several times a week in practice.

“At Excel Aquatics our goal is to develop well-rounded swimmers that can be competitive at all levels of swimming. It’s what the families want, and what our focus is on a day to day basis. We have fun, they swim fast, and we want them to be the best student-athletes they can be out of the water and in the water.”

For more information on competitive swimming visit www.SwimWilsonCounty.com.