Wilson County Swimmers Score Big

MJ’s Blackwell Takes Two Gold at Swim Meet –
Gillilan Posts Lebanon’s Fastest 400 IM Time Ever

September 23, 2007……The Summer of 2007 is officially over according to the calendar, and attention has now turned to swimming indoors. The first area-wide sanctioned meet in the USA Swimming Short Course Swim Season took place this past weekend when the Excel Aquatics Fall Fest Swim Meet was held in Brentwood TN.

Nine swimmers from Wilson County who train with Excel Aquatics converged on the Indoor Sports Complex in Brentwood and competed against over 500 swimmers from Alabama, North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee who made the trip to compete in the meet.

Representing Wilson County at the meet were Lebanon residents Bradley Gillilan, Lucy Cook, and Austin Barnes. From Watertown was Dallas Barlettano. Mount Juliet residents participating were Kelsey Copeland, Taylor Wallace, Luke Blackwell, Samuel Blackwell, and Madison Blackwell.

Luke Blackwell, a Freshman Home School student, won the Boy’s 13&14 Year Old 1,650 Yard Freestyle in a time of 17:37.99 (17 minutes, 37 seconds, and 99 hundredths of a second), and the 1,000 Yard Freestyle in a time of 10:35.56. “Luke did a great job on winning these two events. They are the longest events our kids participate in. Even though we had 5 weeks out of the water in late July and early August, he has responded well to his training and was able to drop 15.83 seconds in the Mile (1650) and 6.5 seconds in the 1000.” Excel Assistant Coach and Lebanon Resident John Barnes noted. “Luke had a terrific Long Course Season this past summer, and if he continues to work hard he will be a force during this Short Course Season. He is the top swimmer in the 13&14 Year Old Boys category in Wilson County, and he is well on his way to being one of the best in his age group in the State of Tennessee.”

Luke Blackwell also placed in the Top 8 in the following events in the Boy’s 13&14 Year Old Category: 2^nd Place – 500 Yard Freestyle (5:07.90); 2^nd Place – 200 Yard Backstroke (2:08.53); 3^rd Place – 200 Yard Freestyle (1:55.40); 6^th Place – 100 Yard Backstroke (1:02.20), 6^th Place – 200 Yard Individual Medley (2:15.72); 7^th Place – 50 Yard Freestyle (0:26.24); and 7^th Place – 100 Yard Freestyle (0:55.77). Blackwell also added to his total of Southeastern Swimming (SES) Championship Meet Qualifying Events with a time of 1:13.29 in the 100 Yard Breaststroke, good enough for a 9^th place finish. “Luke now has qualifying times in a total of eight events for the SES Championship Meet.”

Also placing in the Top 8 during this meet were Gillilan (Sophomore from Lebanon High School), Wallace (Sophomore at Mount Juliet High School), Samuel Blackwell (3^rd Grade Home School student), and Madison Blackwell (8^th Grade Home School student).

Gillilan placed 6th in the Senior Boys 400 Yard Individual Medley in a time of 4:40.30, achieving a SES Short Course Championship Meet qualifying time. “Bradley split this race in an intelligent manner, with improvements across the board in every stroke. Gillilan’s performance is the fastest time in the 400 IM achieved by a Lebanon resident.”

“Like Luke, Bradley had unbelievable drops this past Long Course Season, and already in practice these past few weeks he has demonstrated that he is ready to continue those time drops. Bradley and Luke are having a synergistic effect on each other in practice, with each pushing the other to do greater things. There is no secret formula to our swimmer’s success; it’s 50% hard work and 50% attention to the details.”

Wallace placed 7th in the Senior Boys 400 Yard Individual Medley, right on the heels of Gillilan, with a time of 4:41.53.

Samuel Blackwell placed 5^th in the 8 & Under year old Boy’s 50 Yard Freestyle (0:43.46); 5^th in the 25 Yard Freestyle (0:20.42); and 7^th in the 25 Yard Backstroke (0:23.41).

Madison Blackwell placed 2^nd in the 11&12 year old Girl’s 50 Yard Backstroke (0:32.81); 3^rd in the 100 Yard Backstroke (1:10.33); 4^th in the 50 Yard Butterfly (0:32.82); 6^th in the 100 Yard Individual Medley (1:12.86); 7^th in the 100 Yard Freestyle (1:03.96); and 8^th in 50 Yard Freestyle (0:29.26). Madison achieved SES Qualifying Cuts in the 100 Yard Backstroke and 50 Yard Butterfly, bringing her total to 3 time cuts achieved, the most of any 11&12 Year Old girl in Wilson County.

Lucy Cook, a Lebanon Resident and Sumner Academy student, participated in her first USA Swimming meet, successfully making the transition from swimming in the Nashville Swim League the past few summers. Lucy participated in the 10&Under Girls 100 Yard Individual Medley, 100 yard Freestyle, 50 Yard Backstroke, 50 Yard Breaststroke, 200 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Breaststroke, 100 Yard Backstroke, and 50 Yard Freestyle. “Lucy has done great in her training and summer league swimming. She had some great times in this meet, and is progressing along quite nicely with her stroke technique and is a joy to coach.” Coach Barnes stated.

Swimming in the 10&Under Boys category was Barlettano. Copeland, a Junior at Mt Juliet High School, competed in the Senior Girls category. Austin Barnes, a Sophomore at Pope John Paul II HS, took to the water and swam in the 13&14 Boys events.

“As coaches, we’re proud of all of these swimmers. All of them have been working hard on their technique and conditioning since we returned to training. This meet serves as a baseline upon which we will measure their improvements over the remainder of the Short Course season.”

“At Excel Aquatics we have multiple goals for our swimmers. We want to drop times, be competitive with anyone anywhere at any time, improve our stroke techniques, and we also want to instill a sense of hard-work into these student-athletes that they will carry with them the rest of their lives. There are no short-cuts to being a successful swimmer, and there are no short-cuts to succeeding in school and life.” Coach Barnes explained.

The next meet for these swimmers will be the Nashville Aquatic Club October Open to be held in Nashville on October 13^th and 14^th. In November the team will be traveling to the world-famous Indianapolis Natatorium, one of the fastest pools in the world.

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