5 Minute Barrier Goes Down to Another Wilson County Resident

5 Minute Barrier in 500 Yard Freestyle is Broken by Luke Blackwell

January 12, 2008….Luke Blackwell, swimming for the Middle Tennessee Home Educators Association at the Excel Aquatics High School Invitational Saturday placed 6th in the 500 Yard Freestyle, and in the process dropped 6.69 seconds to break the magical 5-Minute barrier in the event, with a final time of 4:59.63.

Luke went out in a 56.59 in the first 100, and then averaged 1:00.76 per 100 over the next 400 yards to touch the wall in just under five minutes. Luke joins Lebanon High School swimmer, and Excel Aquatics training partner, Bradley Gillilan as the only current Wilson County residents to swim under five minutes in the 500 Yard Freestyle. Luke also placed in the 100 Yard Backstroke, turning a 1:01.68, good enough for 12th place. Those placements contributed 18 points to MTHEA’s total, making Luke the high scorer for MTHEA Boy’s team.

Another training partner, Alek Nochowicz who swims for Pope John Paul II HS and lives in Mt Juliet, turned in a 5:28.60 in the 500 Yard Free, good enough for 11th Place in the meet. The time by Nochowicz represents an 18 second drop in time for the same meet last year. Nochowicz also placed 13th in the 200 Yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:19.39. Nochowicz scored 10 points for the Pope John Paul II Boy’s team, the most of any JPII Boys.

Other Excel/Wilson County residents who placed in the meet were MJHS’s Taylor Wallace and Kelsey Copeland.

Wallace placed 7th in the 100 Yard Breaststroke, and 12th in the 200 Yard Individual Medley. In the process Wallace scored 17 points for the MJHS Boy’s team, again the leading scorer on the team.

Copeland placed 9th in the 50 Yard Freestyle, scoring 9 points for the MJHS Girl’s team.

Swimming in the separate Excel Aquatics Middle School Invitational Meet was MTHEA/Mt Juliet’s Madison Blackwell. Madison placed 6th in the 100 Yard Backstroke, and 8th in the 100 Yard Butterfly.

Excel Assistant Coach John Barnes noted that “these performances by our Wilson County neighbors today in leading their respective schools during the meet, are a reflection of their hard work and commitment to improving as swimmers in terms of technique and conditioning. Excel Aquatics is currently the gold standard for training swimmers from Wilson County, and these children are definitive proof of that.”