Nochowicz attains first SES Time Standard

Nochowicz swims to a Southeastern Qualifying Time and a First Place finish in the Mile

February 17, 2008….Alek Nochowicz, a 16 year old Mt. Juliet resident, traveled to the Southeastern Swimming Western District Swim Meet this past weekend on the campus of The University of Memphis in a quest for his first Southeastern Short Course Championship Meet qualifying time.

Going into the meet, Nochowicz’s best shot at getting a qualifying time was the 1,650 Yard Freestyle. The “Mile” as the 1,650 is known in the swimming world was to be the last event of a two day meet. First Nochowicz had to swim 5 other events. Events designed to test his conditioning and prepare him mentally for the “Mile”.

Nochowicz, swimming in the Senior Boys category, led off Saturday with a 5^th Place finish in the 100 Yard Backstroke, finishing in a time of 1:04.29, a 2.71 second drop. The time is also a High School State qualifying time cut.

“Alek really attacked the Back, his stroke was smooth and long, and his turnover was improved. I don’t think he swam the 100 Back at all this past High School Dual Meet season for Pope John Paul II.” Excel Aquatics and Lebanon resident John Barnes noted. “His high school coach is going to have to have some good options as to what events Alek will participate in next year during dual meets.”

Next up was the 200 Yard Breaststroke, where Nochowicz again dropped time, finishing in 2:42.59, good enough for a 2^nd Place finish.

The last event on Saturday was the 500 Yard Freestyle, an event which Nochowicz had swam the previous weekend at the High School State Championships. Nochowicz continued his streak of dropping times, finishing in a 5:18.56, a 6.06 second drop, and placing him 2^nd in the event. The time under 5:20 means that Wilson County now has 4 boy swimmers under 5:20, all of whom train with Excel Aquatics.

“Alek trains daily with Bradley Gillilan and Luke Blackwell and is nipping on their heels,” Barnes explained. “We have implemented some new training techniques this year, in terms of pacing, stroke work, unique equipment usage, and of course yardage conditioning. Overall the response by the boys has been real strong. This is the first time that Wilson County has seen 4 boys (Nochowicz, Gillilan, Blackwell, and Taylor Wallace) under 5:20 in the 500 at the same time. Wallace of Mt. Juliet trains at a different training location than the trio who train together at our site.”

Coming back on Sunday morning, Nochowicz began with the shortest event, the 50 Yard Freestyle Sprint. Once again a new personal best time was achieved when Nochowicz hit the wall in 0:25.31, and finishing in 4^th Place.

The next event was the 200 Yard Butterfly, an event which Nochowicz had never attempted, and an event that is arguably one of the hardest in swimming. Nochowicz finished in 3^rd Place, with a respectable time of 2:29.28.

“Alek was a little hesitant about the 200 Fly, however he went out there and gave it his all” according to Barnes. “He then had time to cool down and rest before the 1650, and I knew from the way he was swimming this weekend that he had a good shot at getting his qualifying time cut.”

The last event of the weekend was the Mile. Nochowicz needed to average 1:08.36 per 100 yards throughout the race to get the qualifying time. The only other time Nochowicz had swam the event he turned in a 18:57.46 back in December, a mere 9.47 seconds away from the cut.

Nochowicz went out strong, averaging 1:07.36 through the first 500 yards, before settling into a pace of 1:07.91 to 1:08.70 through the next 1000 yards. With 150 yards to go, Nochowicz picked up his pace and finished strong, hitting the wall at 18:35.94. The time was a time drop of 21.52 seconds, and 12.05 seconds under the time needed for the SES qualifying time cut. Nochowicz also finished First in the event.

The Southeastern Swimming Short Course Championships will be held February 21^st through the 24^th in Nashville TN. Nochowicz will be swimming the 1,650 on Sunday the 24^th. Joining Nochowicz from Wilson County at the SES Championships will be Madison Blackwell, Luke Blackwell, Gillilan, and Wallace.

For more information about competitive swimming for Wilson County residents, visit www.SwimWilsonCounty.com