May 4, 2008
Wilson County TN...Two Wilson County swimmers, Samuel Blackwell and Alek Nochowicz were honored by Excel Aquatics at the Excel Annual Banquet this afternoon in Franklin TN. Samuel, a Home School Third Grader, was awarded the "Excel Award" for the Silver 2 training squad as determined by Coach Sheree' Zobl. Alek, a 10th Grader at Pope John Paul II High School, was awarded the "Excel Award" for the Gold training squad as determined by Coach John Barnes. The Excel Award is given out on a yearly basis to the swimmer who best represents the ideals of Excel Aquatics: Leadership, Dedication, Positive Attitude and Determination.
May 3, 2008
Wilson County TN...Luke Blackwell was the only Wilson County swimmer to attend today's HSA Invitational in Huntsville AL. Swimming for Excel Aquatics in the 13&14 Year Old Boy's Category, Blackwell placed 1st in the 100 Meter Backstroke, 2nd in the 400 Meter Individual Medley, 2nd in the 400 Meter Freestyle, 4th in the 50 Meter Freestyle, and 7th in the 100 Meter Butterfly.
April 18, 2008
Wilson County TN...Excel Aquatics has finished the Short Course season ranked 68th in the Nation according to the Virtual Club Championship ranking formula. Excel had a total of 166,972 points, of which 12,242 were scored by Wilson County Residents. That point total is approx. four times more than Wilson County swimmers from other teams scored combined.
April 15, 2008
Wilson County TN...The first Long Course meet of the year finished up this past weekend. 7 swimmers from Wilson County representing Excel Aquatics took part. For several it was their first Long Course meet ever. Two swimmers, Bradley Gillilan and Luke Blackwell added to their SES Long Course Championship Qualifying Times. Gillilan added cuts in the 15&16 Boy's 400 Meter Individual Medley (IM), the 200 Meter IM, and the 100 Meter Breaststroke. Gillilan now has 8 SES LC Cuts, the most for a Wilson County boy in the 15&16 Year Old Category since Andrew Davidson. Blackwell attained SES LC Cuts in the 100 Meter Fly, 50 Meter Free, and 100 Meter Breast. Blackwell now has 13 cuts in the 13&14 Year Old Boy's category. The most for a Wilson County boy in the 13&14 Year Old Category since Andrew Davidson. Placing in the Top 8 in the meet from Wilson County: Luke Blackwell - 13&14 Boys - 9 events; Madison Blackwell - 11&12 Gils - 3 events; Samuel Blackwell - 8&Under Boys - 5 events; Bradley Gillilan - Senior Boys - 5 events.
April 15, 2008
Wilson County TN...The annual Excel Aquatics Spring Tune-Up for Summer League swimmers got underway this evening. A record number of Summer League swimmers are partaking. Parents have commented that after just one night their children have received more individual instruction on stroke technique than they received at several other locales for lessons/practice. Excel Aquatics - Putting the Swimmer First.
April 1, 2008
Wilson County TN...Bradley Gillilan passed the One Million Yard mark tonight in practice for total yards swam since the start of the school year. Since August 20th Gillilan has put in a combined total of 1,001,892 yards. The number includes meters swam in practice converted to yards. That is 3,005,676 feet. That is 36,068,112 inches. That's over 569 statute (driving) miles, or over 607 swimming miles. (A statute mile is 1,760 yds, a swimming mile is 1,650 yds, a nautical mile is 2,000 yds.) To put that in perspective, that's like swimming from Lebanon to just past New Orleans LA, which is 557 driving miles from Lebanon. A study in England showed that the average British citizen walks only 244 miles per year, Bradley has swam 569 miles in 7.3 months. Congratulations to Bradley for passing this milestone. With 3.5 months left in the swimming season, he may hit 1.5 Million Yards.
March 20, 2008
Sumner County TN...Excel Aquatics is proud to announce that the Excel Swim School is coming to the Gallatin Civic Center starting in May. Lindy Dillehay will be the swim school director. For more information on the Excel Swim School, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org/swim_school. Affordable, Fun, Professional.
March 12, 2008
Wilson County TN...USA Swimming has named Excel Aquatics as a Silver Medal Team of Excellence in their annual National Club Excellence Program. This is the 6th consecutive year that Excel Aquatics has been ranked as a Silver Medal Team. Congratulations to the Wilson County swimmers with Excel Aquatics who contributed to this achievement! Excel Aquatics - A Higher Standard of Training, don't settle for less.
March 9, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Spring Senior Sectionals ended today and Bradley Gillilan was the only Wilson County swimmer to participate today. Bradley swam in the 1500 Meter Freestyle, turning in a time of 17:16.94, a 28.76 second time drop off his personal best time from last Summer, and good enough for 20th Place in the meet. That was a jump of 19 places from his seed time to his finish time. Extracting Legal Splits from all swims by Wilson County swimmers in Senior Sectionals, Luke Blackwell set Personal Best Times in the 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, and 800 Free. Bradley Gillilan set Personal Best Times in the 100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 800 Free, and 1500 Free. Not bad considering they were just coming out of short course season with no long course training.
March 8, 2008
Wilson County TN...Day 3 of Spring Senior Sectionals is in the books. Bradley Gillilan, of Lebanon High School and a member of Excel Aquatics participated in the 400 Meter Freestyle. Bradley dropped 5.21 off his best time, turning in a 4:22.05 in the process. He moved from a pre-meet seeding of 76th to a 45th Place Final Finish. Congrats to Bradley!
March 7, 2008
Wilson County TN...Day 2 of Spring Senior Sectionals is over with, and while no Wilson County swimmers took to the water, a Wilson County coach did have 2 of his 4 qualifying swimmers in the water. Two girls who train with John Barnes (Excel Aquatics) turned in some great times. One girl in the 100 Fly popped a 1:08.08, a 5.15 second drop off her best time. The other girls swam in the 400 Free Relay and turned a 1:04.71. Both girls will be in action tomorrow as well as training teammate Bradley Gillilan of Lebanon. Excel Aquatics = Results.
March 6, 2008
Wilson County TN...2 Wilson County boys participated in the 800 Meter Freestyle and the 4x200 Freestyle Relay tonight at the Spring Senior Sectional Championship Meet in Nashville TN. The meet is hosted by Excel Aquatics. Bradley Gillilan dropped 31 seconds from his best time in the 800 Free, turning a 8:55.29, becoming the first boy from Wilson County ever to break 9:00 in the event. Bradley finished 17th in the event. The time was good enough to qualify him for the Summer Senior Sectional Meet at Georgia Tech in July. Teammate Luke Blackwell turned in a time of 9:10.07, a 14 second drop from his best time, and good enough for 42nd place. In the relay, Luke led off Excel's B Relay with a time of 2:09.44, and Bradley anchored the B Relay with a time of 2:06.99. The relay finished 14th in the Meet.
February 24, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Southeastern Swimming Short Course Championships has concluded and the training by the youth of Wilson County has paid off. Mt. Juliet's Luke Blackwell finished as the runner-up for the Boy's 13&14 Year Old High Point Trophy. Luke scored 110 points in individual events which tied for second in his age group. To put that in perspective, Luke outscored 28 of the 52 teams at the meet. Luke also scored on both relays, in total helping to account for 182 of Excel's 1,710 total points. Today Madison Blackwell finished 9th in the 11&12 Year Old Girl's 50 Yard Fly and 12th in the 50 Yard Back. Bradley Gillilan competed in the 200 Fly and 200 Breast. Taylor Wallace competed in the 200 Breast. Luke Blackwell competed in the 100 Yard Backstroke (6th Place) and 1,650 Yard Free (2nd Place). Excel Aquatics - where the kids have fun by excelling and learning to accomplish more through hard work.
February 23, 2008
Wilson County TN...Day 3 at the Southeastern Swimming Championships saw Madison Blackwell swim to another 16th Place finish in the 11&12 Girl's 100 Yard Butterfly, with a best time of 1:07.84. Luke Blackwell returned to finals again in his two events of the day. In the 13&14 Boy's 200 Yard IM, Luke swam to a best time of 2:06.68, good enough for a 6th Place finish, after swimming a 2:07.58 in Prelims. In the 500 Yard Free, Luke finished 3rd in Finals with a personal best time of 5:54.94. Both Blackwells were part of the 1st Place SES Medley Relays for their age groups.
February 22, 2008
Wilson County TN...Day 2 at the Southeastern Swimming Championships concluded with Luke Blackwell leading all Wilson County swimmers by returning to the finals in the 13&14 Boy's 200 Yard Freestyle, and the 200 Yard Backstroke. Luke placed 5th in the 200 Yard Free finals with a time of 1:51.61, after swimming a 1:50.84 in Prelims. In the 200 Yard Back, Luke turned a 2:02.02 in Finals, placing 2nd. In Prelims, Luke swam a 2:02.63, both best times. Madison Blacwell swam to a 16th place finish in the 11&12 Girl's 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:08.05.
February 21, 2008
Wilson County TN...At the Southeastern Swimming Short Course Championships, Luke Blackwell of Mount Juliet and a member of Excel Aquatics won the 13&14 Year Old Boy's 1,000 Yard Freestyle tonight in a Senior Sectional Qualifying Time Cut of 10:12.26. A drop of 23.30 seconds. Luke won his age group event by over 17 seconds. Stay tuned for more updates from SES.
February 17, 2008
Wilson County TN...Mt Juliet resident and Excel Aquatics swimmer, Alek Nochowicz, attained a SES Short Course Championship Qualifying Time Cut in the 15&16 Year Old Boy's 1650 (the Mile) today at the SES West District Swim Meet. Nochowicz won the event in a time of 18:35.94, which was 12 seconds under the time cut.
February 9, 2008
Wilson County TN...Second day of State of Tennessee High School Swimming Championships have concluded, and again, the Excel trained swimmers from Wilson County led the way for Wilson County residents. Highlights: LHS's Bradley Gillilan attained a Senior Sectional Qualifying Time Cut in the 500 Free, placing 21st in the meet in 4:53.31. That is the highest placing for a boy from LHS ever. Luke Blackwell (MTHEA) 25th Place 500 Free (4:56.57); Kelsey Copeland (MJHS) 46th Place 100 Free (0:59.48); and Alek Nochowicz (JPII HS) 48th Place 500 Free (5:27.40).
February 8, 2008
Wilson County TN...First day of the State of Tennessee High School Swimming Championships have concluded, and Excel trained swimmers led Wilson County residents in performance at the meet. Some results: Luke Blackwell (MTHEA) 33rd Place 200 Free (1:53.17); Bradley Gillilan (LHS) 34th Place 200 Free (1:53.25); Taylor Wallace (MJHS) 34th Place 200 Individual Medley (2:13.25) and 35th Place 100 Butterfly (0:58.14); Kelsey Copeland (MJHS) 53rd Place 100 Fly (1:08.81); and Alek Nochowicz (JPII HS) 59th Place 200 Individual Medley (2:19.34).
February 3, 2008
Wilson County TN...Mardi Gras meet just completed this weekend. Swimmers from Wilson County placed 44 times in the Top 8 in the meet in various events!!!!!! Highlights included Madison Blackwell winning the 11&12 Girls 200 Yard Butterfly (2:37.44) and achieving an Age Group Sectional Qualifying Time; and Bradley Gillilan achieving a Southeastern Swimming Senior Boy's Qualifying Time in the 200 Yard Butterfly (2:12.74). Stay tuned for more highlights. For a list of the top Wilson County swimmers, visit Qualifiers.
January 25, 2008
Wilson County TN...Wilson County residents representing Lebanon HS, Wilson Central HS, Mt Juliet HS, Middle Tennessee Home Educators Association, and Pope John Paul II High School participated in the Region High School championship meet today in Nashville. Those scoring for their respective schools: Alek Nochowicz, Pope John Paul II HS, 15th Place 500 Yard Freestyle; Ava Caulkins, Mount Juliet HS, 3rd Place 100 Yard Breaststroke, 4th Place 200 Yard Individual Medley; Bradley Gillilan, Lebanon HS, 10th Place 500 Yard Freestyle; Taylor Wallace, Mount Juliet HS, 7th Place, 200 Yard Individual Medley, 9th Place 100 Yard Butterfly; and Luke Blackwell, MTHEA, 9th Place 500 Yard Freestyle, 11th Place 200 Yard Freestyle. Alek Nochowicz accounted for all the individual scoring for Pope John Paul II Boy's Team, and Bradley Gillilan accounted for all the points for Lebanon High School. Both boys, along with Luke Blackwell and Taylor Wallace, train with Excel Aquatics.
January 20, 2008
Wilson County TN...1,159 Swimmers from around the South participated in the Pilot Aquatics Meet in Knoxville. Swimmers from Wilson County made their mark at the meet. Bradley Gillilan attained a Senior Sectional Cut in the 1000 Yard Free with a time of 10:07.88, placing 5th in the Senior Boys category; Madison Blackwell attained her first Age Group Sectional Cut in the 11&12 Year Old Girl's 50 Yard Butterfly, placing 7th in the event; and Luke Blackwell added the 200 Breaststroke SES cut. For a list of the top Wilson County swimmers, visit Qualifiers.
January 12, 2008
Wilson County TN...The 2008 Excel Aquatics High School and Middle School Invitational Swim Meet took place today. Several swimmers who train with Excel represented their schools at the meet. Swimming in the morning for MTHEA Makos was 8th grader Madison Blackwell of Mt Juliet. Madison placed 6th in the 100 Yd Backstroke, and 8th in the 100 Yd Fly. Swimming in the afternoon were Luke Blackwell (MTHEA - Mt. Juliet), Austin Barnes (JPII HS - Lebanon), Alek Nochowicz (JPII HS - Mt Juliet), Taylor Wallace (MJHS) and Kelsey Copeland (MJHS). Scoring in the HS meet were Luke Blackwell (6th in the 500 Yd Free and 12th in the 100 Yd Back); Taylor Wallace (12th in the 200 Yd IM and 7th in the 100 Yd Breast), Alek Nochowicz (11th in the 500 Yd Free and 13th in the 200 Yd IM); and Kelsey Copeland (9th in the 50 Yd Free).
January 12, 2008
Wilson County TN...USA Swimming has recognized Excel Aquatics as a Level 3 Team in the Club Recognition Program (CRP). The CRP "encourages clubs to establish organizational goals and to benchmark their progress toward those goals. The ultimate objective of the program is to strengthen the club system in USA Swimming by guiding clubs through a development process that ultimately positions the program and its coaches to better serve athletes." There are 4 Levels in the CRP, with Level 4 being the highest recognition. As of today, Excel Aquatics is the only Level 3 team in Tennessee. There is a qualitative difference in the professional structures of clubs.
January 05, 2008
Wilson County TN...In this Olympic Year, World Record Holder and Olympic Gold Medalist paid a visit to Excel Aquatics today to hold a Butterfly Swim Clinic for the swimmers. Ian spoke to the swimmers, which included the top Wilson County swimmers, about the importance of setting goals, working on the small technique points even while tired in practice, among other items. Then Ian jumped in the water and demonstrated drills that he does for Butterfly and explained why he does them and what the swimmers need to concentrate on. The swimmers then got in the water and worked on those drills as Ian walked the deck and gave feedback to the swimmers in the water. Afterwards the swimmers were able to have their pictures taken with Ian and received complimentary autographed posters and swim caps courtesy of Speedo and All-American Swim Supply. Excel Aquatics - Always Moving Forward.