September
14, 2008December 14, 2008
Wilson County TN...Year to date, 5 swimmers from Wilson County who train with Excel Aquatics and Coach Barnes have achieved 26 State High School Championship Meet Qualifying Time Standards. 6 others in their training squad from Sumner County have achieved an additional 24 times standards. That's 11 Swimmers, 50 State Times. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN TRAINING QUALITY.
December 13, 2008
Wilson County TN...Several Wilson County Residents swam in the Sumner County High School Championships today. Amy Adams, Austin Barnes, Alek Nochowicz, Conrad Claycomb, and Ashley Powell all represented Pope John Paul II High School which is located in Sumner County. Nochowicz won the Boy's 200 Free and 500 Free, Claycomb won the Boy's 50 Free and 100 Free, and Powell won the Girl's 100 Breast and placed 2nd in the 50 Free. Adams placed 7th in the Girl's 100 Back and 11th in the 200 Free, while Barnes placed 4th in the Boy's 200 Free and 6th in the 500 Free. Congrats to all.
December 12, 2008
Wilson County TN...Friendship Christian Sophomore Luke Blackwell won both of his events (200 Free and 500 Free) at the MJHS/MTHEA/FCS meet tonight. Luke turned a best time in the 200 and 500 Free, and his 100 Split in the 200 was a State Qualifying time standard. Kelsey Copeland won the 200 Free and placed 2nd in the 100 Back. Congrats!
December 11, 2008
Wilson County TN...Mt Juliet resident and Pope John Paul II High School Senior Ashley Powell obtained a State High School Championship Meet Qualifying Time Standard in the 100 Yard Breaststroke tonight at the Father Ryan-Pope JP2 Dual Meet. Congrats Ash!
December 11, 2008
Wilson County TN...Year to date, 5 swimmers from Wilson County who train with Excel Aquatics and Coach Barnes have achieved 25 State High School Championship Meet Qualifying Time Standards. 6 others in their training squad from Sumner County have achieved an additional 24 times standards. That's 11 Swimmers, 49 State Times. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN TRAINING QUALITY.
December 8, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Excel Aquatics Meet of Champs concluded and some great times were turned in. Luke Blackwell broke :57 in the 100 Back and Bradley Gillilan broke 1:09 in the 100 Breast to name of the few of the best times set. Stay tuned for further updates.
November 28, 2008
Wilson County TN...Thanksgiving is over and a three practice session over a 26.5 hour period has commenced. For those completing all three practices they will put in 24,700 yards. A mini-taper will occur next week as Excel heads into it's Meet of Champions.
November 16, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Grand Prix Meet wrapped up today at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Bradley Gillilan swam the 1,650 Yard Freestyle in a time of 16:12.75, winning his heat, and placing 10th overall. The time qualified him for the NCSA Junior Nationals Meet in Orlando, Florida in March. For the meet Bradley scored 11 Individual Points for Excel Aquatics, and was involved in a Relay that scored 6 points. The 1,650 performance also broke his own Wilson County Record in the event, and is the 4th Fastest Time ever in Excel Aquatic's storied history. Congratulations to Bradley for a job well done on a national stage with the swimming world watching!!!!
November 15, 2008
Wilson County TN...Excel's Bradley Gillilan raced in the 500 Yard Freestyle today at the prestigious Grand Prix Meet at the University of Minnesota. Gillilan is a Junior at Lebanon High School. Bradley dropped 3.25 seconds from his previous best time, and turned a 4:46.59, good enough for 29th place after being seeded in the meet 54th. The time was good enough for a Summer Senior Sectional cut in the 400 Meter Freestyle. Great job Bradley! Next up for Bradley is the 1,650 Yard Free on Sunday.
November 15, 2008
Wilson County TN...Excel host an intra-squad Race Day today in Brentwood several Wilson County swimmers participated and had a great time! Swimmers from all three convenient training locations came together for racing, fun, and excitement! Congrats to all who participated.
November 14, 2008
Wilson County TN...Excel's Bradley Gillilan, a Junior at Lebanon High School, placed 13th in the 1,000 Yard Freestyle at the USA-Swimming Grand Prix Meet today at the University of Minnesota. His time of 9:47.56 was the 6th fastest 1,000 Yard Freestyle in Excel's 25 Year History. It also breaks his own Wilson County record by just under 11 seconds. Gillilan was also on the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay at the meet, helping his teammates to a 14th Place finish in the event. Bradley will swim the 500 Free on Saturday, and the 1,650 Free on Sunday.
November 9, 2008
Wilson County TN...Alek Nochowicz of Mt Juliet swam in the Baylor Invitational Meet in Chattanooga this past weekend representing Excel Aquatics. In his 9 swims, Alek posted drops in 6 of them, the largest being a 3.76 second drop in the 200 Yard Backstroke, turning in a time of 2:17.55. Nochowicz, a Junior at Pope John Paul II HS has already qualified for 4 events for the upcoming State of Tennessee High School Swimming Championships to be held in Feb 2009, at this meet he improved his time in two of those 4 events.
November 6, 2008
Wilson County TN...Mt Juliet resident and Pope John Paul II HS Senior swimmer Ashley Powell helped lead the Pope Girl's team to a first place finish at the Father Ryan Fighting Irish Relays tonight at the TSU Pool. There were 10 Girl's teams at the meet. On the boys side, Wilson County residents Alek Nochowicz, Conrad Claycomb and Austin Barnes swam for the Pope Boy's team that placed 4th of 11 teams. Congrats on some great swims!
November 1, 2008
Wilson County TN...The SES Rankings for 11/1/08 show two Wilson County residents on top of the pack in the 15&16 Boy's 1,650 Yard Freestyle. Bradley Gillilan of Lebanon is ranked first, and Luke Blackwell of Mt Juliet is ranked second. Madison Blackwell of Mt Juliet is ranked 8th in the 13&14 Girl's 1,650 Yard Freestyle. Alek Nochowicz of Mt Juliet is ranked 7th in the 17&18 Boy's 1,000 Yard Freestyle. All four train with Excel Aquatics in Gallatin under the guidance of Lebanon's John Barnes. "SES" is short for Southeastern Swimming, an area comprising all of Tennessee, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.
October 29, 2008
Wilson County TN...Wilson County swimmers are preparing for two big meets in the next two weeks. First up is the Baylor Invitational in Chattanooga TN, Nov 8-9, 2008. After that, is the Grand Prix Meet in Minneapolis MN, Nov 14-16. Stay tuned for details.
October 28, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Excel Aquatics Swim-A-Thon concluded tonight with the final segment held in Gallatin. The Wilson County swimmers who train in Gallatin helped contribute a record amount of money raised at the event. Congratulations to all who made the event a success. Times for Wilson County swimmers who had their times recorded for the 5,000 yard event: Austin Barnes 1:12:24.00; Madison Blackwell 1:15:01.00; Alek Nochowicz 1:01:25.00; Bradley Gillilan 54:56.80. Gillilan's time was the fastest of any Excel swimmer at any location, and was officially document and recorded with split times by 50.
October 21, 2008
Wilson County TN...The October Open swim meet was last weekend and 10 swimmers from Excel Aquatics competed in the meet. Big time drops were posted by Grace McCullough and Lucy Cook in their events. Swimming from Mt Juliet were Luke Blackwell, Madison Blackwell, Samuel Blackwell, Kelsey Copeland and Alek Nochowicz. From Lebanon were Andrew Barnes, Austin Barnes, Lucy Cook, Bradley Gillilan, and Grace McCullough. Nochowicz obtained State High School qualifying times in the 200 Free and 200 IM, bringing his current total for this year to 4 events. Madison Blackwell showed why she is the top 13 Year Old Girl in the County by posting a best time in the 500 Yard Free of 6:07.22 and a 2:25.86 in the 200 Yard Backstroke. Madison, an 8th Grader at Friendship Christian School already has High School State Qualifying times in the 100 Back, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 200 IM, and 500 Free; and she is not eligible to swim in High School State until Feb 2010!!! Next up is Excel's Race Day followed by the Excel Aquatics Swim-A-Thon.
October 10, 2008
Wilson County TN...Interested in seeing all of the High School Meet Schedules? Click Here to find your favorite High School's Schedule. The seasonal training is underway, and meets begin November 6th with the Father Ryan Relay's, and concludes Feb 13-14th in Knoxville at the State High School Championships. Click here to track Wilson County residents who have qualified for State. As of today, 4 swimmers have qualified in a total of 20 separate events for the Championship meet.
October 6, 2008
Wilson County TN... The Excel Etc. Newsletter is now being published on Tuesdays. If you are a member of Excel Aquatics please make sure you check your email inbox each Monday or Tuesday for the latest copy in .pdf formatting. If you are not a member of Excel Aquatics and are interested in learning more about Excel, please contact Coach Barnes and he will send you the latest copy. Current team news, upcoming deadlines, tips, and specific training squad news by location is in each edition.
September 21, 2008
Wilson County TN... The Excel Aquatics Fall Fest Swim Meet concluded today. Anna Zikovich participated in her first Excel meet, swimming the 50 Yard Fly and 50 Yard Free in the 10&Under Girl's category. Achieving new SES Qualifying Cuts in the meet was Bradley Gillilan, in the 15&16 Boy's 200 Yard Individual Medley, and the Senior Boy's 200 Yard Breaststroke. Achieving High School State Championship Meet qualifying cuts today were: Luke Blackwell, 200 Individual Medley; Kelsey Copeland - 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM; and Bradley Gillilan - 200 IM, 100 Free, and 100 Fly. Next up is the NAC October Invitational.
September 20, 2008
Wilson County TN... Day 2 of Fall Fest Complete. State Times achieved for High School swimmers. Those who achieved High School State Championship Meet qualifying cuts in today's events were: Luke Blackwell - 200 Free, 500 Free, 100 Back. Kelsey Copeland - 200 Free, 500 Free, 100 Back. Bradley Gillilan - 200 Free, 500 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast. Alek Nochowicz - 500 Free, 100 Back. In other news, Lucas Williams swam in his first meet for Excel Aquatics, in the 10&Under Boy's 100 Yard Freestyle. Grace McCullough, Lucy Cook, Samuel Blackwell, Madison Blackwell, Austin Barnes, and Andrew Barnes also participated. Notable times were posted by Austin Barnes - dropping 14.22 seconds in the 500 Free and 12.01 seconds in the 200 Free; and by Bradley Gillilan - dropping 3.47 seconds in the 500 Free and becoming the first Lebanon resident to break 4:50 in the 500 Free, turning a 4:49.84 - an average of 57.968 per 100 Yards.
September 19, 2008
Wilson County TN... The first night of the annual Excel Aquatics Fall Fest Meet is complete, and Wilson County swimmers make an impact!!! Finishing 1st and 2nd in the Senior Boy's 1,650 Yard Freestyle were Bradley Gillilan and Luke Blackwell. Gillilan dropped 38.36 seconds to finish in a time of 16:28.95, the first swimmer ever from Wilson County to average under a minute per 100 for the length of the swimming mile. Madison Blackwell swam in her first 1,650 Freestyle, in the 13&14 Year Old Girls category, and placed 8th, finishing in a time of 21:15.23. Alek Nochowicz competed in his first ever 400 Yard Individual Medley, finishing with a time of 4:55.21, good enough for 11th Place in the Senior Boy's category.
September
14, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Music City Triathlon was held today in the waters of and on the shore of Percy Priest Lake. Lebanon High School Junior Bradley Gillilan was on a relay named the 3 Amigos. Gillilan swam the 1.5k swim portion of his relay. Over 800 athletes competed in the event, with over 15 waves of swimmers scheduled to enter the water. Gillilan and his Open Water Coach, Ashley Whitney, were in the second wave to hit the water. Due to the storms going on, only 4 waves of swimmers got in the water before the swim was cancelled due to lost turn buoys and swimmers having to be rescued from the rough water. Both Gillilan and Whitney passed all swimmers in the first wave of swimmers, and were the first and second swimmers out of the water. Only a handful of swimmers finished the swim. If the times would have been official, Gillilan would have posted the fastest swim time of the day. The picture above shows Gillilan exiting from the water, with Coach Ashley close behind. Rumor has it that Ashley's stated race strategy was to draft off of Gillilan. Ashley Whitney is currently a coach with Excel Aquatics in Brentwood working with the Silver 2 Squads, as well as the Tri Squad. Ashley is a 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 4x200 Free Relay; and she recently finished 5th in the 10k Open Water Nationals.
September 14, 2008
Wilson County TN...Christy Blackwell has been named the Head Coach of the Friendship Christian School Swim Team by the Athletic Director at FCS. Information will be given to the students this week as to how they can participate in the High School and Middle School teams for FCS.
August 31, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Try-Outs and Placements Trials has concluded for Excel Aquatics. A record number of Wilson County residents have traveled to the Try-Outs in search of a place to train at a higher level. We wish to remind all families that a free trial of Excel is available year round. There are always alternatives.
August 25, 2008
Wilson County TN... The SES Hall of Fame Weekend is coming up October 4-5, 2008, in Orange Beach AL. Three swimmers from Wilson County qualified for the Class of 2008 Hall of Fame: Luke Blackwell and Madison Blackwell of Mount Juliet; and Bradley Gillilan of Lebanon. All three swim for Excel Aquatics in Gallatin, and they are the only Wilson County residents to qualify. They are 3 of the 8 Excel/Gallatin trained qualifiers for the award. Overall, Excel Aquatics had 66 swimmers qualify from 3 training locations for the Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. Excel Aquatics - Developing Champions.
August 23, 2008
Wilson County TN...The first week of Try-Outs and Placements Trials is in the bag for Excel Aquatics, with one more to go. A record number of Wilson County residents have traveled to the Try-Outs in search of a place to train at a higher level. While one week remains in this scheduled 2 weeks of try-outs, we wish to remind all families that a free trial of Excel is available year round. There are always alternatives.
August 5, 2008
Wilson County TN...Lebanon's John Barnes has successfully completed the requirements and has been certified as a full Level 3 Certification with the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA). The Certification is based on "Achievement, Education, and Experience". ASCA has 5 levels of certification, with Level 5 being the highest. Only 25% of professional ASCA members have been certified at Level 3 or higher.
August 4, 2008
Wilson County TN...MTHSSA has released the new Division alignments for the 2008-2009 High School swimming season. There are 6 Divisions within MTHSSA, with Division 6 being the highest and most competitive. Wilson Central HS has moved up to Division 2 based on their success last year in Division 1. Mt Juliet HS remains in Division 4 for the second year in a row. Lebanon HS has dropped from Division 4 down to Division 1. Friendship Christian is in Division 1 this year. Pope John Paul II HS, which has several Mount Juliet and Lebanon residents swimming for them, and coached by Lebanon's John Barnes, has remained in Division 5.
July 20, 2008
Wilson County TN...Luke Blackwell won the SES 13&14 Boy's Championship for the 1500 Meter Freestyle tonight at the Sportsplex in Nashville. His time of 17:09.24 was good enough for a Summer Senior Sectional qualifying time, his second Summer Sectional cut of the meet. Luke also placed 6th in the 200 Meter Backstroke, which means for the meet he placed in the Top Six in all 7 of his individual events. Madison Blackwell swam in the final tonight as well, placing 6th in the 11&12 Girl's 50 Meter Butterfly. Madison concludes her career as an Excel Silver 1 swimmer in great fashion, and will be moving up to Excel Gold on July 21st, just days before her 13th Birthday.
July 17, 2008
Wilson County TN...Luke Blackwell placed 2nd in tonight's 13&14 Year Old Boy's 800 Meter Freestyle at the Southeastern Swimming Long Course Championships in Nashville and Brentwood. Luke turned a 8:57.50 in the swim, and achieved a Summer Senior Sectional Meet qualifying cut, his first for Summer Sectionals. In the swim Luke turned legal best times in the 100 Free, 200 Free and 400 Free at those splits. Congrats to Luke. Bradley Gilliland and Madison Blackwell will be joining Luke at the meet this weekend, the only swimmers from Wilson County to be participating.
July 14, 2008
Wilson County TN...Bradley Gillilan placed 25th in the 1500 Meter Freestyle at the Summer Senior Sectional Championship Meet this past weekend. Bradley finished 38th in the 800 Meter Freestyle, and also Time-Trialed the 400 Meter Freestyle, turning a best time of 4:20.19. Congratulations to Bradley.
July 8, 2008
Wilson County TN...Lebanon High School and Excel Aquatics' swimmer Bradley Gillilan will be traveling to the Southern Zone Eastern Sectional Senior Long Course Championships this weekend in Atlanta. Commonly referred to as "Summer Senior Sectionals", Bradley is the first Lebanon High School swimmer to participate in a meet at this level of swimming. Click here to see meet progression levels. Bradley will be swimming in the 800 Meter Freestyle and the 1500 Meter Freestyle. Gillilan holds the County Records in both events. Excel Aquatics = Results
June 29, 2008
Wilson County TN...WOW!!! What a weekend for the Blackwell family at the Baylor Bullfrog Long Course Invitational in Chattanooga this past weekend. Madison Blackwell, swimming in the Senior Girls category as a 12 year old, had best times in all 10 of her events. Madison posted SES LC Championship Meet Qualifying 11&12 Year Old Girls Time Standards in the 50 Meter Free, 100 Meter Free, 200 Meter Free, 100 Meter Breast and 200 Meter Individual Medley (IM). Of 12 possible events for SES LC, Madison has 11 of them. Luke Blackwell, swimming in the 13&14 Boys category won 6 of his 12 events, and had Top 8 finishes in the other 6. Luke won the 200 Meter Free, 400 Meter Free, 1500 Meter Free (beat all Senior boys too in the 1500), 200 Back, 200 IM, and 400 IM. Luke qualified for the SES LC Championship Meet in the 200 Fly, which means that he now has qualifying times in all 14 events. The 200 Meter Fly time was also a 15&16 Year Old Boy's cut. In the 1500 Meter Free, Luke dropped 12.43 seconds, to turn a 17:22.34, good enough for a Spring Senior Sectional Qualifying Time in the Event. Excel Aquatics - there is a qualitative and competitive difference in training Wilson County swimmers.
June 28, 2008
Wilson County TN...Excel Aquatics achieves Level Four status in USA Swimming’s “Club Recognition Program!” Description from USA Swimming: "Designed over a two year period by USA Swimming’s Development Committee, this voluntary program presents four levels of achievement across four component areas deemed critical to long-term success. The program 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." Clubs must meet a certain number of required benchmarks within each of four component areas. There are also some additional items that clubs need to complete to meet a minimum number of points required to move to the next recognition level. Excel is now one of only 13 clubs in the USA to achieve Level Four!
June 24, 2008
Wilson County TN...Swimmers from Excel Aquatics will be traveling to Chattanooga this coming weekend for a swim meet. Excel Aquatics' Luke and Madison Blackwell will participate in the meet. Madison will be participating in her first 200 Meter Butterfly at the meet.
June 23, 2008
Wilson County TN...Bradley Gillilan, of Lebanon High School, competed this past weekend for Excel Aquatics in the Ft Lauderdale Aquatics International Age Group Invitational. Gillilan placed 2nd in the 1500 Meter Freestyle and 6th in the 400 Meter Freestyle. Taylor Wallace, also of Excel Aquatics and Mt Juliet High School, joined Gillilan and Alek Nochowicz (Mt Juliet/Pope JP2 HS) at the meet.
May 25, 2008
Wilson County TN...The Stars and Stripes meet ended today, another successful meet by Excel Aquatics. Highlights from today's meet was the 1500 Meter Freestyle. Three Wilson County residents took to the water in the event. Alek Nochowicz of Mt Juliet swam it for the first time in a Long Course pool and turned in a 19:12.62 (6th in the Senior Boy's Category). Luke Blackwell turned a 17:34.77, a 12 second drop and good enough for 2nd in the 13&14 Year Old Boy's category. Luke even split the race, going 8:47.14 in the first half, and 8:47.63 in the second half. Bradley Gillilan swam in the Senior Boy's Category, and took 2nd Place with a time of 17:06.99, a 10 second drop. Gillilan's time was a qualifying time for Summer Senior Sectionals in Atlanta this coming July.
May 24, 2008
Wilson County TN...The second day of the Excel Aquatics Stars and Stripes Meet has finished, and several Wilson County residents had notable swims, both today and yesterday. New SES Cuts - Bradley Gillilan, Boy's Senior 200 Meter Fly; and Luke Blackwell, Boy's Senior 200 Meter Breaststroke, and 200 Meter Individual Medley. 1st Place Finishes - Bradley Gillilan, Boy's Senior 800 Meter Freestyle; Luke Blackwell, Boy's 13&14 Year Old 200 Meter Breaststroke. Stay tuned for more. Excel Aquatics - Why Go Anywhere Else?
May 15, 2008
Wilson County TN...Lebanon's John Barnes has been named Head Swim Coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville. Since JP2 started their program in 2002 as a Division I team in MTHSSA, they have shown steady success and have risen to now competing in Division V. Barnes is currently an Assistant Coach with Excel Aquatics and is the Site Coordinator for their training location in Gallatin, where he has coached multiple Senior Sectional and Junior National qualifiers.
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 Ian Crocker 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.