Pilot Bulletin Board

web updated 05/08/2008

20th Annual Longcourse Invitational
May 15-18, 2008

Meet Info Page
includes meet invitation, event order, tm event file, etc.

Come to the first meet in the "NEW" Alan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center
Pool is Open!

• Escrow Account Summary (as of 05-08-08) is posted.
   
• New officials sign up form for Pilot May Meet
  OFFICIAL FORM forms will go to our head deck referee, Mary Franklin at tnbluebonnet@aol.com
   
• Pilot Team Entries for May Pilot Meet (updated) as of 05/05/08
   
• NEW ENTRY FORM!!!!! ENTRY DEADLINE, SATURDAY, MAY 3RD for our Pilot May Meet.
  We are moving fast and finally ready to take team entries.  Swim ant Tri our team supplier has worked with the coaching staff to make our new entry form.  The form is very similar to our old entry form.  There will be changes made as our process is new and still being worked on.  Our home meet is filling quickly so please get your entries in by the deadline.
  
  Directions for the form:
  Fill out the meet entry form below and submit by the meet entry deadline. (May 3rd)
  To keep a record and submit your entries, press the SAVE button. You will receive an email confirmation.
  Entry fees for this meet will be reflected on your escrow account.
  
  Swimmers may pick their preference up to
  A swimmer may enter and swim no more than three individual events per day and no more than seven individual events in the entire meet.
  *****Coaches will check events and make changes if needed.  Entries will be posted here on our web on May 3rd, late evening.  You have until May 5th to make any changes or adjustments.  Please try to swim all days you have available events.
  
  NEW ENTRY FORM FOR MAY HOME MEET
  
  MEET INFO PAGE-meet invitation, event order, parent volunteer forms and printouts, etc.
   

• PARENT VOLUNTEERS:   Volunteer Assignments are posted.  Remember all volunteer assignments are first come first serve. Any questions about volunteering contact Shirley Vaughan shirley_vaughan@charter.net or Cindy Rasnick rasnick18433@bellsouth.net

  Pilot Volunteer Sign Up Form http://www.volmanager2.com/Pack/VolMan(1).php
  
  FYI:  If anyone is interested in learning how to operate the Clock or the Computer Scoring equipment.  We will be able to train this session.  Please contact Shirley Vaughan at 675-3150 for more information.  We especially need clock and computer programmers in the twelve and under age group. You would be working in the air conditioned press box at the new pool during your sessions.
   

• Dear Pilot Families,
  We would like to thank you all for your patience as we get through this time of transition and appreciate your support as we as coaches adjust and move forward.  Along those lines, we have spent the past two weeks securing the coaching staff that will be the best for success this season and beyond.  First off, we would like to wish a sad farewell to Courtney Hill.  Courtney is graduating with her Doctorate in Audiology from the University of Tennessee.  She will be moving down to Orlando on Thursday to begin her new career.  Courtney brought three years of stability, control and success to the red group, which saw the group nearly triple in size.  In addition, she was a great help as an assistant to both the black and pre-senior group.  We wish her luck and thank her for all her help.
  
  Over the course of the last three weeks, we have entertained many options for coaches and coaching and have hired on two great coaches(full bios down below).  Cheryl Schoenberger was hired on to help in coaching the red group as well as assist with the other age groups.  She brings a multitude of experience to our groups and great energy.
  She began working two weeks ago and has already become a great asset to the team.  In addition, we would like to welcome back Pilot Alum Reid Owen.  Reid has great experience in swimming and coaching at the highest levels.  He will begin Monday May 5th with the Pre-senior group and will be stepping into the role as Senior Assistant, for the summer.  We look forward to welcoming him back to the Pilot family.
  
  Again, we would like to thank you for your support and patience in this time.  The summer practice schedule will be coming out shortly.
  
  Have a great day,
  
  Jackie Bertucci and Marshall Goldman
  
  Bios:
  Reid Owen
  Reid is a Knoxville native who swam for Pilot from 1994 through 2001.  While swimming for Pilot, he qualified for Junior Nationals, was a high school All-American, and won the Pilot Award.  He then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he swam and graduated with a double major in business and communications.
  As a member of the swim team, he was named team captain, earned All-American honors in the mile freestyle, and finished ranked in the top ten in school history in four events.  He finished as high as 5th at USS nationals in the mile and was 13th at the 2004 Olympic Trials in the same event.
  
  Reid has been teaching swim lessons and coaching since he was a sophomore in high school.  While at North Carolina he was an assistant coach for North Carolina Aquatic Club during the school year and was the head swim instructor at a local pool in the summers.  After graduation, Reid has continuously worked with USS and summer league teams in northern Virginia.  During the school year, he has been an age group coach for the Potomac Marlins and a senior group assistant for Arlington Aquatic Club.  For the past two summers, he has been the head coach of a 250 athlete summer league team, the Waynewood Dolphins.      
  
  Reid recently completed his first year of law school at the George Washington University Law School, and is currently a summer associate at the Knoxville firm of Woolf, McClane, Bright, Allen & Carpenter PLLC.  Later this summer, he and his brother are attempting to become the first brother tandem to swim a relay across the English Channel.
  
  Cheryl Schoenberger  
  Cheryl Schoenberger comes to us with a myriad of coaching experience throughout Knoxville.  She got her start as an assistant at the Holston Hills country club before moving on to the University Club.  She served as the head coach for the Kingston swim team which resulted in a league championship.  Her performance with the Kingston clippers caught the eye of the league five Village Green gators.  The gators moved quick and snatched Cheryl up, where she has had the great privilege of working for renowned summer league veterans Robin Wells and Anita Dinwiddie for the past three summers.  On the high school level, Cheryl has served as assistant coach for the Farragut Admirals for the past two seasons.  In those two seasons, Cheryl has helped in the development of many swimmers into city and state finalists.  Her leadership helped lead the Admirals to the 2008 City Championship.  Cheryl has honed her teaching style and skills over the past two years as she has led competitive swim clinics at both the Y and Fort Sanders(nearly tripling the amount of participants).  As a coach Cheryl has become famous for her energy, dry land knowledge, eagerness to learn, and most importantly her use of flair.
  
  As a swimmer, Cheryl was a four year letter winner and state qualifier for Coach John Woods at the Girls Preparatory School.  Cheryl is certified as an Instructor in spinning, Water Safety and Lifeguarding.  She spends her weekday morning as one of the lead instructors at the Knoxville Operation Bootcamp. Cheryl has a beautiful one year old boy Simon with her husband of four years, Mike Schoenberger.
   

• Exciting news! We are in the new facility.
  We will be changing our practice times to the regular schedule except for Saturday practice which will be one hour later.  We will also be swimming in the Student Aquatic Center and the NEW Alan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
  
  We have limited space in both facilities and have placed groups according to availability, size of groups, and staff.  This schedule below will be until school is out for the summer.  The summer schedule will be posted next week.  Here is our schedule that will start today Tuesday, April 22  (There will be a meeting with swimmers to discuss rules of the new facility)Please enter through the front door near Andy Holt Drive and not the bottom doors.
  Red Group-Student Aquatic Center
  5:00pm-6:15pm (M-F)
  
  Gold Group-Alan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center-5:45pm-7:30pm (M-F)
  Student Aquatic Center-8:00am-10am (Saturday)
  
  Black Group-Alan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center 5:15pm-7:30pm (M-F)
  Student Aquatic Center-7:30am-10am (Saturday)
  
  Pre-Senior Group-Alan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center-5:00pm-7:30pm (M-F)
  Student Aquatic Center-7:30am-10am (Saturday)

  Senior Group-Student Aquatic Center
  5:30am-7:00am Mornings
  4:30pm-7:00pm M-W-F
  5:00pm-7:00pm T-R
  7:30am-10am (Saturday)
   

• Pilot Aquatic Club 2008 Summer Schedule
  May 15-18 Pilot Meet Knoxville, TN
  June 5-8 Ultra Swim Charlotte, NC (seniors with time standards-team traveling in vans)
  June 6th-8 Meet Chattanooga, TN
  June 20-22 Summer Sizzler Meet Nashville, TN (two pools)
  June 27-29 Bullfrog Classic-Baylor Chattanooga, TN
  June 29-July 6 Olympic Trials Omaha, NE
  July 10-13 Sectionals Georgia Tech (seniors with time standards-team traveling in vans)
  July 10-13 BSL/CTA Tuscaloosa, AL
  July 17th-20th Southeasterns Nashville/Brentwood (two pools)
  July 29th-Aug 2nd U.S OPEN Minneapolis, MN
  July 29th-Aug 2nd Zones Georgia Tech
  
  Practice Times:
  We are still negotiating with the University on practice times. We hope that the practice times should be very similar to last summer. We will let everyone know the schedule as soon as the University lets us know.

Pilot Aquatic Club Named Gold Medal Club
US swimming announced the recipients of its Club Excellence Program on March 11th and Pilot Aquatic Club was named a Gold Medal Club.  Gold Medal is the highest award a club team can be awarded in all of swimming.  Only sixteen teams in the entire country were awarded with a gold medal out of over 2500 clubs. It recognizes the accomplishments of the swimmers and coach's for the past calendar year.  We are the smallest team to make the list and from the smallest metropolitan area.  PACK scored 17,000 points, making the team the 13th highest for all the teams in the US. These points also represent only athletes of a non collegiate level and we are the only team to do so in the Gold Medal award. The only other team in our LSC to receive a Gold Medal was Nashville Aquatic Club.  It is a great award and serves as a great honor for all coaches and swimmers involved and tops off what has been a great year for Pilot Aquatic Club.

Previously Pilot had been named to the gold medal list for the quadrennial but this is the first time in three years that Pilot has been named to this prestigious list for one year's worth of accomplishments.

Way to go Pilot Swimmers, Gardner Howland and staff for such a great year!

http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=571&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en
 

Hancock Picks up Second Olympic Trials Cut
On the final swim of the weekend for Pilot Aquatic Club 25 year old Lauren Hancock swam the 100 yard butterfly in 102.2, qualifying her for Olympic Trials in the event.  Her swim topped off the sectional meet for the group of eleven swimmers that made the trip to Nashville.  Hancock's swim gives her a second event to swim in Omaha this summer in addition to the 200 IM.  Teammate Jace Howanitz came with-in two tenths of a second of joining Lauren on the trip to Omaha.  Howanitz finished second in the 200 IM(to Olympian Margeret Hoelzer) in a 2:20.75, moving her up to second all time for Pilot behind Hancock.  Howanitz's swim marked her fourth swim in finals of the four day meet, which saw teams from eight different states competing and a pair of Olympians.  In addition to Jace, PIlot had  32 finals swims this past weekend.  PACK also saw 16 year old Kennedy Higdon finish first in the 400 IM .  On the boys side, AJ Tipton led the way with a second place in the 200 Meter butterfly.  Joining him in the top five were 15 year old John Paul Gaylor in the 800 free and Alex Ward in the 100 Butterfly.  With just eleven swimmers and no relays at the meet Pilot(the meet was optional for senior swimmers), Pilot was able to finish sixth overall with the men's team(consisting of Alex Ward, Adam Parker, Eric Craig, John Paul Gaylor and AJ Titpon) finishing fifth and the women(Hancock, Higdon, Howanitz, Laurel Chaney and Audrey Brown) finishing 7th out of over fifty teams. 

Pilot has one more championship meet, with Age Group Sectionals this weekend in Charlotte, NC. 

Pilot finals swims:
Audrey Brown- 800 free, 400 free, 200 freestyle, 1500 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
Laurel Chaney-200 freestyle, 100 backstroke
Eric Craig- 200 Free, 100 butterfly
John Paul Gaylor- 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free
Lauren Hancock- 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 400 IM
Kennedy HIgdon- 200 free, 200 butterfly, 400 IM
Jace Howanitz- 50 free, 200 free, 100 butterfly, 200 IM
Adam Parker-200 free, 50 free, 100 backstroke
AJ Tipton- 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 free, 400 free
Alex Ward- 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly

Pilot Aquatic Club Top Five:
Kennedy Higdon- 400 IM(3rd)
Jace Howanitz- 200 IM(2nd)

 Real Time Results
 

Following Successful Championship Meets Pilot jumps up in Rankings
After a solid month of Championship meets this past February Pilot Aquatic Club jumped from 25th to 18th in the country according to USA swimming virtual club championship rankings.  Going into Southeasterns, PACK was ranked 25th in the country.  After the successful weekend, the team jumped up 7 spots in the rankings.  The team is the second ranked team in the LSC behind Nashville Aquatic Club(ranked 14th).  The scores for each teams are generated be each age and given power points per swim.  Each individual swimmer only has 4 total swims counted, so such a ranking speaks to great depth amongst our age groups.  It is not scored according to the standard age groups but is scored as each individual age 11,12,13,14,15,16 and so on.  Nobody over the age of 18 counts toward the final score of the team.  Eighteenth place is the highest Pilot has been ranked since the inception of the virtual club championship rankings.

For more information on the Virtual Club Championship Rankings:
http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=898&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en
 

Pilot Finishes Second at Southeasterns
In a hard fought weekend, the Pilot Aquatic Club of Knoxville finished second out of 52 teams at the Southeastern championships.  The meet proved to be a battle from event one all the way to the last race of the weekend, with PACK and Nashville Aquatic Club went back and forth with the lead.  Leading by two points going into the last day, Pilot did a good job getting people back but ultimately Nashville’s depth( twice as many swimmers) proved to much overcome.  Three days of the meet came down to the last event and Nashville just had too many people.  Pilot ended the meet second by a mere thirty eight points.  With 79 swimmers at the meet, the Pilot team swam to 262 best times over the course of the three and a half day meet.  The swimmers accounted for 195 swims in finals and we finished with 26 individual champions and 2 relay champions.  Getting the team off to such a great start was John Paul Gaylor, who was victorious in the thousand yard freestyle on the first night of competition.  His swim was the first of many championship swims and places him third all time behind AJ Tipton & Davis Tarwater.  The team was led by 14 year-old Dylan Rasnick and 11 year-old Meghan Raab each winning six events a piece.  Three of Raab's swims led to three team records in the 100 and 200 freestyle as well as the 50 fly.  The 100 freestyle record was set in 1994 by Bethany Hall.  Rasnick placed five swims in the top five all time for Pilot Aquatic Club, leading the team to 20 top five times of all time.  Joining Raab in setting new team standards were 8 year old Alex Hines who broke two eight and under records in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly that belonged to Hunter Banister and Evan Pinion respectively.  Breaking the last records of the weekend, was ten year-old Bryar Long who broke the 10 and under 100 breastroke record by over two seconds his time of 1:16 broke a nineteen year old record set by Ned Vickers in 1989.  As a whole, Pilot Aquatic Club proved to be strong across the board.  The team walked away from the meet winning three different age groups.  PACK outscored every team in the 11-12 girls, 13-14 boys and the Senior Girls.  By winning three age groups, PACK tied NAC with the most age group wins.  Raab and Rasnick joined 14 year-old Jenny Darby, 18 year old Chris Kelly and 18 year old Jace Howanitz as High Point Award winners in their respective age groups.

Southeasterns was the closest that Pilot Aquatic Club has come to winning the Short Course Championships in quite awhile and was a wild success.  The meet could have ended any way and Pilot carried the lead going into the very last race of the weekend.  We would like to congratulate all the swimmers on a fine weekend.

Southeastern Champions
Laurel Chaney- 200 back,100 back
Jenny Darby- 100 free, 50 free, 200 back, 100 back
John Paul Gaylor- 1000 Free
Lauren Hancock- 100 Fly
Kennedy Higdon- 500 Free, 400 IM
Jace Howanitz- 200 IM
Bryar Long- 100 breast
Meghan Raab- 100 free,200 free, 200 IM, 100 Fly, 100 IM, 50 breast
Dylan Rasnick- 200 Free, 400 IM, 200 IM, 500 Free, 100 Free, 200 Breast
AJ Tipton- 100 Fly, 200 Fly
13-14 girls 400 free relay(J.Darby, W.Owen,M. Thomas, A. Hardesty)
Senior Girls 400 Free Relay- (J.Voelkert, J. Howanitz, L.Chaney, S.Ward)
Senior Girls 400 Medley Relay- (L.Chaney, K.Keel, L.Hancock, J.Voelkert)

Southeastern Finalists
Ben Absher- 1000 Free(15th), 1650 Free(9th)
Matty Absher- 1000 Free(6th), 1650 Free(8th)
Caleb Allen- 100 Fly(7th), 100 Free(6th)
Paige Ayres- 100 Breast(4th),200 Back(4th), 200 IM(2nd), 100 Fly(13th), 200 Breast(2nd), 100 Back(4th
Christian Baker- 100 Fly(5th)
Hayden Baker- 100 Fly(13th), 200 Fly(11th)
Bryce Bertoli- 100 Breast(2nd), 200 Breast(4th)
Audrey Brown- 1650 Free(2nd), 400 IM(16th), 1000 Free(2nd), 200 Breast(13th), 500 free(14th)
Louis Bunch- 200 free(7th), 400 IM(4th),200 IM(8th),200 Breast(8th), 200 Fly(13th)
Laurel Chaney- 200 Free(5th), 200 Back(1^st), 50 free(6th),100 fly(2nd), 100 Back(1^st)
Ashley Darby- 500 free(8th), 1000 Free(6th)
Jenny Darby- 200 free(2nd), 200 Back(1^st), 500 Fre(1^st), 500 Free(3rd), 100 Free(1^st), 100 Back(1^st)
Caity Ferguson- 100 breast(9th), 400 IM(7th), 200 IM(13th), 200 Breast(6th)
Bo Fethe- 100 Breast(5th),400 IM(10th),200 IM(14th), 200 Breast(2nd)
Lucy Fortune- 1000 Free(8th)
Emily Galdun- 1650 Free(5th), 1000 Free(3rd), 200 Fly(5th), 500 free(6th)
John Paul Gaylor- 400 IM(13th), 500 Free(5th)
Haley Gaylor-50 Breast(7^th), 100 Breast(6^th)
Lauren Hancock- 200 Free(10th), 400 IM(3rd), 200 IM(3rd), 100 Fly (1^st), 200 fly(3rd), 100 back(8th)
Ally Hardesty- 200 Free (4^th), 100 Free (5^th), 100 Back (6^th)
Kennedy Higdon- 200 Free(9th),400 IM(1^st), 200 IM(11th), 500 Free(1^st), 200 fly(2nd)
Alex Hines- 100 Fly(6th)
Jace Howanitz- 200 Free(4th),200 back(8th), 400 IM(2nd), 200 IM (1^st), 100 fly(4th),100 free(4th),100 back(9th)
Katie Keel- 200 free(11th), 100 breast(3rd),200 IM(5th), 50 free(16th), 100 fly(14th), 100 free(8th), 200 breast(3rd)
Chris Kelly-  200 back(4th), 400 IM(3rd),200 IM(4th), 50 free(13th),100 fly(12^th), 200 fly(4th), 100 back(5th)
Bryar Long-200 IM(4th), 100 IM(7th), 200 Free(5th). 100 Breast(1^st)
Jen Muhlheim- 200 Back(10th), 50 free(11th),100 back(6th)
John Myhre- 500 free(4th), 1000 Free(3rd), 200 Free( 6th)
Adam Parker- 200 free(5th), 200 Back(5th),500 free(9th), 100 Free(4th),100 back(13th)
Evan Pinion- 200 Back(4th), 400 IM(3rd) 100 Fly(6th), 500 Free(6th), 1650 Free(4th), 200 Fly(5th), 100 Back(8th)
Hannah Pinion- 200 Free(15th), 400 IM(4th), 200 IM( 12th), 500 free(10th), 1000 Free(5th)
Meghan Raab- 100 Free(1^st), 50 Breast(1^st), 200 IM(1^st), 100 IM(1^st), 100 Fly(1^st) 200 Free (1^st) 50 fly(3rd)
Timmy Raab- 100 Free(8th), 50 breast(3rd),100 IM(8th),50 free(6th),50 fly(3rd), 100 Breast(8th)
Dylan Rasnick- 200 Free(1^st), 400 IM(1^st), 200 IM(1^st), 500 Free(1^st), 100 Free(1^st), 200 Breast(1^st)
Cliff Robbins- 200 back(15th), 500 Free(15th)
Kelsie Saxe- 100 breast(8th),400 IM(15th),200 IM(6th),100 fly(7th),200 breast(5th)
Andrew Spencer- 100 Breast(3rd), 400 IM(7th), 200 IM(3rd), 200 Fly(2nd), 200 Breast(5th)
Jacob Taylor- 200 fly(14th)
Adam Thomas- 500 free(8th)
AJ Tipton- 200 Free(9th),100 Fly (1^st), 500 free(2nd), 200 Fly(1^st) 100 back(3rd)
Lexi Tutor- 1650(13th), 200 Breast(15th), 1000 Free(13th)
Derek Vaughan- 1000 free(7th)
Jenna Voelkert- 200 Free(3rd),50 free(4th),500 free(4th),100 free(5th)
Peyton Walker- 50 breast(6th),200 IM(6th), 100 IM(4th),100 fly(7th), 50 fly(8th), 100 breast(6th)
Stephanie Ward- 200 free(6th), 400 IM(3rd), 200 IM(9th),100 Fly(11th), 500 Free(16th),200 fly(4th)
Alex Wessel- 200 free(8th),200 back(15th),500 free(11th),100 free(11th)
Cecillia Wille- 50 free(13th)
Mike Zacyk- 500 free(11th)

Pilot Records
Alex Hines- 200 IM, 100 Fly
Bryar Long- 100 Breast
Meghan Raab- 100 free, 200 Free, 50 fly

Pilot Top Five
Bryce Bertoli- 200 Breast(4th), 100 Breast(2nd)
Laurel Chaney- 100 back(2nd), 200 back(3rd),100 fly(4th)
Jenny Darby- 50 Free(3rd), 100 Free(2nd),100 back(3rd), 200 Back(3rd)
Bo Fethe- 200 Breast(2nd)
John Paul Gaylor- 1000 Free (2^nd),1650 free(4th)
Alex Hines- 50 free(4th), 50 back(2nd),50 breast(4th), 100 Fly(1^st),100 IM(2nd), 200 IM(1^st)
Katie Keel- 200 Breast (5^th)
Chris Kelly- 200 Back(4th), 200 fly(4th), 200 IM(2nd)
Bryar Long- 100 Breast (1^st)
John Myhre- 500 Free(5th),1000 free(3rd)
Adam Parker- 200 Free(5th),
Meghan Raab- 100 Free (1^st) 200 Free (1^st), 50 Fly(1^st), 50 breast(4th), 100 IM(2nd), 200 IM(3rd), 100 fly(2nd)
Timmy Raab- 50 fly(2nd),
Dylan Rasnick- 200 Free(2nd), 200 Breast(3rd), 200 IM(2nd), 400 IM(2nd)
Andrew Spencer- 100 breast(5th)
AJ Tipton- 100 back(2nd), 200 Fly(1^st)

Full Meet Results, Pilot Team Results
 

Eight and Unders lead successful Districts Weekend

Led by a small group of eight unders, Pilot Aquatic Club traveled to Baylor school this weekend to compete in  Districts.  The meet serves two purposes.  The first is to give a championship meet for people who have not made Southeastern cuts and to give them that shot.  The second purpose is to be the eight and under championship meet.  Pilot Aquatic Club was successful on both fronts.

In the eight and under championships, PACK placed second in both the girls and boys.  The boys were led by eight year old Alex Hines, who won six out of his 8 individual events swam on his way to being named the High Point winner for the boys.  The girls were led by seven year old Allie Raab, who placed in the top eight in numerous events swam this weekend and highlighted the weekend, by out touching a team in a very tight 100 Medley relay for First place.  What made the runner-up position even more impressive is that, Pilot had only seven 8 and unders swim in the meet out of 95 entered.

Fifty Four Pilot swimmers compiled an impressive 235 best times over the two day meet.  In addition, the swimmers picked up thirteen additional Southeastern cuts, led by 12 year olds Derek Vaughan and James Bretscher ,as well as, 15 year old Ross Holston and eight year old Alex Hines, picking up two cuts a piece.  The meet was a very exciting meet, as the swimmers blew away best times and the competition.  With two championship meets down and three to go, Pilot has performed very impressively.  We look forward to continuing a great streak going into Southeastern Championships this weekend.

New Southeastern Cuts Made at the Meet:
James Bretscher- 50 Back, 100 Butterfly, Ben Chesney- 50 backstroke, Hannah Craig-50 butterfly, Annie Freeland- 1650 Freestyle, Drew Freeman- 100 Backstroke, Alex Hines- 100 IM, 50 Backstroke, Ross Holston- 500 Free, 400 IM, Jade Morton- 50 Freestyle, Derek Vaughan- 100 Butterfly, 200 IM

Full Meet Results, Pilot Team Results

District Championship Team:
Every swimmer had best times of the season! Way to go Pilot!
Anna Banick(3 best times), Kate Banick (3), Mary Margaret (6), Elisabeth Belter(5), James Bretscher(5), Laura Bretscher(5), Chase Brown(5), Nancy Brown(7), Ben Chance(3), Ben Chesney(6) Rosa Cineros(6), Hannah Craig(1), Rosemary Dabbs (4), Todor Dimitrov(7), Jake Dovgan(8), Annie Freeland(7), Chrissy Freeland(4), Drew Freeman(3), Sam Freeman(6), Evelyn Gaddis(4), Jacqueline Gaddis(3), Mallory Gardner(6), Chris Goodman(3), Emma Harris(4), Eric Higdon(6), Alex Hines(3), Alex Holston(5), Ross Holston(5), Andrew Littleton(5), Mary Mansfield(6), Amanda May(8), Charlie Morton(4), Jade Morton(8), Alex Patterson(5), Kelli Pemberton(1), Matt Peterson(3), Allie Raab(5), Annie Rochelle(5), Trecy Rochelle(8), Isabel Schaad(3), Addison Smith(5), Quinn Smith(6), Morgan Suffridge(3), Derek Vaughan(2), Jonathan Walker(3), Tyler Walker(7), Camilla Wang(4), Jon Woo(6), Nick Woo(6)

Eight and Under Championship Team
Listed in order of picture above
Mary-Margeret Banick, Laura Bretscher, Allie Raab, Emma Harris, Addison Smith, Charlie Morton, Alex Hines, Jessica Dutkosky(not shown)
 

Records Fall during Lois Weir Invitational
During the first weekend of February 50 swimmers made the trip out to Oak Ridge for the Lois Weir Invitational.  As a team, Pilot finished on the top of the total scores.  11 year-old Megan Raab rewrote the Invitational meet records, recording 5 new meet records and 10 year-old Ashley Darby followed suit, destroying the 500 free record by over 20 seconds and recording a time that is good enough to rank her second in the country for 10 and unders in the event, she followed with another record breaking performance in the 200 free. On the men's side 10 year old Bryar Long broke both breastroke records for the 10 and unders.  Not to be outdone, 8 year old Alex Hines broke seven meet records.  In addition, Hines' swims put him in the top five all time for Pilot Aquatic Club.  He re-broke his 25 yard butterfly time, in a time that came within two tenths of the Southeastern Record.  Hines also set a new team record in the 25 yard breastroke, breaking a 16 year-old record held by former Pilot swimmer Dan Rule. 

As a team, Pilot walked away with 219 best times and nine new southeastern cuts.  13 year old Whitney Owen led the way with three new southeastern cuts.  The meet served as the last meet before "Championship" season started with the State High school meet this past weekend and continues with Districts this upcoming weekend.

New Southeastern Cuts:
Hannah Craig- 500 Free
Caroline Gettlefinger- 50 Fly
Alex Hines- 50 free, 200 IM
Alex Patterson- 50 breast
Whitney Owen- 200 Fly,200 Breast, 400 IM
Timmy Raab- 100 back

Full Meet Results, Pilot Team Results

Group makes Presence Felt at Cincinnati
A small group of 18 swimmers made the trip up to Cincinnati on the first weekend of February and came away making a huge impact.  In the prelim-final meet, Pilot had 60 swims make finals during the three day event with 52 of the swims scoring in the top 16.  Leading the way was 14 year- old Dylan Rasnick.  Rasnick notched top three finishes in the 500 free and 400 IM and qualified in the top of the 13 and over age group in every event he swam.  Also competing with kids as old as 18, Evan Pinion finished in the top five in the mile, 200 butterfly and 100 butterfly.  The group walked away with 63 best times led by Brenna Walters finishing every swim with a best time.  The 18 athletes finished the meet with 14 new southeastern cuts.  With such a small group of swimmers, Pilot made a huge impact.

New Southeastern Cuts:
Kate Caldwell- 50 free, 200 IM
Mallory Gardner- 200 free, 100 free
Chris Goodman- 100 Fly
Ally Hardesty- 100 Fly
Allie Jones- 200 Back
Ben Myhre- 100 Breast
Kaylie Rasnick- 500 free
Madison Thomas- 500 free
Samantha Walker- 100 fly
Derek Vaughan- 50 backstroke

Full Meet Results, Pilot Team Results
 

City Champions

Eric Craig- 200 Free
Jenna Voelkert-200 Free
Alex Ward-100 Fly, 100 Back
Bo Fethe-100 Back, 200 Breast
Jace Howanitz-100 Fly, 200 IM
Rachel Cruze- 50 Free
Stephanie Ward- 100 Free
Mike Zacyk- 100 Free
Kennedy Higdon- 500 free
John Paul Gaylor- 500 Free
Laurel Chaney- 100 back
Katie Keel-100 Breast

Finals-Full Results; Prelims Girls; Prelims Boys
 

Biggest Meet in Pilot History is a Great Success
Thanks in part to the many hours put in by all the parents, the annual Pilot January Classic was a huge success.  Hosting over 1150 swimmers over the past weekend, the meet went off with very little problems.  During the three day meet, Pilot was also very successful in the pool.  The Pilot Aquatic Club finished with 478 new best times over the weekend.  In addition, Pilot swimmers qualified with 50 new southeastern cuts.  Leading the way was Kaylie Rasnick and Kate Caldwell with four new southeastern cuts a piece.  Qualifying for Southeasterns for the first time this year were Clarence Wong, Caroline Gettlefinger, Eric Higdon and Garret Headden.  Over the course of the weekend, Pilot swimmers moved up the top five of all time.  12 year old Peyton Walker finished the 400 IM in 5:02 to record the second fastest 400 IM for an 11-12 year old.  Second only to Julia Stowers.  Eight year old Alex Hines continued his assault on the 8 and under top five list by recording the second fastest 50 back.  Hines swam the event in 37.81 to finish right behind former Pilot swimmer Dan Rule.  In addition, he finished the 50 breast in 44 seconds which was good enough to place him 4th on the all time list.  Ten year old Bryar Long finished the 100 breastroke just half a second off the team record.  He dropped more then two seconds to move from fourth to second on the all time list.  Long sits behind only former Pilot swimmer Nick Brannon for one of the oldest team records.

Pilot would like to thank all of the parents for making the weekend a successful and exciting meet.
Full Meet Results and Pilot Team Results
 

Pilot Swimmers Establish New Southeastern Record
Leading off the final session of the three day Pilot January Classic, four senior girls combined to establish a new Southeastern Relay Record.  The "B" Pilot senior girls 200 Medley Relay consisting of Jen Muhlheim, Caity Ferguson, Paige Ayres and Jace Howanitz lowered the 17-18 year old 200 Medley Relay Record.  The finished the Relay in 1:55 to lower the record by more then three seconds.  In order to qualify all members of the relay must be either 17 or 18 years old, and all members of the Pilot Relays were 17 years old. We are very proud of the four girls.  Southeastern Records
 

Baker Chosen for Zone Select Camp
Pilot swimmer Hayden Baker (a freshman at Farragut), was chosen to be a participant in the southern zone camp this past week.  The camp chooses the athletes in each zone who are under 14 years of age (at the time of swim) and are the fastest in their event.  Baker qualified for the camp by posting the fastest 100 Meter butterfly in the zone this past summer.  Hayden swam the two lap event in a time of 59.45.  The place of the camp has been yet to be named but will most likely occur during memorial day weekend.  Hayden would be participate in 5 long course practices as well as 4 educational sessions.  Pilot Aquatic Club has a strong history of sending swimmers to the camp, most recently being Jenny Darby and Alex Ward (who later went on to the national select camp).
2008 Zone Select Camp swimmers announced  1/11/2008

Pilot Rewrites Top Performance list in Final Meet of Semester
At the final meet of the semester, Pilot went out with a bang.  With a team of 85 swimmers, Pilot traveled to Nashville and finished the last of the December "championship" as the Music City runner-ups.  Highlighting the meet was a number of new records.  Leading the charge was 14 year old John Paul Gaylor, who set two meet records in the 1650 free and 500 free.  Joining Gaylor in establishing Music City Invite records, was 10 year old Ashley Darby.  Darby swam the 200 free in a 2:09, lowering the record by over one second.  The final of the invite records, was a group effort by the 13-14 boys.  The 400 free relay of Alex Thomas, Hayden Baker, Dylan Rasnick and John Paul Gaylor established a new mark by over one a second.  The time of 3: 23.28 was not just a meet record but was the fastest 13-14 boy relay ever recorded.  The foursome broke the Pilot team record held by Davis Tarwater, Matt Jacobssen, Chris Franklin and Dan Rule.  8 year old Alex Hines joined in the record breaking fun, by lowering two of Pilot's 8 and under records.  He broke again his own 50 butterfly record, and lowered the 100 butterfly standard.  Aside from the records, Pilot had 31 performances that registered in the top 5 of all time.  Chris Kelly put himself on four of the lists while 14 other swimmers also placed in the top 5.  

The team won 15 events throughout the weekend.  The 13-14 boys besides winning the free relay, also were victorious in the 400 medley relay, with Josh Lucheon, Rasnick, Baker, and Caleb Allen.  In the individual events, the team was led by Jenny Darby, Lauren Hancock, Bryar Long, John Paul Gaylor with two event wins a piece.  Ashley Darby, Hannah Craig, Jace Howanitz and Annie Broome provided the final victories in the meet.  Pilot swimmers established 51 new southeastern cuts.  The meet was a success all around for the team and ended the semester on a strong note.  The next meet for the team will be the senior circuit meet in Athens Jan 4-6th.    
Pilot Results, Full Results

Southeastern Cuts
Samantha Walker-100 Back, 200 Free, 100 IM
Lucy Fortune- 200 free, 100 Breast
Kaylie Rasnick- 200 free
Kate Banick- 100 Backstroke, 50 fly
Madison Thomas- 50 free, 100 Free, 100 back
Kate Caldwell-100 free, 100 Fly
Mia Wallace- 200 fly, 100 Breast
Fallon Parker- 100 back, 200 back, 100 butterfly
Elisabeth Belter- 200 back
Allie Jones- 100 back
Conny Zhao- 100 butterfly
Nicki Galler- 50 free,100 free, 100 butterfly,100 breastroke
Kelsie Saxe- 50 free
Cecilia Wille- 200 free, 100 fly
Sam Sullivan Moore- 100 IM, 200 free
Alex Hines- 100 butterfly, 50 backstroke
Derek Vaughan- 100 free
Adam Thomas- 50 back
Alex Patterson- 100 breastroke
Jonathon Woo- 50 butterfly, 100 IM
Josh Wegman- 100 Free, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, 200 br
Caleb Allen- 100 free
Ben Myhre- 200 IM
Zach Mason- 1000 Free
Bryce Bertoli- 50 free, 100 free, 200 IM
Mike Zacyk- 100 back
Jake Lucheon- 100 back

Event Champions
Ashley Darby-200 free
Hannah Craig- 200 IM
Jenny Darby- 50 free, 100 free, 
Lauren Hancock- 100 butterfly, 400 IM
Jace howanitz- 200 IM
Annie Broome- 200 Butterfly
Bryar Long- 50 breast, 100 breast
John Paul Gaylor- 500 free, 1650 free
Hayden Baker- 100 Butterfly
13-14 boys medley relay- Josh Lucheon, Dylan Rasnick, Hayden Baker, Caleb Allen
13-14 boys free relay- Hayden Baker, Alex Thomas, Dylan Rasnick, John Paul Gaylor
15-18 Girls 400 free relay- Jenna Voelkert, Lauren Hancock, Annie Broome, Laurel Chaney

Top Five Swims In Pilot History
Hannah Craig-200 IM(4th)
Ashley Darby- 200 Free(2nd), 50 free(5th), 100 free(5th)
Meaghan Raab- 50 butterfly(4th), 100 butterfly(5th)
Jenny Darby- 50 free(3rd), 100 free(4th), 100 back(5th), 200 Back(3rd)
Jenna Voelkert- 100 free(3rd)
Lauren Hancock- 100 back(5th), 100 butterfly(2nd)
Katie Keel- 100 breast(5th)
Lauren Hancock- 400 IM(5th)
Alex Hines- 50 back(2nd),100 Im(2nd)
John Paul Gaylor- 500 free(2nd), 1000 free(4th), 200 back(4th), 400 IM(4th)
Josh Lucheon- 100 Back(5th)
Hayden Baker- 100 butterfly(3rd), 200 butterfly(3rd)
Dylan Rasnick- 200 IM(4th), 400 Im(4th)
Chris Kelly- 100 back(3rd), 100 butterfly(5th), 200 butterfly(5th), 400 IM(3rd)
Bryce Bertoli- 100 Breast(2nd)  

Team Record
Alex Hines- 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly
13-14 400 Free Relay- John Paul Gaylor, Alex Thomas, Dylan Rasnick, Hayden Baker

Meet Record
Ashley Darby- 200 Free
John Paul Gaylor- 500 free, 1650 Free
13-14 400 Free Relay- John Paul Gaylor, Alex Thomas, Dylan Rasnick, Hayden Baker
 

Candy Canes Aplenty at Jingle Bell
At the second of three December "championship" meets swimmers were walking away from each race with their hands filled with Candy canes.  For those not familiar with the Jingle Bell Classic, held down in Dalton, GA, swimmers receive candy canes for each race won at the one day meet.  This year at the 2007 Jingle Bell Classic, Pilot Aquatic Club had plenty of smiling swimmers walking back from races with candy canes.  Sending just over twenty swimmers, the team was able to compile 51 new best times and 18 first time swims.  That means about 100 swims, 68 were either lifetime best or first time swims.  Leading the way for Pilot Aquatic Club was 8 and under Alex Hines.  Hines walked away from the Dalton meet with 5 first places overall finishes.  Joining Hines as an event champion was 7-year old Allie Raab.  Raab posted a 23 second 25 yard Breastroke to win the 8 and under 25 Breast.  Pilot Aquatic Club also had a pair of swimmers who finished as runner-ups in their events.  James Bretscher dropped over five seconds to finish as the 11-12 runner-up in the 100 Butterfly and Amanda Martin cut-off over six seconds finishing second in the 100 freestyle.  Martin swam fast enough to qualify for the southeastern championship meet next February.  Ben Chance and Kelli Pemberton produced top three finishes in multiple events.  Chance finished third in the 100 butterfly and the 100 Breastroke.  While Pemberton picked up the bronze in 3 events, the 100 free, 100 fly and 200 IM.  Brenna Walters provided Pilot with their 15th top three finish of the day when she finished third in the 100 butterfly, in just her first time swimming it!!!  The day was a great success for the team and we would like to issue special congratulations to Garret Conti and Daniel Shiels, for swimming in their first meet as Pilot Swimmers!!! 

With two out of the three December Championship meets out of the way with successful results, we look forward to our third one this coming weekend at the Music City Classic in Nashville.

Pilot Team Results; Full Results
 

Pilot Finishes 14th overall as Last Day of Nationals Concludes
The Pilot Aquatic Club finished the last last day of the three day meet in 14th place overall.  The girls team swam to a 30th place finish while the boys were ranked 39th overall.  Bolstering the success of the team as a whole was the performance of the individual swimmers on the last day.  Leading the way was senior  AJ Tipton.  Tipton finished in 18th place in the 200 yard Butterfly in a time of 1:47.41.  The time was good enough to shatter his own team record by over a second.  Joining Tipton as the second fastest Pilot swimmer ever in the 200 butterfly was  Alex Ward.  He finished the event in 1:49.40, moving him to second all time.  The time was good enough to secure a spot in the C final, but Ward did not get the chance to compete at night.  Showing how good the Pilot top 5 is in the event, the man who is now in third place on the list,  Davis Tarwater, became the National Champion in the event in a  time of 1:41.92.  The women were also led by their own record breaking butterflyer.    Annie Broome for the second night in a row swam fast enough to destroy her own team record, this time it was the 200 butterfly that went down.  Broome lowered the mark to a 1: 58.82 en route to a 20th place finish.  Lauren Hancock and Kennedy Higdon competed the eight lap event and finished 44th and 77th respectively.  Katie Keel finished the 200 butterfly in 35th place while Laurel Chaney came in 88th place in the 200 backstroke.   

On the international side of the meet, the swimmers got to see Ryan Lochte and Natalie Coughlin set their second American and World Record of the three days.    Lochte set a new standard in the 200 backstroke by finishing the 8 lap event in 1:36.81.  His old record was a 1:37.  Natalie Coughlin reclaimed the top spot in the 100 freestyle by finishing the sprint event in 46.85 seconds.   

We congratulate our ten swimmers that traveled down to Atlanta and represented our team very well.  We also congratulate head coach Gardner Howland  on a 14th place finish overall at nationals!!!
 

Broome Lowers Club Record on Second Day of Nationals
The swims on the second day of short course Nationals were plenty and very successful for the Pilot Aquatic Club of Knoxville, leading the way was   Annie Broome.   Broome lowered her own Pilot record in the morning swim by competing the 100 butterfly in 53.79.  Later that night, she equaled that mark on her way to a 12th place finish overall at nationals.  Joining her in finals was senior AJ Tipton.  Tipton continued his outstanding swimming at the meet by finishing 7th place overall in the 100 butterfly at 48.11.  Competing in the very same heat was former Pilot swimmer Davis Tarwater.  Tarwater finished the event as the national runner up as well as eighth in the 200 freestyle.  Topping off the night for Tarwater was a member of the Club Wolverine 800 free relay that shattered the American and World record by over five seconds.  These individuals highlight what was a brilliant day and night for Pilot swimmers.  It kicked off with Lauren hancock and Kennedy Higdon finishing 42nd and 45th in the 400 IM.  Sophomore Alex Ward then secured a 44th place in the 100 fly while Hancock finished up an impressive back to back double by finishing 49th in the four lap event.  Tipton and fellow senior Adam Parker finished 53rd and 54th in the 200 Freestyle.  Katie Keel swam to a 44th place finish in the 100 breast and Laurel Chaney ended the morning with a 56th place finish in the 100 backstroke.

The team continues to swim extremely well.  The end the second day of competition (out of three) in tenth place overall.  The girls are also in the top 20, tied for 19th.  We wish them well on the last day of competition.
 

Girls Medley Relay Highlights first day of Nationals
With the fist day of short course nationals in the books, Pilot Aquatic Club left there mark.  The meet, held down in Atlanta, was highlighted by the girls medley relay.  The relay, consisting of Lauren Hancock, Katie Keel, Annie Broome, and Laurel Chaney finished the race in a time 3:47.61(four tenths off the Pilot Record) giving them a 13^th overall finish.  The foursome scored 20 points for Pilot Aquatic Club and was enough to leave the girls team in 20^th place overall at the meet. Pilot also saw senior AJ Tipton swim the second fastest 500 free in team history at 4:25 and place 21^st in the event.  Former Pilot swimmer, and current 500 free record holder, Davis Tarwater placed 5^th in the event with a time of 4:16.80. Tarwater also swam the butterfly leg on the second place men’s medley relay.  Earlier that morning, Lauren Hancock(32^nd overall), Jace Howanitz(55^th) and Paige Ayres(62^nd) set the tone for the team with three great swims.   

 The first Short Course Nationals in five years saw plenty of excitement.  The premier race of the night was the men’s 200 IM.  The race saw Ryan Lochte and Micheal Phelps take to the pool in a much anticipated match-up of the two fastest 200 IMers in history.  Lochte, relying on a blazing backstroke split, emerged victorious and set a new American and World record coming in at 1:40.08.  The IM record was the second of the night, as earlier Natalie Coughlin lowered the American and World Record in the 50 Freestyle by beating former record holder Kara Lynn Joyce head to head.  She finished the 2 lap race in 21.46.

The meet continues at 9 AM Friday morning and finals Friday evening.  You can watch the meet on http://www.omegatiming.com/livetiming/index.htm . 
 

10 swimmers head to Short Course Nationals
On Wednesday November 28^th, 10 Pilot swimmers will travel down to Atlanta to compete in the Short Course National Championships.  The meet, being held at Georgia Tech,  is headlined by World Record holder Michael Phelps and will have a field that consists of many Olympians and current and former NCAA Champions.  The three day meet will begin on Thursday morning and end with finals on Saturday night.  The Pilot National Team will consist of Paige Ayres, Annie Broome, Laurel Chaney, Lauren Hancock, Kennedy Higdon, Jace Howanitz, Katie Keel, Adam Parker, AJ Tipton, and Alex Ward.  We wish them luck down in Atlanta this weekend. 
Meet Info Page

*The meet will mark the beginning of two weeks of December “championship” meets for Pilot.  We will be sending 25 swimmers to the Jingle Bell Classic in Dalton on Saturday and next Friday, we will have 87 swimmers competing in the Music City classic in Nashville.  We wish all swimmers the best of luck!!!!
Jingle Bell Meet Info, Music City Meet Info
 

16 New Southeastern Cuts Leads the way at Wildcat Autumn Classic
On Nov 16^th, 36 Pilot Aquatic club swimmers traveled north to Lexington to compete at the University of Kentucky pool.  The weekend was a huge success for the team, as we showed up with one of the smaller teams there but were very competitive with- in the age groups.  We had numerous first place finishes and tremendous amounts of time dropped. During the three day meet, Pilot swimmers compiled 180 best times and 16 new southeastern cuts.  13 year old Evan Pinion and 10 year old Samantha Walker led the way with two new southeastern cuts.  On Saturday, 12 year old Lucy Fortune completed the thousand freestyle in a time fast enough to get her first Southeastern qualification.  The following day 14 year old Fallon Parker swam fast enough in the 200 butterfly to add her first southeastern cut as well.  We congratulate the fine performance of all 36 of our swimmers and want to extend a special congratulations to Brandon Calfee who competed in his first swim meet as a Pilot swimmer.
Full Meet Results; Pilot Team Results
 

Keel to be a Tar Heel
This past Monday, Pilot senior Katie Keel(a webb school senior) verbally committed to the University of North Carolina.  Keel a sprint freestyler and breastroker brings some great depth to the lady Tar Heels.  She owns short course national qualification standards in both the 100 and 200 breastroke.  In addition, Keel is a multiple time All-American.  Katie becomes the fourth pilot swimmer of the year and fifth in the past two years to commit to an ACC school.  We wish Katie luck at Chapel Hill next year.

The early signing period began the 14^th of November.  Make sure to congratulate the seniors as they will be signing their commitment papers over the next week.!!!!
 

Parker Commits to Bulldogs
Pilot Senior Adam Parker, a senior at Maryville High,  became the third Pilot athlete to commit this past Friday.  Parker made a verbal commitment to swim for the Georgia Bulldogs.  Parker brings his skills in the backstroke and the mid-distance freestyle to the SEC power that is currently ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA.  He owns a short course national cut in the 200 freestyle and is a multiple time High school all-american.   

Adam will be the third Pilot swimmer in the past four years to go to Georgia.  Parker will join current Pilot swimmer Annie Broome, who is transferring to the school in January, and current Georgia swimmer Anna Miller.  Pilot wishes Adam well down in Athens, GA.
 

Gaylor’s Mile Leads Pilot in Emory Competition
The Pilot Aquatic Club senior group took a trip down to Atlanta this past weekend for a fierce battle at Emory University.  The competition was stiff.  It included an NCAA division three team(Emory University) that has finished in the top three the past 8 years and won two national titles.  In addition, the meet included three teams that finished the past short course season ranked in the top 25 in the country, according to the virtual club championships, in Pilot(ranked 25^th), Nashville(ranked 22^nd) and Swim Atlanta(2^nd). 

The group was paced by 14 year old John Paul Gaylor who dropped nearly twenty seconds in the mile to finish in third place and grab a T-16 time for 13-14 year olds.  Senior AJ Tipton pulled off a victory in the 500 freestyle and was a runner-up in the 100 butterfly.  On the girls side, they were led by a first place finish in the 400 Free relay consisting of Jenna Voelkert, Stephanie Ward, Jace Howanitz, and Lauren Hancock.  Pilot was bolstered by a number of top three finishes by Hancock(200 IM), howanitz(200IM),Kennedy Higdon(400 IM and 200 Fly) and Stephanie Ward(1650 Free).

The meet was a great success.  Next up for the Pilot Aquatic Club is the Wildcat invitational this weekend in Lexington.
Full Meet Results, Pilot Team Results
 

Ross Holston has been elected to be Southeastern Swimming's Athlete Representative.
Athlete representatives are elected to the LSC House of Delegates of Southeastern Swimming, Inc., for a two-year term. They should reside in the LSC throughout their term, be engaged in amateur swimming or have competed in the LSC swimming within three (3) years immediately preceding their selection.
The athlete representative shall:
1)    Attend the USAS annual fall meeting (usually in a major USA City) as a representative of the LSC.
2)    Attend the Southeastern Spring and Fall Meetings.
3)    Take an active part in corresponding with other athletes via web page
4)    Bring topics to the House of Delegates that they have gathered from other athletes concerning swimming in the Southeastern Association.
5)    Make relevant reports from USA Swimming and the USAS Annual Fall Meeting.
Congratulations to Ross Holston.

Hokies Land Second Pilot Commitment in Ayres
Pilot senior Paige Ayres, current Webb School Student, verbally committed to Virginia Tech.  Ayres gives the Hokies their second commitment from the Pilot Aquatic Club of Knoxville in the past week, joining Jace Howanwitz.  Paige is a multi-faceted swimmer who can compete at a high level in all four strokes.  The 200 IM has emerged as her forte and she currently owns a short course national qualifying time in the event.  Pilot is very proud of her and wishes her the best up in Blacksburg.
 

Voelkert commits to attend Clemson
Pilot Senior Jenna Voelkert, a CAK student, verbally committed to attend Clemson University.  Voelkert gives the tigers a strong sprinter.  She was a member of the top 16 800 free relay this past summer and is multiple time high school American.  Pilot is very proud of and wishes her the best over in Clemson.
 

Howanitz Commits to Virginia Tech University
Pilot senior Jace Howanitz, a current Knoxville Catholic student, verbally committed to join the Virginia Tech swim team beginning in the fall of 2008.  Howanitz brings the Hokies a very versatile swimmer, being able to be a strong competitor in all strokes.  She owns a Short Course national qualifying time in the 200 IM and will be a great addition to the team.  Pilot is very proud of her and wishes her the best at Blacksburg next year.

Jace becomes the second Pilot commitment of the fall, following Bearden senior A.J. Tipton’s commitment to be an Arizona Wildcat.
 

13-14 Relays Lead Record Breaking Weekend at ACAC Fall Invitational
Meet records fell left and right as Pilot Aquatic Club won the 2007 ACAC Fall Invitational by nearly tripling the next closest competitor.  The 13-14 Boys Freestyle Relay of Andrew Spencer, Caleb Allen, Josh Lucheon, and Andrew Rice, chopped off three seconds from the old meet record while the 13-14 Girls 200 Medley Relay record or Ally Hardesty, Lexi Tutor, Fallon Parker and Conny Zhao knocked off two seconds from the old record.  The record breaking began from the very beginning when a pair of ten year olds, Ashley Darby and Hannah Craig, both swam under the previous meet record in the 500 freestyle.  The following morning 8 and under Alex Hines continued the record breaking ways by breaking four meet records in the 25 free, 25 breast, 25 and 50 fly.  Aside from individual records, Hines played a part on the 8 and under Medley relay, of Todor Dimitrov, Michael Darby and Charles Morton, that despite finishing second finished under the old meet record.

Hines(8 and under boys) and Darby(9-10 Girls) led the way as Pilot swept the highpoint award winners.  Joining Hines and Darby as Highpoint winners were: Madeline Wolfenberger(8 and under girls), Hannah Craig(9-10 Girls Runner-UP) Bryar Long(9-10 Boys Runner-Up), Whitney Owen(11-12 Girls Runner Up), Jaron Cook(11-12 Boys), Derek Vaughan and Jon Woo(tied 11-12 boys runner up), Lexi Tutor(13-14 Girls Runner-Up), Andrew Spencer(13-14 boys), Josh Lucheon(13-14 Boys Runner-up) all picked up high point awards for their respective age groups.

These performances highlighted what proved to be a very successful meet all around as Pilot swimmers accounted for 458 best times and 30 new Southeastern Cuts throughout the weekend.
Team Results, Full Results, Photos
 

Darby breaks 13 year old Pilot Record
Ten Year old Ashley Darby began the 2007 ACAC Invitational with a bang.  In the 500 yard freestyle, Darby dropped ten seconds from her previous best to finish the twenty lap event in 5:43.91.  Along the way Darby swam her way into the Pilot record book by breaking a 13 year old record set by Martha Shamblin.  Ashley shattered the record, knocking six seconds off of Shamblin’s old record set in 1994. Joining Darby in breaking records was Alex Hines who knocked a tenth off of his one month old 25 butterfly record.  Congratulations to Hines and Darby whose performance epitomize the overall success of the weekend.





 

7 Individual High Point Winners Highlights 24^th Annual Pilot Invitational
Pilot Aquatic Club finished with seven high point winners this past weekend at the 24^th annual Pilot Invitational.  Leading the way was 10 year old Ashley Darby, scoring 89 points in the 10 and under girls division.  In addition, Pilot won High Point awards for the 8 and under boys (Alex Hines), 11-12 Girls (Meaghan Raab), 11-12 boys (John Myhre), 13-14 Boys (Dylan Rasnick), Open women (Stephanie Ward) and Open Men (Adam Parker).  These six individuals highlight the overall success of the Pilot Team at its second meet of the season.  In addition, Pilot swimmers accounted for over 400 best times throughout the meet, a tremendous accomplishment for the team.  Twenty seven of these swims resulted in new Southeastern qualifying times. 

The meet this weekend was a huge success, we would like to thank all the parent volunteers for their help in making it a successful weekend.  Finally, we would like to congratulate Caleb Allen, Merry Armstrong, Mary Margaret Banick, Chloe Johnson, Tucker Johnson, Charlie Morton, Libby Penn, Andrew Rice, Taylor Sandowski, Thomas Simunovic, Addison Smith, William Tourville, Graham treasure, Josh Wegman, Clarence Wong and Jonathon Woo for competing in their first meet as Pilot Swimmers. 
Pilot Home Meet Results and Full Meet Results
(picture above left:  Dylan Rasnick, Adam Parker, Stephanie Ward--picture above right: Alex Hines, Meaghan Raab, Ashley Darby, John Myhre)

Pinion Breaks Three Pilot Records
On the last day of the three day Pilot Invitational, Evan Pinion shattered two age group records, bringing his total up to three for the weekend.  Swimming in the open events all weekend, Pinion was able to break the 200 butterfly, 200 backstroke and the 1650 Freestyle records.  On Saturday, Pinion knocked four seconds off of current Pilot Sophomore Alex Ward's 11-12 200 Back record by finishing in a 2:11.27.  Then to wrap up the meet on his final two swims of the weekend, Pinion broke two 11-12 records in a span of thirty minutes.  He swam a 2:19 in the 200 butterfly, lowering the standard set by current Pilot freshman Hayden Baker by over two seconds.  Ten minutes later Evan, got up on the blocks for the mile swim and was able to beat a six year old record held by current Kenyon freshman Nathan Smith.  Pinion broke the mark by 10 seconds, swimming the 66 lap event in 18:38.  In addition, Pinion posted times in the 500 free, 100 back and 200 IM that placed him in the top five all time for 11-12 year olds at Pilot.

Evan's performance this past weekend is just one example of a very successful weekend for the Pilot Aquatic Club Knoxville.
Pilot Records

Five Pilot Swimmers Named Scholastic All-Americans

On October 10^th US swimming released its list of Scholastic All-Americans, and among the recipients were four current Pilot swimmers and one former swimmer.   Former Pilot swimmer and Bearden High school Graduate Allison Fethe (who currently competes for the University of Northern Florida) was among the honorees .  Current Pilot swimmers to be honored for excellence in both the classroom and pool are: Webb High School Senior Paige Ayres, Farragut High School Junior Laurel Chaney, West Morristown High School Junior Louis Bunch and Maryville High School Senior Adam Parker.

To be eligible for US swimming Scholastic All-American an athlete must maintain a 3.5 GPA in the classroom through two years of High school and qualify for the sectional meet.   Student-Athletes are then awarded points based on GPA and on times at a Nationally recognized meets with 3.5 and sectional qualifying standards as the minimum.
(picture above:  Louis Bunch, Paige Ayres, Laurel Chaney, Adam Parker)
2006-07 Men's Scholastic All America Team

2006-07 Women's Scholastic All America Team

6 Pilot Swimmers and Two Relays Teams Named on
Preliminary Top 16
Every year US swimming compiles the top 16 times in the nation for each group(short course and long course) from September to August of the next year.  The preliminary list (final list to come November 1^st) was released this past week and Pilot had 6 Individual swimmers, compiling 22 top 16 swims, and two relay teams on the lists.  Leading the way was senior AJ Tipton who had 8 swims listed in the top 16.  Sophomore Alex Ward had the fastest time in the country for 13-14 boys short course in both the 100 and 200 Fly.  Joining AJ and Alex on the individual lists were freshman John Paul Gaylor, freshman Hayden Baker, 10 year- old Ashley Darby, and current University of Virginia Freshman Claire Galdun.  In addition, both the male and female 15-18 800 yard Free relays were named to the lists.  The men’s team is listed as 11^th and was Tipton, Jesse Sorrell, Adam Parker, and Cameron Higdon.  The women placed twelfth and was Galdun, Kennedy Higdon, Laurel Chaney, and Jenna Voelkert. 

The athletes and their places are listed below:
Alex Ward- 7th 100 Back, 1st 100 Fly, 1st 200 Fly, 5th 200 IM, 14th 400 IM, 15-16 8th 100M Fly, 12th 200M Fly
AJ Tipton- 15-16: 14th 1650, 6th 200 Fly, 12th 500 Free, 17-18, 5th 100 Fly, 14th 200 Fly, 4th 400M Free, 5th 100M Fly,4th 200M Fly
Claire Galdun- 14th 400M Free, 14th 800M Free, 13th 1500M Free
John Paul Gaylor- 800M Free 8th, 10th 1500M Free
Hayden Baker- 12th 100M Fly
Ashley Darby- 16th 400M Free
800 Free Relay- 11th: AJ Tipton, Jesse Sorrell, Adam Parker, Cameron Higdon
800 Free Relay-12th: Kennedy Higdon, Jenna Voelkert, Laurel Chaney, Claire Galdun
(picture above: Jenna Voelkert, Kennedy Higdon, John Paul Gaylor, Laurel Chaney, Hayden Baker, Alex Ward, Ashley Darby, Adam Parker, AJ Tipton)

Tarwater named to US National Team
Former Pilot Aquatic Club swimmer Davis Tarwater was named to the US National Team that was released on Thursday Oct 11^th.  Tarwater, a veteran of the US national team, was named to the team for his performance in the 200 butterfly at Nationals, where he emerged as the 2007 National Champion.  In addition, his third place finish at Nationals gave him the fourth fastest time in the country for the year, earning him a second slot on the US National team.  To qualify for the US national team, a swimmer must perform one of the top six times in the US from 9/01/06-8/31/07.   

Tarwater got his start on the international level as a Pilot senior when he was named to the 2002 Goodwill games as well as the 2003 Pan-American Games and has since gone on to compete in the 2005 and 2007 World Championships.  Recently, current Pilot swimmer AJ Tipton broke both Davis’s 100 and 200M butterfly records in the past year.

Hines breaks 25 year old Pilot record at Scenic City Dual meet
This past Saturday eight year old Alex Hines broke a 25 year old Pilot Aquatic Record in the 25 yard butterfly.  The record held by Scott Polk was the second oldest standing Pilot record at 15.92.  Hines completed the event in 15.88 eclipsing the old standard by 4 one hundredths of a second.  We congratulate Alex on a great performance.
Pilot Records

Pilot Wins 3^rd annual Scenic City Dual Meet
Pilot Aquatic Club traveled down to Chattanooga last weekend to take on Scenic City Aquatic Club.  After competing Friday night and Saturday morning Pilot emerged victorious 1766.50-1564.50.  The team finished the two day meet with 38 new Southeastern cuts.  In addition, Pilot swimmers swam to 115 best times this weekend.  Pilot would like to congratulate Elizabeth Belter, Nancy Brown, Chace Brown, Kate Caldwell, Ben Chesney, Jon Lawler, Alex Patterson, Meghean Raab, Timothy Raab, Allie Raab, Kelly Jo Rath, Alex Thomas, Adam Thomas and Madison Thomas on competing in their first Pilot meet.  Overall the meet was a great success and we look forward to the Pilot meet Oct 19^th- 21^st.
Photo Album,  Full Results,   Pilot Team Results

Pilot Aquatic Club-Knoxville's head coach Gardner Howland was named girls' Head Coach for United States Swimming's National Junior Team
The team convenes at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO on October 7-10 for training and orientation, and travels for training and competition to Melbourne, Australia December 28- January 9.   This is the second time Howland has enjoyed this honor; he served as boys' Head Coach for the 2003-2004 National Junior team, a squad which competed in Brisbane, Australia.  Coach Howland joins Pilot's A.J. Tipton on the National Junior Team this year.  A.J. qualified for the squad at the Spring and Summer National Championships.
National Team and National Junior Team rosters posted

In related news, Pilot's Alex Ward was awarded a spot at the National Select Camp, to be held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO October 11-14.  This camp is comprised of the two best available and eligible athlete