OBear073akaSMFan;842388087 said:
well ..if mom is involved...suspect Bro and sis! He isn't just a quack..but a nerd that is a quack - a SQL programmer!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Pretty good article on
Amy's rising star - with confirmation that Brian's indeed her big brother :p
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http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2014/08/01/carmel-swimming-first-olympian/13452349/-----
[SIZE=5]Does Carmel swimming have its first Olympian?[/SIZE][COLOR="#696969"]
David Woods 11:37 p.m. EDT August 3, 2014[/COLOR]
CARMEL
Amy Bilquist, newly relocated from Goodyear, Ariz., was getting her first tour of Carmel High School a year ago. She walked onto the pool deck and asked swimmer Claire Adams about all those plaques on the wall. Those are for state championships, Adams said.
"Oh, like how long has Carmel been, like, a swim team? Dating back to the 1800s?" Bilquist asked.
When told Carmel had won 27 girls championships in a row, Bilquist was momentarily stunned. That's an historic feat, she thought.
She contributed to a 28th straight in February. But it's what she has done this summer that could prompt a new history quiz: Who is Carmel's first Olympic swimmer? By 2016, the answer could be: Amy Bilquist.
"To be an Olympian, it wouldn't be just for myself and for my family. I'd want to do it for Carmel Swim Club," she said. "I'd want to do it for them. I cannot repay them for the stuff they do for us every day."
For all that the high school and Carmel Swim Club teams have achieved, the closest any swimmer has been to the Olympics was Jason Lancaster. He was third in the 100-meter butterfly in the 1996 U.S. trials at Indianapolis, or 22-hundredths of a second from the necessary second spot.
Bilquist wouldn't necessarily have to finish in the top two to make the team for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Six make it in the 100-meter freestyle to fill relay roles.
Bilquist won the 50- and 100-meter freestyles and 100-meter backstroke last week in the 18-and-under junior nationals at Irvine, Calif. She is also entered in senior nationals, which open Wednesday and is used to select teams for five international meets in 2014-15. An intermediate goal is the Junior Pan Pacific meet, set for Aug. 27-31 in Hawaii.
Carmel coach Chris Plumb acknowledged there was risk to swimming both nationals. He reasoned that it was important for Bilquist to: 1) learn to win (juniors), and 2) swim fast against the elite (seniors).
He said Bilquist felt pressure at junior nationals because she was seeded No. 1, and she proceeded to win anyway.
"I think she'll be a lot more confident going in after this, knowing she had success at this level," he said.
The 6-2 Bilquist was born in Edina, Minn., on Aug. 11, 1997. So she will be among the youngest in Carmel's Class of 2015. Her height is genetic. Her father, Brent, a former Princeton water polo player, is 6-5. Her brother, Brian, 26, is also 6-5, and sister Berit, 25, is 6-0.
The Bilquists left Minnesota when she was 4 months old and lived for 2 years in Oglesby, Ill, before moving to Arizona. Amy learned to swim at age 4 because so many Arizona residents own pools. Her competitive nature applies to everything, her father said. Whether that was volleyball or academics she has had one B and the rest A's in high school she has been ambitious.
"She sees a bigger picture than most people her age," Brent Bilquist said. "She has a good idea of where she is and where she wants to go."
As a sophomore at Verrado High School, Amy was an Arizona state champion in the 50-yard freestyle in November 2012. That was months after swimming in the Olympic Trials at Omaha, Neb., where as a 14-year-old her best finish was 64th in the 50-meter freestyle.
The family moved to Indiana for the father's job change. He became a general manager for Americold, a company for refrigerated warehousing and logistics for grocery distribution.
Bilquist said she was welcomed at Carmel, especially by the 5-11 Adams, who insisted they walk together through hallways. According to Adams, schoolmates say, " 'Wow, that girl's tall,' and I know they're not talking about me this time."
The only amendment her teammates insisted on was vocabulary. No more "salty," please.
"That's apparently what they say in Arizona. Everything was salty," Adams said. "We got rid of that one real quick."
Adjusting to a new regimen was more difficult than assimilating into a school whose enrollment of 4,400 was triple that of Verrado. There was more yardage and dry-land training, especially in weightlifting. Plumb realized Bilquist needed more strength when she couldn't do a single pull-up.
That long frame carried 140 pounds.
"I was a stick," she said.
Now she can do as many as six pull-ups. Although she is noticeably more slender than tall Olympic champions such as Missy Franklin and Allison Schmitt, Bilquist recently weighed in at 165.
Her newfound power was manifested in a June meet at Santa Clara, Calif. She was:
Third in the 50 free in 25.32 seconds. She lowered that to 25.28 at junior nationals, making her No. 4 in U.S. history in the 15-16 age group (.02 behind Franklin).
Second in the 100 backstroke in 1:01.44 and .45 behind Franklin, the Olympic gold medalist in that event. "You look up and you're like, 'Oh, world record-holder!' " Bilquist said. "How did that happen? How did I get here?" (She lowered that to 1:01.04 at junior nationals, No. 7 in 15-16 U.S. history.)
Seventh in the 100 free in 55.66.
It took 54.44 to make top six in the 100 free at the 2012 Olympic Trials. Plumb calculated it could take high 53s to make it to Rio, so Bilquist must continue dropping time to keep climbing. She clocked 54.85 at juniors, or No. 3 in 15-16 U.S. history.
Plumb called her a student of the sport who has made herself a good technician.
"She's really good at figuring stuff out, and she's a competitor," the coach said. "We started a year ago, talking about juniors. At Santa Clara, it was like, 'Whoa, she's competing with the best.' "
By the 2016 trials, Bilquist would be coming off her freshman season of college. She has become one of the nation's most coveted prospects. She isn't considering any Indiana colleges and has trimmed her list of official visits to California, Southern California, Arizona and Georgia.
Carmel Swim Club's training environment resembles that of a college team already.
Adams, 16, entering her junior year, could be an Olympic contender in 2020, if not 2016. Missouri-bound Rachel Hayden, a North Central graduate, has combined with Veronica Burchill, Adams and Bilquist to set two national relay records. Additionally, Carmel relays set three national high school records.
Such intra-team competition has been to the benefit of all.
"You can be having a bad day, and your teammates are like, 'Let's go. You can do this,' " Bilquist said. "It's no man left behind, basically. And I just love it. Everyone wants the best for each other."
Practices aren't so serious that levity is banned. Swimmers tease coaches about music choices -- 1970s alternative rock? really? -- played over the sound system. Adams has been known to dance (in the water) or sing in between sets.
Swimmers call each other by nicknames. One of Bilquist's is "Bisquick," as in the pancake mix.
"I mean, there has to be a level of fun or you're going to drive yourself crazy staring at a black line," she said.
It is essentially a given that Carmel High School will win a 29th successive title next February, a feat that would tie the national record for all sports set by Honolulu Punahou in boys swimming from 1958-86.
One reason for such a streak, according to Plumb, is that Carmel swimmers aim higher. He said the goal is never the high school state championship.
"Our goal is to help anybody here and around us, neighboring communities, to get to the nationals and swim well at nationals and junior nationals," he said. "If you do that, then the high school meet takes care of itself."
High school swimming is one of the steps, he said. It will take many more to travel the 5,155 miles to Rio.
But for someone who once couldn't do a pull-up, Bilquist is pushing her way there. The reason, she said, is she swims for something bigger than herself.
"It's a crazy dream. But to be an Olympian and represent Carmel as well, that would be a dream come true," Bilquist said.
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[SIZE=3][U]VIDEOS[/U][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Carmel teen swims toward Riohttp://www.indystar.com/videos/sports/high-school/2014/08/01/13452431/[SIZE=1][COLOR="#696969"]Amy Bilquist, 16, could become Carmel's first Olympic swimmer.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
Carmel swim coach talks nationalshttp://www.indystar.com/videos/sports/high-school/2014/08/01/13452427/[SIZE=1][COLOR="#696969"]Carmel Swim Club coach Chris Plumb talks about Amy Bilquist, junior nationals and nationals.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
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