The Greyhounds have three Olympic hopefuls in Amy Bilquist, Adams and Veronica Burchill. That contrasts to the high school teams of Mission Viejo, Calif., that also could claim to be the best ever: Mission Viejo had actual Olympians in the 1970s and '80s and was national champion from 1977-86. Jennifer Hooker Brinegar, an Indiana University assistant athletic director and Olympian for Mission Viejo, said this Carmel team would be the best ever.
In mock results of the 2014 women's Big Ten Championships, Carmel would have finished seventh behind six teams, ahead of six. More amazing: With 288 points, Carmel was close to fourth-place Ohio State, 313. Thus only three Big Ten programs Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State scored significantly better than one high school.
If anything, 2015 Carmel is underscored because swimmers are sure to improve times at the state meet next weekend when wearing racing suits and having tapered reduced training to achieve peak performance.
>> At the end of 2014, USA Swimming published a list of swimmers ranking in the top eight of each Olympic event. Carmel had three (Bilquist, Adams, Burchill). Two colleges had more: NCAA powers Georgia (seven) and California (four). Collectively, the Big Ten had three.
THE BIG THREE
As with many NBA champions, Carmel has a Big Three: Bilquist, Adams, Burchill. All are junior national champions.
There is no overstating the influence of Bilquist, whose family moved to Carmel from Buckeye, Ariz., in August 2013. She was a good swimmer in Arizona but improved rapidly in Indiana, even after clashing with the coach over training methods new to her.
She set state records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles last February, but that was prelude to what came next: three national junior titles, five medals at the Junior Pan Pacific meet and three relay medals at December's short course World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Plumb said Bilquist "cleared the way" for those who placed limits on themselves.
"She's like the ice-breaker," the coach said. "The girls who went to juniors, the way has been cleared. Get in the wake and get on board."
Few are as on board as Bilquist.
Some changes have been obvious. She arrived without being able to do a single pull-up, and now she can do six. She can train longer, and her times keep dropping.
Less obvious is her emergence as a leader. She said she wants to make an Olympic team not only for herself, but for Carmel. She said teammates have helped her be a better swimmer, a better person.
"The feeling of family here is ridiculous," she said. "I have like 27 sisters, a lot of brothers. If any of us has a problem, we just text the other one, and you know they'll be there. No limits on the friendship. I love it. It makes me strive to be better in all areas of my life."
Coach and swimmers readily acknowledge none of the Big Three would be as fast without the two others.
All three were among the nation's top 10 in the 100-meter freestyle among 18-and-under girls last year. Carmel's school record in the 100-yard free used to be 50 seconds, and all three have been faster than that during workouts.
Burchill said the three encourage each other during hard training and tough moments. Adams said she has been inspired by Bilquist to expand her own goals.
"Because I've seen that someone I train with every single day can do it," Adams said. "And that's kind of like, 'Well, if she can do it, then I know I can do it.' "
Bilquist has the best chance to be Carmel's first Olympian next year because there are six spots available in the 100-meter freestyle to fill out the relay. It's not out of the question for the other two.
Even if Adams and Burchill fall short in 2016, there's 2020, when they would be coming out of senior college seasons.
"We'll be talking in 2018 and 2019 about Claire and Veronica on some level," said Commings, the Swimming World writer. "Because they're seeing that success now. It's just the first step in a long, long journey."
If there is pressure on the Greyhounds to live up to their billing, bring it. But honestly, Burchill said, there isn't any.
"All eyes are on us," she said. "You've got to perform big. But it's so much fun."
Likewise, Adams acknowledged it is "pretty cool" to be among those experiencing this leg of a journey that began long before they were born. Bilquist, too, said she is gratified to be part of this Carmel season.
"When I look back when I'm older," Bilquist said, "hopefully no one will have challenged our title as best high school team."
[COLOR="#3399cc"][SIZE=5]A look at Carmel swimming's 'Big Three'[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]Amy Bilquist, Claire Adams and Veronica Burchill are all national champions[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[U]AMY BILQUIST[/U] Year: Senior Age: 17 College: California Twitter: @amybilquist
High school achievements: Set state records of 22.15 and 48.93 in 50 and 100 freestyles, respectively. Set national public school records on 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Other 2014 achievements: Three medals at short course World Championships and American record in 200 freestyle relay. Five medals at Junior Pan Pacific meet, including golds in 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Champion of 50 and 100 freestyles and 100 backstroke at junior nationals.
Her epiphany: Last June's international meet at Santa Clara, Calif. She was second in the backstroke, .45 behind Olympic champion Missy Franklin, and ahead of an American record-holder, Elizabeth Pelton, and another Olympian, Rachel Bootsma. All are Cal swimmers. "I really was swimming against some big dogs," Bilquist said. "Maybe they weren't as tapered as I was, but it gave me confidence to take into the summer meets."
How to coach her: "I want to challenge Amy. 'I want you to do this time with this number of strokes.' I'm going to poke her a little bit. I'm going to challenge her to do something, and she'll challenge me right back." Chris Plumb
High school achievements: She and Veronica Burchill were first Indiana freshmen to win four events at state meet (including relays). Two-time state champion in both 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley. Eight state titles, including relays. State record of 1:46.95 in 200 freestyle.
Other 2014 achievements: Second in 200 backstroke at winter senior nationals (and 18-and-under national champion). Second in 100 and 200 backstrokes at summer junior nationals. Member of Team USA at Junior Pan Pacific meet.
Her epiphany: Finishing second to NCAA champion Brooklyn Snodgrass of Indiana in 200 backstroke at December's senior nationals. "I've always kind of struggled, like, with believing that I belong on the national stage, having a national presence and being a known name out there," Adams said. "That swim was kind of like, 'Oh, I belong here. I'm at this level now.' "
How to coach her: "With Claire, 'use your kick, get your right hand up to attack the wall. Here's the ways to go execute this.' " Chris Plumb
High school achievements: She and Claire Adams were first Indiana freshmen to win four events at state meet (including relays). Eight state titles, six in relays. Two-time state champion in 100 butterfly.
Other 2014 achievements: Fifth in 50 freestyle in senior winter nationals (and 18-and-under national champion). Champion in 100 butterfly and third in 50 and 100 freestyles at junior nationals.
Her epiphany: Speaking to associate head coach Ian Murray about goals before last summer. "He said, 'All right, you know, you'd be in contention for a national junior title.' That was kind of my driving force for the summer. That race (which she won) and the conversation opened my eyes."
How to coach her: "I am just going to approach her and kind of get her opinion on it. 'What are your thoughts?' I think she needs to be part of the process, really." Chris Plumb
I went to the USC-Cal Mens meet today. Finally, there was not a big crowd at the meet most likely due to the weather. Were any of you present? I started talking to two girls in USC jackets. One turned out to be Riley Scott breast stroker from North Bay area, although the other lady mentioned Petaluma. We talked a lot about the difficulty in Cal's pursuit of breast stroke swimmers. Riley said she is trying to be a sub-minute athlete in that stroke. She is a nice kid. I wished her well.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Interesting to hear about your Riley encounter. She does seem like a sweet person, and it was really cool of you to wish her well despite her decision to go with the condoms lol.
According to the article below,[COLOR="#696969"] "I chose USC because I immediately felt at home on campus and with the coaching staff," Scott said. "When you know, you know. I cannot wait to be a Trojan. I am grateful to have made my decision early so I can focus on swimming fast this summer and my senior year."[/COLOR] [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[COLOR="#008000"][SIZE=5]All-Empire girls swimming: Petaluma's Scott doesn't do the norm[/SIZE][/COLOR]
But it was her 100 breast performance that had swim insiders talking. Her time was 1:00.52, the fifth fastest recorded by a high school girl in the nation this year. The girl who beat her in Concord, old friend Heidi Poppe of San Ramon Valley, won in 59.85 seconds, the second fastest time in the country.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Actually could have made things even more interesting if you had pushed it a little by boldly/impolitely asking Riley why she chose SC after having attended so many swim meets @ Spieker hehe
Perhaps Salo made her a better financial offer than Teri had on the table, and it can't be denied USC's head coach has coached an awful lot of top class breaststrokers at the collegiate & international level to a whole bunch of medals - but still...
Well we did end up with Kathleen who IS already a sub-minute breaststroker despite this not being her primary stroke, so not much doubt as to which program got the better deal :p
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btw, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Katie Ledecky will defer Stanfurd for at least a year to prepare for Rio. Of course my motivations aren't exactly selfless or entirely due to my patriotic loyalty to Team USA lol. Here's what Katie did yet again earlier today (smash another American/World record, this time in PRELIMS)... [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=5]Katie Ledecky smashes American record with 4:26.58 in the 500 freestyle[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Swimming at prelims of the DC Metro Champs with her Stone Ridge High School team, Ledecky obliterated the American record in the 500 free going are you sitting down for this? a 4:26.58. She's now the fastest woman in history in the event by nearly four full seconds.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4299[/ATTACH] USA Swimming Stats - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR]
4:26.58 amazing swim by Katie Ledecky in the 500Fr. 2.13 second drop & 3.89 seconds faster than next best All-Time.
After that awesome swim from Katie Ledecky in the 500y Fr a look at the Top 20 15-18 in that event. #fastswims:
Connor Jaeger - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR] My senior year of high school I set a county record with a 4:28 in the 500. Today @katieledecky sets female high school record to a 4:26 [COLOR="#FFA500"][SIZE=4]��[/SIZE][/COLOR]
SwimSwam - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR] Only sixteen 17-year old boys have been faster than Katie Ledecky's 4:26.58 this season. #swimlikeagirl
Riley Scott would have been a great addition to the team, but who in the Dream Team would you give up? I wouldn't trade anyone of them!
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Well without meaning to hurt any feelings, I guess one could conceivably make a case for trading Jenna for Ledecky...or not? :p [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Riley Scott would have been a great addition to the team, but who in the Dream Team would you give up? I wouldn't trade anyone of them!
I think that's the key point. Teri would have added Riley if she had the cash, but she wasn't a priority over the Dream Team or Ella Eastin. Riley wouldn't have gone to all the men's and women's meets last season if she weren't interested in Cal and Salo probably offered her more money (and maybe an expiration date) at the start of recruiting season. Salo knows how badly Teri needed a pure sprint breaststroker and it worked out well for Riley since she would have only got slightly more money than Jenna Campbell after Baker became a Bear. Teri may have given her a low ball offer early because she wanted to see how the rest of the class played out first. Something's not right in Condomville, otherwise they wouldn't have whiffed on all five top 25 women's recruits from So Cal or taken more than a dozen recruits in the last recruiting class.
An additional sprint breaststroker would have freed Baker up to swim back on medleys or the 100 back or 200 free at NCAAs. Need to keep an eye on how Amy develops in the 100 back and see if she can swim the back legs on medleys in place of Baker. Adams has to be on the backstroke radar now along with at least Marsh and Mykkanen.
Agree with tedbear's earlier take that academic fit matters. Marsh and Drabot both fit big time. Drabot would be a great sprint/middle distance complement to Abbey, Amy, Farida, and hopefully Stanzi Moseley.
I completely agree, and why I have directed donor contributions to men's and women's swimming and tennis programs the past 7 years. I really enjoy being able to walk into free campus venues and watch outstanding student athletes compete (and win) at the highest levels. The same applies to our rugby, water polo, gymnastics and golf programs. Sure I would love for our money sports to be as successful, but while waiting for that to happen, I suggest others get to know our other programs better.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]btw, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Katie Ledecky will defer Stanfurd for at least a year to prepare for Rio. Of course my motivations aren't exactly selfless or entirely due to my patriotic loyalty to Team USA lol. Here's what Katie did yet again earlier today (smash another American/World record, this time in PRELIMS)... [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=5]Katie Ledecky smashes American record with 4:26.58 in the 500 freestyle[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Swimming at prelims of the DC Metro Champs with her Stone Ridge High School team, Ledecky obliterated the American record in the 500 free going are you sitting down for this? a 4:26.58. She's now the fastest woman in history in the event by nearly four full seconds.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]4299[/ATTACH] USA Swimming Stats - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR]
4:26.58 amazing swim by Katie Ledecky in the 500Fr. 2.13 second drop & 3.89 seconds faster than next best All-Time.
Connor Jaeger - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR] My senior year of high school I set a county record with a 4:28 in the 500. Today @katieledecky sets female high school record to a 4:26 [COLOR="#FFA500"][SIZE=4]��[/SIZE][/COLOR]
SwimSwam - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR] Only sixteen 17-year old boys have been faster than Katie Ledecky's 4:26.58 this season. #swimlikeagirl
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Ledecky's swim was 8 seconds below the prior NCAA record and 10 seconds below the 2015 A cut. Yikes.
She shouldn't swim in college even if she can train with the men's team. Should go pro before Rio, train in MD, and start LSJU Winter Quarter 2017.
Ledecky's swim was 8 seconds below the prior NCAA record and 10 seconds below the 2015 A cut. Yikes.
She shouldn't swim in college even if she can train with the men's team. Should go pro before Rio, train in MD, and start LSJU Winter Quarter 2017.
I don't see much internet blather about the "going pro" issue that surrounded Missy's college decision, but Ledecky's exploits make her EXTREMELY marketable for the advertising blitz that will precede RIO 2016. Ledecky's loss of earnings by staying an amateur will be in the $3-6 million per annum (my wild-ass guesstimate) until she goes pro. The peak period to cash in is now until Sept 2016, but will continue on in post-Olympic after-glow until the next games roll around. As good as Ryan Murphy is, he does not face anything like Ledecky's decision, although I wonder if he (and Prenot?) foregoes college swimming next year to focus on long course training for RIO.
While she's a really great swimmer, Ledecky isn't as marketable as Missy. It's not that she's not a great swimmer, but she's not nearly as outgoing. Katie reminds me a little of Tim Duncan, really good at what she does, but not very outgoing. Duncan's always been a better player than Dwayne Wayne and Chris Paul, but they're much more outgoing and make a lot more endorsement money.
In some ways the schedule works out better for Ledecky than Missy. She can swim all four years on the farm and still be able to go pro a year before the 2020 Olympics. Downside is that she already has an Olympic gold medal and she should be huge after 2016, but won't be able to fully cash in until 2020. Think her peak earning years will be between 2016 and 2020 since female distance swimmers peak early. Klaren's good friend and club teammate Chloe Sutton retired last week at the ripe old age of 23. Katie would be a nightmare in college-potential NCAA record holder in the 500 and 1650, extremely competitive in the 200 and potentially a two relay swimmer (800 and 400 free).
Could conceivably see Murphy, Prenot, Pebley, and maybe Seliskar blueshirting next season to train for Rio. Don't think they all do, but Nathan Adrian took a year off to train for the Olympics in the middle of his Cal career. Might explain why Durden has so many backstrokers (Green, Gornay, Thomas, Campbell) and breastrokers (Cobleigh, Hoppe, Silverthorn, Whittle, Stevens, Sand) on the team.
Abbey, Pelton, Bootsma could also conceivably blueshirt, but don't see that happening. Sprinters get enough competition in college and Pelton and Bootsma can still swim for the Bears and train with Missy. Baker's best 2016 path is via 200 free (relay) or either/both backs. McLaughlin probably would benefit the most from a blueshirt, but she was also the most enthusiastic about coming to Cal, so think she's all in for the Bears.
Ledecky's swim was 8 seconds below the prior NCAA record and 10 seconds below the 2015 A cut. Yikes.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Well Katie wasn't able to lower her 4:26.58 AR from Friday prelims, but her 4:27.88 from Sat's finals session is still easily the 2nd fastest [U]500 Free[/U] time in history!
Ledecky also improved on her [U]200 Free[/U] Nat HS record with a 1:41.55 tonight, though she doesn't (yet) have the front end speed at this distance to seriously threaten Missy's 1:40.31 AR from 2014 NCAAs. Of course Missy isn't exactly a sprint specialist either in the mold of an Abbey or a Simone, she just excels going down to the 100 and even 50 sprints by virtue of her phenomenal talent and competitive drive. At any rate I'm excited to see if Missy can lower her 200 time even further in Greensboro this March! [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[COLOR="#0066cc"][SIZE=5]Katie Ledecky Lowers 200 Free National High School Mark[/SIZE][/COLOR]
All Time 200 Free
[U]Rank Name Time Year[/U] 1 Missy Franklin 1:40.31 2014 2 Megan Romano 1:41.21 2012 3 Missy Franklin 1:41.23 2014 4 Missy Franklin 1:41.40 2013 5 Dana Vollmer 1:41.53 2009 6 Katie Ledecky 1:41.55 2015
Agree with tedbear's earlier take that academic fit matters. Marsh and Drabot both fit big time. Drabot would be a great sprint/middle distance complement to Abbey, Amy, Farida, and hopefully Stanzi Moseley.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Not prepared at my end to pin down the individual components of our [U]2016 Dream Team[/U] with any surety at this point in time, though results from next week's HS State Championships should provide us with some additional data points.
I'd venture that at this early stage, Katie Drabot, Stanzi Moseley, and Claire Adams would be up there in any discussions on prime candidates to form the nucleus of our next dream class, as immediate contributors & impact players who'd also be a great fit for Cal.
Definitely would have to include Alyssa Marsh & Courtney Mykkanen, perhaps Erika Brown or Veronica Burchill as well, on the basis of cultural & academic fit or for legacy, even if this group will need further development before becoming potential scorers (hopefully they would accept less than a full ride if it came to that). [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Not prepared at my end to pin down the individual components of our [U]2016 Dream Team[/U] with any surety at this point in time, though results from next week's HS State Championships should provide us with some additional data points.
I'd venture that at this early stage, Katie Drabot, Stanzi Moseley, and Claire Adams would be up there in any discussions on prime candidates to form the nucleus of our next dream class, as immediate contributors & impact players who'd also be a great fit for Cal.
Definitely would have to include Alyssa Marsh & Courtney Mykkanen, perhaps Erika Brown or Veronica Burchill as well, on the basis of cultural & academic fit or for legacy, even if this group will need further development before becoming potential scorers (hopefully they would accept less than a full ride if it came to that). [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
We definitely think alike UAC, because that is my "itswaytooearly" Dream Team 2016 list exactly. I would, however, include Marshmallow in the prime list due to factors other than swim times. Two others that I have on my fence list, but would include if they had big time drops are Allie Szekely and Megan Byrnes. I'm sure other names (hopefully a sprint breaststroker) will pop up between now and July 1st.
I certainly agree that Missy has the bigger personality and should attract better endorsements, but like you, I think Ledecky is looking at a scenerio where she forfeits 4 years of big time earnings to stay an amateur throughout her Stanford career. While Ledecky's potential earnings power in the next 5 years may be below Missy's, as one of the three or four top US stars in one of the Olympics glamour sports, there is a hefty opportunity cost associated with her keeping her amateur status. I personally believe that she focused on Stanford and she intends to turn pro after graduation, whether that's in 5 or 6 six depending upon an Olympic redshirt year. She's a smart,determined, confident woman whom I am guessing believes she can get the college team experience, the Stanford degree and money will be there when she goes pro.
I do selfishly hope that Murphy, Prenot, Pebley, and Seliskar can figure out a way to compete for Cal next year without detriment to their 2016 Olympic aspirations, but I certainly wouldn't fault any athletes decision to taking a year off for the Olympics. It's part of the package with having a team loaded with Olympic level athletes. I recall when the Cal women's soccer team had to play a good part of Alex Morgan's senior season without their star as she was practicing and playing with the US national team.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]UAC: "I'd venture that at this early stage, Katie Drabot, Stanzi Moseley, and Claire Adams would be up there in any discussions on prime candidates to form the nucleus of our next dream class, as immediate contributors & impact players who'd also be a great fit for Cal. Definitely would have to include Alyssa Marsh & Courtney Mykkanen, perhaps Erika Brown or Veronica Burchill as well, on the basis of cultural & academic fit or for legacy, even if this group will need further development before becoming potential scorers (hopefully they would accept less than a full ride if it came to that)." [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] We definitely think alike UAC, because that is my "itswaytooearly" Dream Team 2016 list exactly. I would, however, include Marshmallow in the prime list due to factors other than swim times. Two others that I have on my fence list, but would include if they had big time drops are Allie Szekely and Megan Byrnes. I'm sure other names (hopefully a sprint breaststroker) will pop up between now and July 1st.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Ha, didn't want to jump the gun quite yet either as it's still way premature, but happy to know that I'm not alone in thinking that the aforementioned threesome of Moseley, Drabot & Adams are shaping up to be amongst the frontrunners for [U]Dream Team 2016[/U].
[COLOR="#696969"]Stanzi Moseley[/COLOR]
The trio are power players with an upside who also appear to be a great fit for Cal & our women's swim team in a number of areas besides pure swimming alone.
[COLOR="#696969"]Katie Drabot[/COLOR]
Stanzi & Katie D's performances have been well documented on this thread, so I'll just add that Claire would have been a B scorer @ 2014 NCAAs in the [U]200 Free[/U] and [U]100 Back[/U] (where she's currently slightly faster than Amy)...her PB in the [U]200 Back[/U] would have placed Claire 5th in the A final last year, that time being 2 & a half seconds swifter than the 2nd/3rd fastest swimmers on our 2016-2017 season team (Kathleen/Cierra)! Not to overlook her tie-in to Amy as a Carmel Greyhounds teammate & friend, and the fact that Teri does prize versatility over specialization...
[COLOR="#696969"]Claire Adams[/COLOR]
TBH I'm feeling a wee conflicted about Marshmallow (Alyssa)... Really want her to come here as she seems to be a great kid, smart, definitely interested in becoming a baby :bear:, and close friends with Kathleen & Maija. Oh, and let's not forget her mom is an alumna, with her dad being one of the premier National & Club swimming coaches The question here is, should marshmallow and her family not accept anything less than a full ride (let's assume in such a scenario that LSJU or UT or UGA are prepared to offer her that), but if by agreeing to those conditions Teri won't have enough scholly funds remaining to afford a Stanzi or a Drabot, what happens?
[COLOR="#696969"]Alyssa Marsh[/COLOR]
On the basis of fitting with the team, the culture and the academics here, I guess it's not unreasonable to give the greater priority to the student-athlete aspects (over scoring potential in NCAA competitions) if Alyssa proves to be the better match in these areas than a Drabot or Moseley. She's not exactly a nobody in the swimming performance arena either, and has an upshot chance to contribute with further improvements, it's just that she wouldn't likely be close to scoring in her freshman year given her present times. The conundrum for Teri & Kristen is that Bears are an NCAA swimming powerhouse with the attendant expectations/pressure to be National Champions, or at least in the top 2 or 3, every season... I sure don't envy these very tough decisions that Teri has to wrestle with all the time, while being second-guessed by armchair critics over & over again!
[COLOR="#696969"]Allie Szekely[/COLOR]
btw tedbear, have also been keeping an eye on your other proposed candidates, Allie & Megan, depending how much further they can drop their times in the next month or so. Getting help in [U]breast[/U] & [U]distance[/U] to help address the ongoing & well-documented deficiencies in these particular areas are always very welcome, and replenishing our [U]backstroking[/U] talent pool will be a priority once we've lost Liz, Boots, Missy, Melanie, Kelly and the crew to graduation, etc. Outside of the pool, Allie's buddies with several of our 2015 Dream Teamers + 2016 potential recruits, while Megan's good friends with Matt W. (but notably also a former teammate of Janet Hu's, and Greg seems to be prioritizing furds' lack of distance aces by having already added the likes of Ledecky & Leah Stevens).
[COLOR="#696969"]Megan Byrnes[/COLOR]
On swimming times + Bears' swimming needs alone, other candidates who have been talked about previously on this board include Becca Mann & Erin Voss. Becca's notably stronger in both distance events with the potential to contribute in the [U]400 IM[/U] or perhaps the [U]200 Fly[/U], while Erin's a potential A scorer in her 3rd event, the [U]200 Back[/U] where she's just slightly behind Claire Adams in her times.
[COLOR="#696969"]Becca Mann (with Missy)[/COLOR]
[COLOR="#696969"]Erin Voss[/COLOR]
How about a local distance talent like Moriah Simmonds (Pleasanton Seahawks), esp if she can be recruited at a financial discount? :p
[COLOR="#696969"]Moriah Simmonds[/COLOR]
Then there's that stud from WI, Beata Nelson - she's already an A scorer in the [U]100 Fly[/U], B scorer in both the [U]100 & 200 Back[/U] (currently faster than Claire & Amy), and on the cusp in the [U]50 Free[/U]. No idea as to Beata's interest & fit tho, she could very well end up playing it safe as a UW Badger I suppose.
[COLOR="#696969"]Beata Nelson[/COLOR]
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4304[/ATTACH] USA Swimming Stats - [COLOR="#696969"]8 Feb[/COLOR]
A look at the Girls All-Time Top 10 in the [U]100y Fly[/U]. Some fast times and big names. A great goal to aim for:
A lot of fast swimming in the girls 18&U [U]100y Fr[/U] this year.
A look at the top 10 girls 15-18 200y IM so far this season. A lot of fast swimming going on. #IMXtreme fast swims
A look at the 18& Under Top 20 girls in the 200y Br. It took at 2:11.12 to get invited to NCAA last year. #fastswims
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[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] These student-athlete recruits naturally have the smarts to go along with their prowess in the pool. Check out their prestigious inclusion on this list, where one has to maintain a 3.5 GPA minimum (and only academic subjects count towards this) + a qualifying Junior National time in the pool:
Abovementioned recruits with a [U]4.0 GPA[/U] to their credit: Katie Drabot, Claire Adams, Alyssa Marsh, Allie Szekely, Megan Byrnes & Erin Voss.
Current :bear:s who can also boast a perfect GPA and who are on the list: Maija, Jasmine & Cat Ladd. They are in good company as baby Bears Amy & Jenna are also ranked amongst this elite group.
Also making the Scholastic All-America Team: Kathleen & Beata Nelson, with slightly lower GPAs (but still 3.5+). [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Even by Carmel standards, Carmel's dominance was "insane," as senior sprinter Amy Bilquist put it.
Out of 544 possible swim points, the Greyhounds scored 544. They were 1-2-3 in each of eight individual events and first in all three relays, setting six sectional records.
"I don't even think we realized that was happening until it was over," said Bilquist, who set sectional records of 22.72 and 49.65 in the 50 and 100 freestyles, respectively.
Including 23 diving points, Carmel totaled 567 to secure a 31st consecutive sectional title. Noblesville was second with 431 and Westfield third with 306.
Now it's on to the Natatorium at IUPUI, where next weekend the Greyhounds will try to tie the all-time, all-sports national record of 29 successive state championships.
Coach Chris Plumb said Carmel swimmers didn't rest for sectional and that about half didn't wear the racing suits they will bring out for state. He called it a business trip: bus over, make state cuts, move on.
"I feel good about where we are, but we've still got some things to fix and to sharpen up for next week and be focused and have some fun," Plumb said.
Claire Adams, a junior seeking a third state title in the 100 backstroke, lowered the sectional record by more than a second to 53.53. Another junior, Veronica Burchill, set a sectional mark of 54.67 in the 100 butterfly.
"Everyone has a lot more in the tank," Bilquist said.
[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=5]Indiana High School Sectionals Wrap-up: Carmel Girls Shooting For 29th Consecutive State Title[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[COLOR="#696969"]Amy Bilquist[/COLOR]
When you think of high school swimming in Indiana, your first thought has to be the Carmel High School girl's team. With 28 consecutive state championships, they are one of the most successful teams in our nations history. Last year, the Carmel girls made history by breaking 7 of 11 state records at the IHSAA State Championships and they became the first women's team in history to break all three National relay records in one meet. Next weekend, they will be going for their 29th consecutive state title, which according to the Indy Star, would tie the high school record for most consecutive state titles for all sports, all states.
Carmel High School had a very impressive showing yesterday, winning every relay and sweeping every individual event with a 1-2-3 finish at their sectional championship meet.
Amy Bilquist and Claire Adams led the Greyhounds to their sectional blowout with two individual victories each. Bilquist was 22.72 to win the 50 freestyle and 49.65 to win the 100 freestyle. Adams won the 200 freestyle with her time of 1:50.27 and the 100 backstroke with an impressive 53.53.
This past summer, three Indiana high school swimmers were on a Jr World Record breaking relay at the Jr Pan Pacific Championships. Amy Bilquist, Lilly King, and Hannah Kukurugya were the first three legs of the record breaking 400 medley relay. All three swimmers will be competing next weekend at the state championships.
The girl's state meet will be hosted at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis. Prelims will begin on Friday, Feb. 13th at 6:00pm and finals will be the following day, Saturday the 14th, at 1:00pm. A live feed will be available for the finals session at IHSAAtv.org.
David Woods was on the air today with Dan to talk about, what else, girls swimming! The Carmel girls team might just be the best ever, and that's saying something given their past success. Woods put what their team has done into context of the greatest high school teams ever and some current Big 10 teams, and the ladies of Carmel stack up favorably. Take a listen. [/COLOR] [COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=3]AUDIO[/SIZE]:[/COLOR] https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?visual=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F190299780&show_artwork=true&auto_play=true
The balancing act I always struggle with is team needs vs cultural/institutional fit). Looking at generic needs (assuming nobody blueshirts for Olympics), needs are: sprints (always), high-end back (Pelton, Bootsma), middle distance (Pelton, Acker), distance, sprint breast, and diving. Fortunately there are a lot of candidates who can address those needs and are good fits.
One variable I haven't figured out is could Teri have taken Ella Eastin too if she wanted to come? If so, she probably has enough money to take 5 high level recruits as long as a couple are Californians.
dgong-all good points. Don't see the financial or athletic payback for Ledecky to swim in college. Think it's more a cultural thing for her. Would have thought Missy's back spasms would have given her pause, but apparently not.
Think Teri and Durden both want he best possible swimmers who fit well academically and culturally at Cal, but in so doing there's also a downside risk that some will take a year off to train for the Olympics or go pro early. Kinda the inverse of Calipari's Kentucky basketball-not who goes pro early, but what core you can build around without any Olympic year hiccups.
Adams would be a good get, but a 200 free/100 back double is tough since the events are only one event (the 100 breast) apart. 200 free's probably not a big priority with Cierra, Baker, McLaughlin, Abbey, and potentially Stanzi and Drabot in the mix.
Voss has an even tougher double (1650/200 back). 1650 is all timed heats and seeded swimmers swim last which puts a huge burden on potential 200 back scorers (especially if they're in the consolation final).
No coach of a major swimming power wants to alienate David Marsh, but it's not in his professional interest to put undue pressure on college coaches recruiting Alyssa either. He doesn't want to burn any bridges for future SwimMAC recruits and wants to maintain good relationships with coaches from the major powers so they won't steer their most promising swimmers away from SwimMAC's elite post-grad training group.
If Alyssa truly wants to swim for Cal, both sides will find a way to make the finances works. It's kinda like Mary Pelton, Teri would have never turned her down if Mary wanted to swim for the Bears. Auburn may be a sentimental favorite, but Alyssa's not going to be the lead backstroker at Cal, LSJU, Texas, or Georgia.
BD, I certainly agree that Missy has the bigger personality and should attract better endorsements, but like you, I think Ledecky is looking at a scenerio where she forfeits 4 years of big time earnings to stay an amateur throughout her Stanford career. While Ledecky's potential earnings power in the next 5 years may be below Missy's, as one of the three or four top US stars in one of the Olympics glamour sports, there is a hefty opportunity cost associated with her keeping her amateur status. I personally believe that she focused on Stanford and she intends to turn pro after graduation, whether that's in 5 or 6 six depending upon an Olympic redshirt year. She's a smart,determined, confident woman whom I am guessing believes she can get the college team experience, the Stanford degree and money will be there when she goes pro.
BearDevil;842451980 said:
dgong-all good points. Don't see the financial or athletic payback for Ledecky to swim in college. Think it's more a cultural thing for her. Would have thought Missy's back spasms would have given her pause, but apparently not.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Some comments from local & international swim fans on Ledecky & college, in response to the quoted Swimvortex article below: [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR="#A52A2A"]beachmouse : "I'll note that Ledecky, like Franklin, is fortunate to come from a relatively well-off family and doesn't face a ton of financial pressure about her future. If she blew a shoulder out tomorrow, her parents (or the uncle in the process of buying a majority stake in the NY Islanders ice hockey team) could probably pay full sticker price for four years at Stanford, and everything would likely turn out just fine in her life. That kind of thing has to be part of any decisions going on. Remember that before there was Bruce, there was Yuri who guided Ledecky to Olympic gold, and when Yuri took the Cal job, the transition to a new coach seemed to be quite seamless for Ledecky. She doesn't seem to be the kind of swimmer that needs to imprint onto a single coach like Phelps did with Bowman."
Francene : "Not sure why people are so sure Ledecky will be delaying a year before going to Stanford. That has not been her M.O. She goes forward, all the time, not worrying about expectations, what other people think, etc. Life is bigger than swimming for someone like her, which is likely why she is showing no signs of a plateau. And like Andrew Luck found, at Stanford she will feel at home with so many elite people in so many different disciplines."
Justin Thompson : "If you are a world class swimmer I think there's a great case to be made for turning pro and endorsements is only one part of it. The main disadvantage I think all these world class swimmers have in college is swimming short course yards where the bulk of the race is spent underwater. I really think this hinders their development as opposed to spending more time training for LC." [/COLOR]
UrsusArctosCalifornicus;842419760 said:
[COLOR="#0066cc"][SIZE=4]U.S. College Conundrum: Model On Missy Or Katie Or Miss It Like Michael & Aaron?[/SIZE][/COLOR]
"I completely understand where they're coming from. I was puzzled for a long time, as well, and it was a huge decision for me," Franklin said in the early days of her college career.
"The best way I can try to explain it is that I think that swimming in college and being a part of the Cal team had more to offer me at that point in my life than endorsements did. It's not that I don't want endorsements. One day, I would love to be a professional swimmer. For where I am right now, I think I can benefit more as a person and as an athlete swimming in college. So far, that's been more than true."
"What made this last year bearable was seeing Missy so happy," DA Franklin said of her daughter's first year at Cal.
"The Cal Bear family is just that.a family. (Coaches) Teri (McKeever) and Kristen (Cunnane) are amazing leaders and create a supportive yet challenging environment for the girls. The girls are very close and many will be lifelong friends. Although we all miss each other, it warms my heart to see her embracing every second of her Cal experience, athletically and academically. It is exactly what she hoped for."
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Also some pretty scathing attacks on Missy & Teri, wow... ~shakes head in disbelief~ [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR="#A52A2A"]Bad Anon : "Missy was thriving under Todd Schmitz mentoring. She is now performing just above average. kazan 2015 will be a good sounding board for Franklin. its never too late to return to colorado stars with Todd."
pol : "If Ledecky is smart, she needs to stay with Bruce. Stanford can wait especially next year is Rio. Or just don't ever swim @ College. It's like a suicide. College Swimming is bad for talented young swimmers. College swimming is for second place losers. Franklin is not the same swimmer anymore after competing in College. Terri is an overrated coach."
AvantSwim : "Pol: while your assertion that collegiate swimming is "bad" is a hilarious over-generalization that suggests a uniform approach to success, and your claim that "college swimming is for second place losers" quite humorously equates a whole avenue, or forum, of swimming practice with something of a tautology (what second place swimmer isn't a loser?), your comments show a cheap disregard for facts, and belittle some of the most impressive figures in our sport. Many American college swimmers, as well as "amateur" university-based swimmers from other nations, were clearly able to avoid "suicide" and stand atop the Olympic podium. Missy Franklin had an incredible 2014 season, her tough performances at PanPacs proof of her talent. With her track record of success, Ms. McKeever, I suspect, needs no approval from you or a defence from me."
beachmouse : "My guess with Franklin is that it's not so much the change in training but that she's gone from living at altitude to more or less living at sea level. McKeever does have a good track record as a whole with improving her swimmers."
aswimfan : "I agree with beachmouse about the living and training on altitude benefit for Missy. I still think Missy should have gone pro while stidying in college. She has the rare perfect combination of talent, results, attitude, personality and commercial likeability to reap millions of dollars or more since 2012 London,"
pol : "AvantSwim, Missy had an incredible 2014 season??????!!! HAHA! She had a horrible 2014. This is the same swimmer who won 6 golds in 2013 World Championship and got ZERO gold in individual events in International competition like Pan Pacs. So, you're delusional if you think Franklin is still the same dominant force. Again, it was a mistake for her competing in College. She will never admit it. But deep inside she regretted competing for CAL. In CAL she is now swimming 500 free! What in the world is Teri thinking?!! She can still study in college but now I don't see her getting back to her old form."
beachmouse : "Because Teri pulled a Tonya Harding and whacked Missy in the back last summer, resulting in her trying to swim Pan Pacs through some pretty awful back spasms? Uh huh.. that's what happened, eh?"
aswimfan : "My God, Pol and his/her tirade against CAL lol. Again, i do think, like beachmouse does, that living and training in sea level year round has somewhat taken the edge off Missy, not because of Teri McKeever's training. As for Pan Pacs, she injured her back. in NCAA she crushed the 200 free AR that not even Ledecky now is able to get within one second. She also continuously swam PB in the 500, far from her best events, and she kept getting faster in 50 and 100 free SCY. I'm sure she will be back to her best in the next year when she focuses on LCM. So, I don't think Pol is correct in saying that Teri McKeever is an overrated coach. She has proven herself with Olympics champions and medallist Coughlin, Vollmer, Leverenz, Cope, etc. If you call Teri as an overrated coach yoy might as well call Bowman even more so as within a very short time he made Agnel, Friis, etc very slow."
pol : "Beachmouse, even without her "awful back spasms" she wasn't the same swimmer that won 6 golds in Barcelona. aswimfan, those swimmers you listed are not even competing in College anymore. Those are retired from college swimming. College swimming = suicide. And no one cares if you won 5 NCAA titles."
completelyconquered : "pol, actually a lot of people care about winning a NCAA title. Some actually consider it bigger than winning an Olympic medal. The reason being is this: It's more of a team event. You train with your teammates for years on end and when you accomplish something as a team, the reward is much greater than accomplishing something individually."
pol : "completelyconquered, yeah right. Liz Pelton who is good in college couldn't even medal in International competition. NCAA title will never put you in the greatest list if you can't even medal in the biggest events in International competition. Good for your team concept, but no one cares."
Appears as if [COLOR="#008000"]WI[/COLOR] & [COLOR="#008000"]MN[/COLOR] girls had already held their HS State Champs back in Nov, so dunno if we'll see any faster SCY times from [COLOR="#ff3399"]Katie Drabot, Beata Nelson, Cassy Jernberg, or Lindsey Horejsi[/COLOR] anytime soon...
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Well this isn't a taper meet or held in the collegiate-sized pool, but potential recruit Katie Drabot was the fastest American in the [U]200m Free[/U] A final at the Arena Pro Swim Series in Orlando just now, coming in 3rd (2:01.26). Katie also won the B final of the [U]400 IM[/U] (4:50.44).
GBR's Hannah Miley (2:00.31) won the [U]200m Free[/U], with CDN's Samantha Cheverton (2:01.16) edging out Katie for the 2nd spot.
2017 prospect Courtney Harnish wasn't that far behind Katie, 4th with a 2:01.32. Courtney completed her double by claiming the "fastest American" title in the [U]100m Fly[/U], 4th again a time of 1:01.54.
David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 6:19 pm EST[/COLOR] S. Burchill, Clarke, V. Burchill, Bilquist (22.12) of @carmelathletics set national HS record of 1:40.33 in [U]200 medley[/U] in PRELIMS
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IHSAA - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 6:25 pm EST[/COLOR] STATE RECORDS set in back-to-back heats of [U]200 Free[/U]! Carmel's Emma Nordin finishes 1:46.78, then teammate Claire Adams finishes in 1:45.09!
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David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 6:39 pm EST[/COLOR] .@amybilquist of @carmelathletics has top [U]50 freestyle[/U] time, 22.19. That's .04 off her own @IHSAA1 record.
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IHSAA - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 7:07 pm EST[/COLOR] STATE RECORD: Veronica Burchill of Carmel clocks a 52.59 in the [U]100 Fly[/U]! #IHSAA #SwimFast
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David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 7:12 pm EST[/COLOR] .@amybilquist of @carmelathletics breaks own @ihsaa1 record (48.93 last year) in [U]100 free[/U], 48.67. That's 6 events, 5 state records.
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David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 7:53 pm EST[/COLOR] .@claireadams26 sets 2nd @IHSAA1 record of night: 51.99 [U]100 back[/U]. USA mark is 51.43. 7 state records tonight for @carmelathletics.
IHSAA - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 7:54 pm EST[/COLOR] STATE RECORD! 7th new mark tonight! Carmel's Claire Adams breaks own [U]100 Back[/U] mark set last year of 52.97 with a 51.99! #IHSAA #SwimFast
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David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 8:00 pm EST[/COLOR] .@IUSwimAndDive commit Lilly King (Evansville Reitz) sets state record of 59.63 in [U]100 breast[/U]. National mark: 58.75.
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David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb, 8:46 pm EST[/COLOR] Recapping @IHSAA1 prelims: @carmelathletics girls had top times in 9 of 11 events; 7 state records (twice in 200 free); 1 national record.
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=5]1 National HS Record and 8 State Records Fall During Prelims Of Indiana Girls State Championships[/SIZE][/COLOR]
looks as if we may get some updated data points for our [COLOR="#FF8C00"][U]2015 Dream Team[/U][/COLOR] along with a bunch of [COLOR="#800080"]2016 prospects[/COLOR] as early as the middle of next month!
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] The [U]North Carolina[/U] High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) State 1-A/2-A Championship finals went down yesterday, Feb 13th.
Marshmallow, aka Alyssa Marsh, was named the meet's Most Outstanding Swimmer for the second consecutive year after winning the [U]50 Free[/U] (23.05) and the [U]100 Fly[/U] (54.08). Do believe that 23.05 is a 50 Free PB as it's faster than her 23.13 from the NC ESSZ SPEEDO meet back in 3/13/2014. However, Marshmallow's 53.72 from last year's State Champs remains her 100 Fly PB.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] David Marsh - [COLOR="#696969"]13 Feb[/COLOR] Congrats to my Marsh girls Coach @kbmswim @maddiemarshh and 1A/2A swimmer of the Year @alyssa_marsh on a gr8 season! [COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Alyssa's SwimMac teammate Erika Brown will be competing in the [U]200[/U] & [U]500 Free[/U] at the 4A competition today.
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Meanwhile, swimming finals for the [U]IHSAA[/U] State Champs are scheduled for 1 pm EST today. Will be interesting to see what sort of records & PBs those Carmel studs will put up - Amy Bilquist, Claire Adams & Veronica Burchill. Also keep an eye on some of their lesser heralded teammates who may end up on our radar for the 2016-2018 recruiting cycles, such as Emma Nordin, Sammie Burchill, Trude Rothrock, Kendall Smith, Morgan Grout and the likes.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] Mary Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]14 Feb[/COLOR] It's time #fourthquarter [SIZE=4][COLOR="#8B4513"]��[/COLOR][COLOR="#DAA520"]��[/COLOR][/SIZE] [COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Not that Carmel has exclusive claims to promising Indiana recruits, as 2016 distance star & Jr. National teamer Hannah Kukurugya will also be in medal contention at this meet.
David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]14 Feb, 1:11 pm EST[/COLOR] WOW. Carmel girls shatter own national HS record in [U]200 medley relay[/U]: 1:39.25. That is also national age-group 15-18 record. Carmel actually trailed after two legs of 200 medley relay. @amybilquist anchored in 21.55! @vkburchill's 50 fly was 23.31
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Carmel High School Girls Become First High School 200 Medley Relay Team Under 1:40[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=1]They have done it again! The relay team from Carmel High School of Sammie Burchill, Alex Clarke, Veronica Burchill, and... Archive Photo via Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com[/SIZE]
David Woods - [COLOR="#696969"]14 Feb, 1:29 pm EST[/COLOR]
Carmel's @claireadams26 wins [U]200 free[/U] in 1:45.78 - slower than her state record of 1:45.09 Friday. Emma Nordin 2nd, 1:47.63. Hannah Kukurugya 3rd, 1:48.25. That is third straight state title in 200 freestyle by Carmel's @claireadams26, a junior. Can go for 4-year sweep in '16.
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No. 1 seed & IU recruit Lilly King of Evansville Reitz holds off No. 5 seed Carmel soph Sammie Burchill in [U]200 IM[/U], 1:59.24 to 1:59.66.
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Carmel's @amybilquist ties her own state record of 22.15 in [U]50 free[/U]. That 21.55 split in medley relay may have affected her. Carmel junior Kendall Smith was 2nd in [U]50 free[/U] in 23.16. Thus Carmel has two 1-2 finishes in 3 races.
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Carmel's @vkburchill breaks own state record to win [U]100 fly[/U] in 52.26. Defending champ Aly Tetzloff (Crown Point) 2nd 53.04.
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.@amybilquist breaks state record in [U]100 free[/U], 48.36. Kendall Smith 50.63, Trude Rothrock 50.70 make 1-2-3 Carmel sweep.
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Carmel soph Emma Nordin (@emma_ayasha) wins [U]500 free[/U] in 4:45.87, just off her state record of 4:45.15 from prelims.
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Carmel did it again. National HS record of 1:30.72 in [U]200 free relay[/U]. @vkburchill led off in sizzling 22.29. Carmel lineup in record 200 free relay had 3 juniors, 1 freshman. (Veronica Burchill - 22.29, Claire Adams - 22.53, Kendall Smith - 22.77, Trude Rothrock - 23.13)
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Burchill Leads Carmel To 200 Freestyle Relay National HS Record Without Star Sprinter Amy Bilquist[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=1]Veronica Burchill leads off Carmel's 200 freestyle relay in 22.39 to lead the team to a national record.[/SIZE]
Carmel's @claireadams26 wins [U]100 back[/U] in 52.14 - off her state-record 51.99 set in prelims. Carmel's @Sammie_Burchill 2nd 54.35
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Stunning finish to stunning meet by Carmel. Crushed national HS and 15-18 age-group records in [U]400 free relay[/U]: 3:15.38 More on Carmel 400 free relay: @vkburchill led off in 48.48; @amybilquist 47.70 anchor. Would have been 13th in 2014 NCAAs! Claire Adams (48.68), Kendall Smith (50.52). National mark was 3:20.42 and State mark was 3:21.20!
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[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]Carmel High School Girls Break 400 FR-R National HS Record By 6 Seconds 3:15.38!![/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=1]The Carmel girls just made history, breaking all three national relay records in one meet for the second time in... Current Photo via Todd Adams.[/SIZE]
The Carmel girls just made history, breaking all three national relay records in one meet for the second time in history. They wanted to go out with a bang, however. Not only did they break the national record, they beat it by more than 6 seconds! Yeah, you read that correctly it wasn't a typo. 6 seconds!!! Veronica Burchill, Claire Adams, Kendall Smith, and Amy Bilquist combined to beat the previous national public school of record of 3:21.20. The private school record was a little faster, but only by a little at 3:20.42.
They are now the only girls team that has ever broken all three national records in one meet, and they've done it twice. That relay secured their 29th consecutive Indiana State Championship title.
They also topped Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics 15-18 national age group record time of 3:16.58.
Take a look at the splits below: Veronica Burchill 48.48 Claire Adams 48.68 Kendall Smith 50.52 Amy Bilquist 47.70
[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=4]4 National HS Records, 2 NAG Records, and 14 Indiana State Records Fall As Carmel Wins 29th Consecutive State Title[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=1]Carmel High School swam over the rest of the state to win their 29th consecutive state title. After two full... Current Photo via Todd Adams[/SIZE]
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] The [U]North Carolina[/U] High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) State 1-A/2-A Championship finals went down yesterday, Feb 13th.
Marshmallow, aka Alyssa Marsh, was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer for the second consecutive year after winning the [U]50 Free[/U] (23.05) and the [U]100 Fly[/U] (54.08). Do believe that 23.05 is a 50 Free PB as it's faster than her 23.13 from the NC ESSZ SPEEDO meet back in 3/13/2014. However, Marshmallow's 53.72 from last year's State Champs remains her 100 Fly PB.
Still lots of time left to improve, but Alyssa's times would make her 7th in both the 50 free and 100 fly on the current team. To make an impact in dual meets, she needs to be in the top 2-3 of a 'stroke event or in the top 4-6 in sprints (for relays). 4 of next year's freshmen are faster than she is in the 50 free.
If she has her heart set on going to Cal I get it, but it would be a big trade off over swimming somewhere else (a team outside the top 15 or an Ivy) where she could have a much bigger role in the pool.
----------- [COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] [U]BD[/U] - all very salient points on Alyssa. Cal could well be her dream school (or her mom's for her lol), and we'd of course all love to see "marshmallow" as a baby :bear:! (esp [U]tedbear[/U] hehe)
Don't recall if it was Amy Van Dyken's comment on the Pac-12 broadcast from yesterday, but recall a recent mention of Simone Manuel having apparently always dreamt of going to the Farm since the age of 5 (more like a nightmare if you ask me :p), so if this is the case with Alyssa concerning Cal, great... Otherwise, Alyssa will have plenty of choices of alternate programs given her smarts and swim skill set, where she'd likely be more of an immediate contributor and even become the alpha of the pack - if she wants that instead.
We now have a few additional data points for several of our prospective 2016 recruits, after this weekend's HS State Champs where they had presumably suited up and raced tapered, rested & shaved. Specifically for Alyssa Marsh, Veronica Burchill, Claire Adams & Erika Brown (plus an improved 100 free time for Amy).
Since HS competitors are limited to 2 individual events if they swim in relays, we don't have quite as useful an update as I'd ideally like on drops in their times. These prospects often will swim events that will help their team the best, which may end up not being their primary stroke or distance - for example, Amy was entered in the 50 & 100 free where Carmel needed her dominance the most, so we don't know how much her 100 back has improved in SCY. There's no 200 back @ these champs so we don't get to see Claire tear it up in her best event. Haven't found relay splits for the NC 1A/2A or 4A Champs yet, so currently have no idea how fast Alyssa & Erika went in their respective relays.
Veronica's progress has been faster than I had expected, so I reckon a case could be made for pushing her up to be considered for the prime list (2016 Dream Team)? Don't forget all these swimmers are HS Juniors, so they have at least one more cycle to improve on their times before entering college...
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Anyway, I've updated the rankings & times for the abovementioned prospects, relative to the best times for those Bears on the current team who will still be there during the [U]2016-2017 season[/U]. PBs from several seasons back, 2013 or earlier, are denoted in the list below (going by season here rather than actual calendar year), as they sometimes provide an indication that a plateau may have been hit.
Color-coded as follows: [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] Potential 2016 recruits have their names [U]underlined[/U] & bolded.
[COLOR="#FF0000"]RED[/COLOR] = time would have qualified for A finals from prelims @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U] [COLOR="#008000"]GREEN[/COLOR] = time would have qualified for B finals from prelims @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U] [COLOR="#8B4513"]BROWN[/COLOR] = time would NOT have quite qualified for finals from prelims, but OTOH would have scored in finals @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U]
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[INDENT][SIZE=5][U][COLOR="#800080"]50 Free[/COLOR][/U][/SIZE][/INDENT] [COLOR="#FF0000"] 21.49 Abbey Weitzeil [/COLOR][COLOR="#006400"]------------------------------- 22.10 Farida Osman 22.15 Amy Bilquist [/COLOR][COLOR="#8B4513"]------------------------------- 22.29 [U]Veronica Burchill[/U] [/COLOR]-------------------------------- 22.63 Kathleen Baker 22.70 Katie McLaughlin [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2013)[/COLOR] 22.70 Jasmine Mau [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2013)[/COLOR] 22.80 Kristen Vredeveld [COLOR="#696969"](had an impressive 22.17 PB back in 2011, but been mostly in the high 22s or slower since)[/COLOR] 22.95 [U]Erika Brown[/U] 22.97 Cierra Runge [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2013)[/COLOR] 23.05 [U]Alyssa Marsh[/U] 23.22 Noemie Thomas 23.44 Jenna Campbell [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR] 23.52 Catherine Ladd [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR]
[INDENT][SIZE=5][U][COLOR="#800080"]100 Free[/COLOR][/U][/SIZE][/INDENT] [COLOR="#FF0000"] 46.29 Abbey Weitzeil [/COLOR][COLOR="#006400"]------------------------------- 47.93 Farida Osman 48.20 Kathleen Baker 48.32 Katie McLaughlin [/COLOR][COLOR="#8B4513"]------------------------------- 48.36 Amy Bilquist 48.48 [U]Veronica Burchill[/U] [/COLOR]-------------------------------- 48.60 [U]Claire Adams[/U] [COLOR="#696969"](estimate, calculated from her 48.10 anchor on the CHS [U]400 Free Relay[/U] during Friday prelims)[/COLOR] 48.67 Jasmine Mau 49.24 Cierra Runge [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR] 49.55 Catherine Ladd [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR] 49.70 Kristen Vredeveld [COLOR="#696969"](had an impressive 48.32 PB back in 2011, but been mostly in the mid-to-high 49s since)[/COLOR] 49.86 [U]Erika Brown[/U] 50.57 Jenna Campbell [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR]
[INDENT][SIZE=5][U][COLOR="#800080"]100 Fly[/COLOR][/U][/SIZE][/INDENT] [COLOR="#FF0000"] 51.78 Farida Osman 51.78 Katie McLaughlin [/COLOR][COLOR="#006400"]------------------------------- 52.21 Noemie Thomas 52.23 Jasmine Mau 52.26 [U]Veronica Burchill[/U] [/COLOR][COLOR="#8B4513"]------------------------------- 52.52 Celina Li 52.68 Kathleen Baker [/COLOR]-------------------------------- 53.72 [U]Alyssa Marsh[/U]
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Closing note - thought this'd make for an interesting if hypothetical ranking based on best times for the [U]2014-2015 NCAA season[/U] thus far...just for entertainment purposes, since times should drop further for some of these college teams @ their conferences and/or at NC2A champs As picked up by the media, Amy & co.'s time would also have placed them [U]13th[/U] (5th in the B final) at last year's NCAAs, beating finalists Texas, Florida State, UCLA & Penn State! [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Uh guys, we all know that recruiting Alyssa is more than about her swim times.
Agreed, but not everybody chooses a school strictly based on swimming. If Mary Pelton wanted to swim for the Bears, Teri would have found a spot for her. Texas and UVa are much better swim programs than UCLA. Same thing for Princeton that her boyfriend Cole Buese and Corey Okubo both chose over the farm.
One thing that jumped out at me over the weekend is how thin LSJU is in back and fly and they'll need to fix that in the next recruiting class. Janet Hu's both their best backstroker and flyer and they'll use her in the 50 free this season (to replace) Schaefer. Engel isn't cutting it as a sprinter, but she may make it as a sprint flyer. Can't use Hu in both flys, the 50, and the 100 back at NCAAs. Every major school would take Alyssa, but LSJU doesn't have room/get much out of both Alyssa and Emily Eastin in the same recruiting class. Teri needs another elite backstroker to replace both Pelton and Bootsma. Doesn't have room for an elite backstroker, Alyssa, and Mykkanen in the same class.
Hu's both their best backstroker and flyer and they'll use her in the 50 free this season (to replace) Schaefer.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Just a quick comment that Janet Hu's underwaters & walls really impressed me at the home dual against Stanfurd over the weekend - she even outshined Boots in that dept on the day, and that's saying something! After a bit of a slow collegiate swimming start, looks like Janet's shaping up to be the threat that was predicted for her out of HS...
Interesting also to see the dual results swing first the Card's way, then in our favor, back & forth until we had clinched it in the 200 IM. Strengths & weaknesses of both programs showed up quite clearly on the day, even to a casual swim fan![/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Gracie Held - [COLOR="#696969"]18 Feb[/COLOR] @amybilquist enjoying her homemade pie
A case of senioritis perhaps, judging by what she's wearing...
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[COLOR="#003399"] [SIZE=4]BSN Sports High School Athlete of the Week..[/SIZE][/COLOR]
The BSN Sports Student Athlete of the week is the State Champion Girls Swim Team from Carmel High School. After winning a record-tying 29th consecutive state championship and likely a 6th national championship in seven years, many including their coach Chris Plumb believe they are the best team in the history of the sport. After securing every possible point in the sectional championship they went on to dominate the state meet by winning 9 of 11 events, break 3 national records and finish with 445 points most ever in 41 years of Indiana's state meet. In addition to all the in pool success, [U]the team has a cumulative GPA of 3.75[/U]. Congrats to the Carmel Girls Swim team from BSN Sports and Dan Dakich.
[COLOR="#FF0000"][SIZE=5]Alyssa Marsh Downs Two Records At North Carolina 1A/2A High School State Championships[/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=1]Marsh, the daughter of famed SwimMAC Carolina coach David Marsh, rocked two big back-to back wins both of which she won in AA-A record timing. The Pine Lake Prep swimmer first won the 50 freestyle where she was a 23.05 to take a solid chunk off the previous mark of 23.35. Marsh was also just off the state record in the race. She then went on to win the 100 fly in 54.08 dropping almost a full second off the AA-A record of 55.02. Archive Photo via Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com[/SIZE]
Kinda surprised that Teri said she'd have a weaker less versatile dual meet team next year. Losing Missy and Klaren will hurt flexibility, but the only area the team will be weaker is in distance. Better team in breast, fly, and medley relays. Baker will give Teri lots of options in duals. Maybe a more conventional dual meet team, but not necessarily a weaker dual meet team. Teri did say she didn't expect to be a weaker championship meet team.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Was going to make a comment on that point too.
Perhaps Teri was just referring to the current depth & breadth of the team in terms of sheer numbers? After all, Bears will be losing 9 (Melanie, Caroline, Kaylin, Camille, Cat, Yvette, Taylor, Eva to graduation, + Missy), and reloading with just 5 (Abbey, Kathleen, Amy, Katie & Jenna). So just simply fewer bodies to spread out across the strokes and events after the 3 individuals limit is hit.
However, we all know how versatile Kathleen is across the strokes, and our sprints & relays will be quite loaded up to say the least, since the 2015 Dream Team's pretty accomplished in these areas... In terms of scoring up there @ duals, the Fab Four are all capable of doing just that in their freshman year compared to 4 to 6 of the graduating seniors, so hopefully we won't take that much of a hit in-season. Ultimately, NCAAs are what matters, and our studly incoming class have what it takes to be up scorers in their respective areas of strength at the big dance!
Really insightful and articulate interview from Teri btw, as to be expected. Liked how she reiterated the salient points about mutual fit, excellence in & out of the pool, "the whole package", and how she may not always be the ideal coach or our program be the best match for everyone since she tends to be "outside of the box".
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[U]UPDATE[/U]: quoting MB's post from the "Final Missy Franklin presser at Cal" thread below - great questions re Missy & the team and the dream class asked by MoragaBear, and informative/interesting responses from Teri. [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
MoragaBear;842457550 said:
As a followup, here are excerpts of Teri's interview where I asked about Missy's ability to defect attention from herself to the team as well as Teri's thoughts on where the program's heading with their stellar 2015 recruiting class: http://bearinsider.com/news/story.php?article=1529
[video=youtube;CaAqAZB6x-k][/video]
She makes an interesting point that the 8 graduating seniors might not have been high point scorers for the most part but they added scoring depth in dual meets while the incoming class is full of potential high scorers, they'll be losing a lot of swimmers who swim multiple events vs. specialists so they might not fare as well in dual meets yet could well do better in bigger competitions, like the Pac-12's and NCAA's.
Should be interesting to see how that dynamic works next season.
[COLOR="#0066cc"][SIZE=5]Lauren Pitzer Stuns in 2015 Texas 6A High School State Championships[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Lauren Pitzer of Keller Timber Creek delivered a pair of wins in the [U]200 free[/U] (1:46.18) and [U]100 free[/U] (48.72). Pitzer's 100 time of 48.72 was just shy of the Texas state and 6A record of 48.53.
----------- [COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Probably getting way ahead of ourselves again lol, but heck, sprinters & middle-distance freestylers are always prized for their scoring potential @ the NCAA level...
Her best time in the [U]200 free[/U] is a 1:45.68 from the 2014 Winter Junior Nationals, and her 100 free time swum today just happens to be faster than what anyone on our current team has managed so far this season who's not named Missy or Farida...
Plugging Lauren's 3 events into our ranking lists for the 2017-2018 season: [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] -----------
Potential 2016 & 2017 recruits have their names [U]underlined[/U] & bolded.
[COLOR="#FF0000"]RED[/COLOR] = time would have qualified for A finals from prelims @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U] [COLOR="#008000"]GREEN[/COLOR] = time would have qualified for B finals from prelims @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U] [COLOR="#8B4513"]BROWN[/COLOR] = time would NOT have quite qualified for finals from prelims, but OTOH would have scored in finals @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U]
[COLOR="#0066cc"][SIZE=5]Lauren Pitzer Stuns in 2015 Texas 6A High School State Championships[/SIZE][/COLOR]
Lauren Pitzer of Keller Timber Creek delivered a pair of wins in the [U]200 free[/U] (1:46.18) and [U]100 free[/U] (48.72). Pitzer's 100 time of 48.72 was just shy of the Texas state and 6A record of 48.53.
----------- [COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman] Probably getting way ahead of ourselves again lol, but heck, sprinters & middle-distance freestylers are always prized for their scoring potential @ the NCAA level...
Her best time in the [U]200 free[/U] is a 1:45.68 from the 2014 Winter Junior Nationals, and her 100 free time swum today just happens to be faster than what anyone on our current team has managed so far this season who's not named Missy or Farida...
Plugging Lauren's 3 events into our ranking lists for the 2017-2018 season: [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] -----------
Potential 2016 & 2017 recruits have their names [U]underlined[/U] & bolded.
[COLOR="#FF0000"]RED[/COLOR] = time would have qualified for A finals from prelims @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U] [COLOR="#008000"]GREEN[/COLOR] = time would have qualified for B finals from prelims @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U] [COLOR="#8B4513"]BROWN[/COLOR] = time would NOT have quite qualified for finals from prelims, but OTOH would have scored in finals @ [U]2014 NCAAs[/U]
UAC, I think you should add Stanzi and Katie to these lists.
[COLOR="#3333ff"][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Well these lists are kinda ad hoc, and only reference the [U]50/100/200 Free[/U] events at this point. They originally included only those recruits who had competed at their HS State Champs this month (Feb), hence are by no means comprehensive or encompassing in their coverage.
But hey I'll gladly add in Moseley & Drabot as per your request Will also remove Pitzer and reinstate Franklin's class in the process, to more accurately reflect who will still be on the team for the 2016-2017 season...
Also note that the shorter sprints aren't necessarily Katie's forte and so may not end up being her NCAA events - she does have a solid 4:43.09 in the [U]500 free[/U], 4:09.43 in the [U]400 IM[/U], 1:57.97 in the [U]200 IM[/U], 2:11.07 in the [U]200 breast[/U], and 1:02.63 in the [U]100 breast[/U]. [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] -----------
[INDENT][SIZE=5][U][COLOR="#800080"]50 Free[/COLOR][/U][/SIZE][/INDENT] [COLOR="#FF0000"] ------------------------------- (2014 NCAA A Finals Qual) 21.49 Abbey Weitzeil [/COLOR][COLOR="#006400"]------------------------------- (2014 NCAA B Finals Qual) 22.10 Farida Osman 22.11 [U]Stanzi Moseley[/U] 22.15 Amy Bilquist [/COLOR][COLOR="#8B4513"]------------------------------- (2014 NCAA B Finals Score) 22.29 [U]Veronica Burchill[/U] [/COLOR]------------------------------- 22.63 Kathleen Baker 22.70 Katie McLaughlin [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2013)[/COLOR] 22.70 Jasmine Mau [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2013)[/COLOR] 22.75 [U]Katie Drabot[/U] 22.80 Kristen Vredeveld [COLOR="#696969"](had an impressive 22.17 PB back in 2011, but been mostly in the high 22s or slower since)[/COLOR] 22.95 [U]Erika Brown[/U] 22.97 Cierra Runge [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2013)[/COLOR] 23.05 [U]Alyssa Marsh[/U] 23.22 Noemie Thomas 23.44 Jenna Campbell [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR] 23.52 Catherine Ladd [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR]
[INDENT][SIZE=5][U][COLOR="#800080"]100 Free[/COLOR][/U][/SIZE][/INDENT] [COLOR="#FF0000"] ------------------------------- (2014 NCAA A Finals Qual) 46.29 Abbey Weitzeil [/COLOR][COLOR="#006400"]------------------------------- (2014 NCAA B Finals Qual) 47.93 Farida Osman 48.20 Kathleen Baker 48.29 [U]Stanzi Moseley[/U] 48.32 Katie McLaughlin [/COLOR][COLOR="#8B4513"]------------------------------- (2014 NCAA B Finals Score) 48.36 Amy Bilquist 48.48 [U]Veronica Burchill[/U] [/COLOR]------------------------------- 48.60 [U]Claire Adams[/U] [COLOR="#696969"](estimate, calculated from her 48.10 anchor on the CHS [U]400 Free Relay[/U] during Friday prelims)[/COLOR] 48.67 Jasmine Mau 49.10 [U]Katie Drabot[/U] 49.24 Cierra Runge [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR] 49.55 Catherine Ladd [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR] 49.70 Kristen Vredeveld [COLOR="#696969"](had an impressive 48.32 PB back in 2011, but been mostly in the mid-to-high 49s since)[/COLOR] 49.86 [U]Erika Brown[/U] 50.57 Jenna Campbell [COLOR="#A9A9A9"](2012)[/COLOR]
Connor Jaeger - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR]
SwimSwam - [COLOR="#696969"]6 Feb 2015[/COLOR]
As picked up by the media, Amy & co.'s time would also have placed them [U]13th[/U] (5th in the B final) at last year's NCAAs, beating finalists Texas, Florida State, UCLA & Penn State!
Will also remove Pitzer and reinstate Franklin's class in the process, to more accurately reflect who will still be on the team for the 2016-2017 season...