PRESS RELEASE
Scheriger Qualifies for Olympic Trials
August 12, 2011 - Hendersonville Tenn. – Paige Scheriger just moved one step from her dream – of competing as a swimmer in the Olympics.
The Pope John Paul II High School sophomore, who trains year round with Excel Aquatics, qualified for the 2012 USA Swimming Olympic Trials by clocking 2 minutes, 35.74 seconds in the 200 breaststroke Monday, 0.25 seconds below the required standard, during a preliminary heat at the USAS Long Course Junior National Swimming Championships in Palo Alto, Calif.
Previously, her best time had been 2:38.40.
Scheriger finished 17th overall in the 200 Breast in Finals; and then took 30th overall in the 100 Breast later in the week, clocking 1:14.69 in Finals.
The USA Swimming Olympic Trials Meet will be held next summer in Omaha, Neb., from June 25 to July 2.
"Paige is a wonderful young lady to coach," said John Barnes, her former coach at Excel/Gallatin, a competitive swim squad. "She rarely complained during practice and usually gave 100 percent day in and day out. During meets she implemented the strategies we worked on in practice; and she is a fierce competitor who loves to get up and race against whoever is in her heat."
As a freshman last season at Pope John Paul II, Scheriger took fourth in the state 100-Yard Breast.
In August 2004, Scheriger was placed into Excel/Gallatin's Silver II training squad, having already learned the basics of the sport of swimming for Hendersonville's Indian Lake Swim Club's summer swim team. Her first coach at Excel was Hendersonville's AJ Miley, who guided her to the 8&Under Southeastern Swimming championship in 2005.
From there Scheriger progressed through Coach Andreea Ianoli-Mitrofan's Silver I group, and in 2007, Paige won Southeastern Swimming's 10&Under Girl's individual High-Point Award. Ianoli-Mitrofan's is a former national champion in Romania.
In April 2009, Scheriger moved into the Gold group at Excel/Gallatin, and began training with Coach Barnes, who as the senior coach at Excel/Gallatin, had been monitoring Paige's training and progress for the past four plus years.
When Barnes retired from the sport at the end of 2009, Scheriger transferred to Excel/Brentwood to train with a former University of Tennessee All-American Kate Chronic.
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