Scheriger Attains a Top 16 National Ranking

Paige Scheriger attains National Ranking at Swim Meet

March 18, 2007……Several thousand swim fans at the Southeastern Swimming Short Course Championship Meet this past weekend in Nashville saw Indian Lake Elementary 5^th Grader Paige Scheriger lead a contingent of Excel Aquatics swimmers to a 3^rd Place team finish at the Meet. 45 teams, comprising 872 swimmers from Tennessee, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle competed in the Championship Meet.

Scheriger won Gold in 6 of her 7 individual events in the Girl’s 10&Under category (scoring 137 of 140 possible point). In doing so, she set 4 Excel Team Records, won the Meet’s High Point Trophy for 10&Under Girl’s, and achieved a nationally ranked Top 16 time in the 100 Yard Breaststroke during the preliminary heats with a time of 1 minute, 16 seconds, and 24 hundredths.

Scheriger took home Gold in the Finals in the 100 Yard Backstroke (1:10.68), 200 Yard Individual Medley (2:32.22), 100 Yard Individual Medley (1:10.45), 200 Yard Freestyle (2:14.06), 100 Yard Breaststroke (1:16.37), and 50 Yard Backstroke (0:32.65). Scheriger’s lone Silver was in the 50 Yard Breaststroke (0:35.49).

Scheriger shattered the Excel Aquatics team records in the 100 Yard Individual Medley and 200 Yard Individual Medley, records that have stood for over 10 years since former Hendersonville High School and current University of Florida swimmer Samantha Vanderbilt set them in October 1996. The records Scheriger broke in the 50 Breaststroke and 100 Yard Breaststroke were set in early 2002 by Jax Painter, a current Franklin High School swim star.

“When you consider that Excel Aquatics is 24 years old, and has a long history of developing champions in the pool, Paige’s accomplishments is noteworthy.” Excel Assistant Coach John Barnes noted.

Also representing Hendersonville and Gallatin at the Championship Meet were Excel swimmers Madison Kolbe, Katie Mize, Brittany Zobl, and Jimmie Joe Boone. “Paige and her training partners did wonderful this weekend at the championships. Coach Andreea Ianoli-Mitrofan has done an exceptional job with them and the rest of her squad this year.” Barnes concluded.

Excel Aquatics will be conducting a Summer League Tune-Up for summer swimmers beginning on April 17^th. For more information contact Sheree Zobl at (615) 826-3943.

For more information on year-round competitive swimming visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

Excel Swimmer's Firsts at Mardi Gras Meet

First’s at Swim Meet

February 18, 2007…… At the 2007 Mardi Gras Swim Meet this past weekend there were three significant types of “FIRST’S” for Sumner County swimmers.

Brittany Zobl, a 13 year old from Hendersonville who trains with Excel Aquatics has achieved a significant milestone in her development into an elite swimmer in Sumner County. At this past weekend’s Mardi Gras Swim Meet in Brentwood, hosted by Excel Aquatics, Zobl turned in a USA Swimming Southern Sectional Senior Girl’s Qualifying Time of 1:01.99 in the 100 Yard Backstroke, her FIRST qualifying cut at that level of competition. “BZ is now eligible to participate in the Sectional Meet in Atlanta GA on March 10^th, going against girls ranging from her age all the way into college and beyond. She will be one of the youngest swimmers there.” Assistant Coach John Barnes noted.

In the 400 Yard Individual Medley, Zobl and Hannah Ray swam the event for their FIRST time, with event veteran Caroline McCrory volunteering to join them in the grueling event as morale support. “We were proud that those girls stepped up and swam that event. It is our belief as coaches that all swimmers need to learn to swim the “IM” events in order to develop themselves as well rounded swimmers, and the 400 IM is the pinnacle of that development.” Barnes commented.

The Cole sisters (Caroline and Kathryn) joined Peyton Smith in participating in their FIRST USA level swim meet, and all three turned in impressive times. “These girls, like everyone else, will see the fruits of their efforts in meets to come”.

Joining the above swimmers at the Mardi Gras meet were Jimmie Joe Boone, Schuyler Daniel, Alyson Gomer, Madison Kolbe, Katie Mize, Sarah Rittenberry, and Paige Scheriger.

For more information on year-round competitive swimming visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

Excel Swimmers at Baylor Meet

Excel Swimmers Heat up the Pool in Chattanooga Swim Meet

January 22, 2007……Excel Aquatic’s youth movement was in full force this past weekend at the Baylor Invitational Swim Meet in Chattanooga TN. Swimmers participating from Sumner County were Allie Riley, Madison Kolbe, Alyson Gomer, Jimmie Joe Boone, Paige Scheriger, Caroline McCrory, Brittany Zobl, Haley George, Kathryn George, and Katie Mize.

Hendersonville’s Jimmie Joe Boone led the contingent by improving his time in all 9 events he competed in, adding a significant 53.20 second drop in the 11&12 Year Old Boy’s 500 Yard Freestyle. “Jimmie Joe has been working hard to change his stroke technique, and is working hard at practice. I think we are seeing the results of his efforts, and we look forward to continued improvement from Jimmie Joe.” Excel Assistant Coach John Barnes stated.

In the 10&Under Girl’s category, Hendersonville’s Madison Kolbe and Paige Scheriger placed in the Top 5 in all of their events, 8 each. Both had significant time drops coming in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Scheriger has qualified for a total of 12 events in the upcoming Southeastern Swimming Short Course Championships. Kolbe has qualified for a total of 7 events as a 10& Under, however she will be aging up to the 11&12 year old category just before the Championship meet and is now closing in on obtaining the cut in the older category in the 50 Yard Breaststroke.

Riley, 9 year old from Hendersonville, showed continued improvement in her strokes and events. “Allie is a first-year swimmer at this level and has been working a lot on her strokes and conditioning. She is progressing quite nicely, and we expect her to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.” Barnes noted.

Gomer, an 11 year old from Hendersonville, dropped times in 6 of her 8 events, with significant drops in the 100 Yard Individual Medley, 100 Yard Backstroke, and 100 Yard Freestyle. “Alyson has gotten more aggressive in her attitude towards racing, and we are seeing real nice time drops as a result.”

Among the older group of swimmers at the meet from Sumner County, Brittany Zobl improved in 6 of her 7 events. In the 13&14 Year Old Girl’s 100 Yard Backstroke, Zobl took home a second place finish with a personal best time of 1:03.33, dropping 2.48 seconds and obtaining a Senior Girl’s SES Qualifying Time. Other notable time drops came in the 200 Yard Individual Medley and the 200 Yard Backstroke in which she obtained a 13&14 Year Old Girl’s SES Qualifying Cut. “Brittany stepped up quite nicely at this meet, and put together some good swims. She will continue to improve the more she swims the events of 200 yards and greater.”

White House’s McCrory dropped times in 5 of her 8 events, and swam the 13&14 Year Old Girl’s 200 Yard Breaststroke and 400 Yard Individual Medley for the first time in her career. “Like all of the kids who train with Coach Andreea Ianoli-Mitrofan, Caroline is continuing to improve in terms of technique and racing ability.”

Kathryn George, a Freshman at Pope John Paul II High School, took home first places in the 13&14 Year Old Girl’s 100 Yard Butterfly and the 200 Yard Butterfly. Kathryn also swam to a new SES qualifying time in the 100 Yard Breaststroke, brining her qualification event total to eight. Haley George, a Junior at Pope John Paul II High School, improved her times in the Senior Girl’s 200 Yard Freestyle and 50 Yard Freestyle. Katie Mize, also a Junior at Pope John Paul II High School took home a 3^rd place in the Senior Girl’s 200 Yard Individual Medley and a 4^th Place in the 200 Yard Butterfly.

Those interested in working on their stroke technique and water conditioning before the start of the summer are invited to join Excel Aquatics for their annual Spring Tune-Up for Summer League Swimmers to be held April 16 through May 19^th. Contact Shereé Zobl at 826-3943 for more information.

For more information on Excel Aquatics, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.

Zobl breaks Meet Record

Brittany Zobl Breaks Meet Record in Nashville

June 25, 2006……Hendersonville’s Brittany Zobl, representing Excel Aquatics, stunned the field on Saturday night in winning the 11&12 Year Old Girl’s 50 Meter Backstroke at the NAC Summer Sizzler Long Course Invitational and setting a Meet Record in the process.

The Summer Sizzler included 783 swimmers from 44 teams from 8 states, and is one of the most competitive meets in the nation for the younger swimmers during the summer Long Course Season.

In the 50 Meter Backstroke, Zobl was seeded 8^th going into the meet, and during the preliminaries she cut 1.31 seconds and moved up to a second place seeding going into the evening finals. During Finals, Brittany had a tremendous effort off the start, took off on the underwater kick portion of the race, and emerged a half-body length in front of her nearest competitor as each one surfaced. Brittany never lost the lead, cut another 0.92 seconds off her prelims time, shattering the Meet Record with a time of 0:33.73, which was 49 hundredths of a second below the previous record.

The 100 Meter Backstroke on Sunday meant a return to the Finals for Zobl. During the preliminaries, she was seeded 8th to qualify for the evening Finals. During Finals Zobl dropped 1.36 seconds to finish in a Personal Best time of 1:15.86, good for 5^th Place overall. Although only 12 years old, that time was also a Senior Age Group qualifying time for SES.

Brittany is coached under the tutelage of Andreea Ianoli-Mitrofan, a former Romanian National Champion and lead coach of swimmers from 10 to 13 years old with Excel Aquatics in Sumner County, who train at the Gallatin Civic Center. “Coach Andreea has done a tremendous job with her swimmers this year”, Excel Assistant Coach John Barnes commented. “Her work with Brittany is business as usual and what we have come to expect from Coach Andreea. This past year all of Coach Andreea’s swimmers had tremendous improvements.”

In other events during the meet, Zobl added to her SES Long Course Championship Qualifying times with cuts in the 50 Meter Breaststroke and 50 Meter Butterfly. Zobl previously had attained cuts in the 50 Free, 50 Back and 100 Back. The SES Long Course Championship Meet will be held July 27-30^th in Knoxville TN.

Also competing for Excel Aquatics from Sumner County this weekend was Jimmy Joe Boone. “Jimmy Joe has had a lot on his plate this summer. He’s swimming for Excel, training with Indian Lakes Swim Club’s summer team, playing tennis, wakeboarding, and going to basketball camp among other things.” Barnes noted. “Boone has a lot of spirit and helps bring positive fun to our practices. He’s improved a lot this year, and we expect him to continue to improve as he continues to work hard.”

For more information on Excel Aquatics, visit www.ExcelAquatics.org.