Rebecca Westfall began her tenure with Blues Aquatics in July of 2025. A decorated athlete and accomplished coach with over sixteen years of experience across NCAA Division I, II, and III levels, Westfall brings a passionate, holistic approach to coaching that aligns perfectly with Asheville School’s mission and values.

Westfall, an eight-time NCAA All-American and nine-time Big XII Champion during her collegiate career at Texas A&M, has built an impressive résumé as a coach and leader. She most recently served as Head Coach at Warren Wilson College, where she not only led the team’s athletic development but also helped cultivate a positive, team-first culture.

Her previous coaching experience includes roles at NC State, the University of Alabama, University of Pittsburgh, Indiana State, UNC Asheville, and more. Across each institution, Westfall has been recognized for her technical expertise, individualized training strategies, and success in mentoring student-athletes to achieve their personal and academic goals.

Known for her innovative training methods and her commitment to team culture, Westfall emphasizes holistic development—mentorship, communication, and emotional intelligence—as cornerstones of her coaching philosophy. In addition, Westfall specializes in biomechanics and swimming technique, and she has published a series of articles on kinetic energy and movement through water.

She and her husband James have two children - a son, Wade, and a daughter, Claire.

Prior to the Fall of 2025, Sarah Harvey was promoted to Associate Head Coach in recognition of her incredible hard work and dedication during her tenure at Blues Aquatics. She is primarily responsible for the Senior Prep group and assists with all our training groups. Harvey joined the Blues staff in 2022 eager to help cultivate a love of swimming in the next generation of athletes.

Harvey comes to us from a unique coaching background. During her undergrad at the University of Iowa, Harvey pursued her education in speech pathology while aso working with children with special healthcare needs at a children's therapy center. 

After beginning swimming at the age of 5 at a local summer league team, Harvey quickly fell in love with the sport and joined a local year round club team shortly after. While in high school, Sarah helped her school’s team win 4 of its 6 consecutive state swimming championships, from 2007-2011. Like many high school swimmers, she also got a job teaching swim lessons at the Des Moines Y and jumped at the chance to help coach the 10 and under age group with their swim team.

When not at the pool, she is busy chasing after her 3 young children. 

Izzy Mack has been with Blues Aquatics since 2022 and is primarily responsible for the Blue and White Groups. Her infectious energy and positive attitude make her a great fit for our developing athletes!

As a distance swimmer, Mack competed for Roanoke College where she obtained her bachelors degree in political science with a concentration in legal studies in 2021. She specialized in distance, competing in the 500 and 1650 freestyle and 400 IM and was also a member of the 800 and 400 freestyle relay teams. Mack's highlights include a 2nd place in the 1650 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 800 freestyle relay at the 2020 Old Dominion Conference Championships in 2021. Depsite her qualification, the COVID shut down prevented her from competing at the Division III NCAAs. 

Asheville born and raised, Mack grew up swimming in the area for Asheville Swim Club and Asheville High School. 

Dakota Mahaffey joined the Blues Aquatics staff during the summer of 2025 and assists primarily with the Senior Elite and Senior Prep groups.

Mahaffey comes to us from Marlins of Raleigh where he spent a year working primarily with the 10–12 year-old group and assisted head coach Paul Silver with their Senior Elite group. In 2023, he relocated to Asheville to be nearer to family. 

Mahaffey swam at the University of Florida from 2016-2020 and while earning Second Team All-SEC honors in 2020 and SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2018. Mahaffey stayed on to coach at UF as a volunteer assistant from 2021-2022 where he shared the deck 2024 Head US Olympic Coach Anthony Nesty. He also helped coach the legendary Katie Ledecky!