Coach Beth Cholish - Head Coach/CEO - Level 3 USA Swimming Coach

Undergraduate Degree:  BS Environmental Studies, Marywood University 8/1997

Graduate Degree:  MS Education/Physics, University of Southern Maine 5/2004

Coach Beth was a competitive swimmer for 14 years, swimming in Pennsylvania and Maine for multiple swim clubs and YMCA's including Selingsgrove YMCA, Lewisburg Summer Swim Team, Longreach Swim Club at Bath Area YMCA, and Morse High School.  She was a lifeguard for the State of Maine for seven summers, working at Reid State Park in Georgetown, ME.  During her time as a lifeguard she competed in many lifeguard competitions.  She began her coaching career when she was a student at Marywood University in the mid 1990's.  She was an assistant coach for the Greater Scranton YMCA Stingray Swim Team from 1994-1998.  She then moved back to Maine where she coached high school swimming.  In 2005 she and her family moved back to NEPA where she coached high school swimming at Pocono Mountain East High School.  She coached at PME from 2005-2008 and then again from 2016-2018.  In 2018 she returned to age group swimming as the head coach for the Greater Scranton YMCA Stingray Swim Team.  She left GSY in August of 2019 and took the position as head coach for Marywood's Pacers Aquatic Club.  In the Spring of 2020 Marywood University decided they did not want to continue with an age-group swim team affiliation.  At that time Coach Beth began the process to have Pacers Aquatic Club become a parent-run, non-profit,  USA  Swim Club.  She was able to sucessfully establish Pacers Aquatic Club through the onset of the pandemic in the Spring of 2020.  Pacers Aquatic Club was displaced from Marywood University from March of 2020 until June of 2021.  In the Spring of 2021 Pacers Aquatic Club ended negotiations with Marywood University to rent pool time to continue as a USA Swim Club and member of the Middle Atlantic LSC.  Pacers Aquatic Club has been coached by Beth Cholish under our new club status since June of 2020, with our first regular Fall/WInter Season having just concluded.  In her career as a swim coach, Coach Beth has coached swimmers to compete at YMCA Nationals in 1998 and then again in 2019.   She has coached high school swimmers who achieved district and state titles in Maine and Pennsylvania.  She has coached swimmers to compete in the biggest meets in USA Swimming including USA Swimming Futures (The Ohio State University 2020 - Canceled due to COVID, Richmond, VA - 2021, Ocala, FL 2025), Speedo Sectionals (Christiansburg, VA 2020 - Canceled due to COVID, 2024, 2025), Eastern Zone SCY Championships (Buffalo, NY 2020 - Canceled due to COVID, Webster, NY, 2023, 2024, 2025), Middle Atlantic Senior Championships (Keystone Aquatic Center 2021 and 2022, 2023, Graham Aquatic Center 2025), Middle Atlantic Junior Championships (Graham Aquatic Center, York, PA. 2020 and 2022, Franklin and Marshall 2023, 2024, 2025), Middle Atlantic Silver Championships (Graham Aquatic Center, York, PA 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 ), Middle Atlantic Bronze Championships (Keystone Aquatic Center, Mechanicsburg, PA 2020), Middle Atlantic 10 &Under Championships (Nazareth Middle School, Nazareth, PA 2022, 2024, 2025 Hershey Aquatic Center 2023).  She has attended many workshops and coaching clinics, including the Eastern States Swim Clinic in Cherry Hill, NJ.  In the Summer of 2025 she was selected by the Middle Atlantic LSC to participate in the Women in Governance Program for USA Swimming. She attended the 2025 USA Swimming Annual Summit, Women in Governance Symposium and Workshops and Golden Goggle Awards in Denver Colorado. She has been a math and physics teacher throughout her coaching career and attributes her success as a coach to her level of understanding of the physics behind what swimmers need to do in the water to move faster and more efficiently.  

Coach Gabby Cholish - Assistant Coach - Level 2 USA Swimming Coach

Undergraduate Degree:  BS Biotechnology, Marywood University 2021

Coach Gabby swam competitively for 8 years in Maine and Pennsylvania.  As an age-group swimmer she swam with Longreach Swim Club at the Bath Family YMCA and the Portland Porpoises USA Swim Club in Portland, Maine.  She was a YMCA State Champion Swimmer and swam at the YMCA New England Championships at MIT in Boston, MA in 2013 and 2014.  She swam for Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine for three years and then finished her senior year swimming for Scranton Prep.  As a high school swimmer she was a State Champion in 2014 and then again in 2016 in the 200 Medley Relay swimming the Fly.  She helped to lead her high school swim team to a state title in 2014.  It was the first and last time to date the the Cheverus Girls Swim Team had won a state title.  She placed in the top 8 at Maine High School States in multiple events in 2014, 2015 and 2016 including, the 200IM, 100 Fly, 100 Back and multiple medley and free relays.  She took some time away from the pool after graduating from high school.  She returned to competitive swimming competing with Marywood University in 2019-2020.  She concluded her rookie year for Marywood with many accomplishments including being named Atlantic East Conference Rookie of the Year and setting a conference record in the 100 back.  She was named Marywood's MVP.  In her 2020-21 season she finished as a conference champion in the 200 Fly and was again named as Marywood's Women's Swimming and Diving Team MVP along with being named Female Swimmer of the Year.  In the Spring of 2021 Coach Gabby earned one of the highest athletic awards at Marywood University being named the 2020-21 Female Athlete of the Year for all sports.  Coach Gabby has been an assistant coach for 3 years.  She loves coaching all ages and abilities, but she particularly enjoys coaching our littlest Pacers Swimmers in Green Group.  She attributes her success in coaching to her experiences as a competitive swimmer and being mentored as a coach by her mom, Coach Beth. 

Coach Jess Agnello - Assistant Coach - Level 1 USA Swimming Coach

Undergraduate Degree:  BS Elementary Eduation, Bloomsburg University 12/2004

Graduate Degree:  MS Education, Wilkes University 8/2013

National Board Certified Teacher: Literacy: Reading-Language  Arts/Early and Middle Childhood 12/2017

Coach Jess swam competitively as an age-group swimmer for the Carbondale Area Dolphins Swim Team in high school.  She graduated from Western Wayne High School.  After graduating from Bloomsburg University she began her teaching career at Western Wayne School District where she has taught for the last 17 years.  Her first 6 years were spent teaching 3rd Grade.  During that time she earned a Master's Degree in Education from Wilkes University.  She has spent the last 11 years teaching 4th grade.  After completing her Master's Degree, Coach Jess continued to challenge herself and achieved her National Board Certification in Teaching.  Coach Jess is a revered teacher in the Western Wayne School District.  She is passionate about growing the sport of swimming in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  She was a Certified YMCA Swim Official for many years.  She officiated YMCA meets for the Penn-Del YMCA Swim League.  Coach Jess has 4 children who swim for Pacers Aquatic Club with her 5th to start in the Spring/Summer of 2023.  Coach Jess has been and continues to be an avid supporter of Pacers Aquatic Club, she has been an active volunteer, and has competed with the parents in the SOLECO Relays.   Coach Jess loves the sport of swimming and has instilled this love in her 5 children. She has witnessed first-hand the success her high school aged children have had in the sport of swimming due to being members of Pacers Aquatic Club.   She attributes her success in coaching to her years as an educator and a mother of 5.  She gravitates toward the 8-11 year old swimmers as those are the ages of the students she has spent her career teaching.  Coach Jess says she feels like she is home coaching the Pacers Swimmers and working with the Pacers coaching staff.

Coach Joey Slish - Assistant Coach - Level One USA Swimming Coach

Undergraduate Degree:  BS in Athletic Training - Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, PA 2024

Graduate Degree: MS in Athletic Training - Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, PA 2025

Coach Joey is a Pacers Aquatic Club Alumni Class of 2020.  He is a graduate of Mid-Valley High School.  After graduating from high school he continued his academic and swimming career at Marywood University until his transfer to King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  He swam for King's College while finishing his undergraduate degree.  Joey finished his graduate studies in 2024-25 while coaching Pacers Aquatic Club for the first time. Joey is a terrific member of the Pacers Aquatic Club coaching staff.  He has the unique experience of being a former Pacers Swimmer, a collegiate swimmer and now a USA Swimming Coach.  Joey's educational background in Athletic Training provides excellent insight for our swimmers who are dealing with chronic issues or need advice on how to take care of their bodies when training in the sport of swimming. Joey enjoys all sports including football and baseball.  He is a serious fan of the New York Yankees.  Along with coaching for Pacers Aquatic Club he works as a lifeguard at the Greater Scranton YMCA.  He is studying for his Athletic Training Board of Certification Exam.  Upon passing his BOC he hopes to work as an athletic trainer for a local area high school or college. He enjoys coaching all age group levels in swimming.