ACAC SPLASHES DOWN IN KINGSPORT
ACAC SPLASHES DOWN IN KINGSPORT
By: Emilie Cooper
In the churning waters of the Red Piranhas, Atomic City Aquatic Club showed they will not cower. 202 athletes descended on Kingsport over September 24-25 for the Red Piranhas Fall Kick Off Swimming Invitational. 46 wore the black and red swim caps of our home team, ACAC.
This meet was a fantastic way to start the season. The meet had a wide range of events from fast and fun 25s and 50s of stroke to challenging endurance races like 200s of stroke, the 500 free, and 400 IM. This created an energized atmosphere where the athletes experienced success and had the opportunity to push themselves outside their comfort zone. “Overcoming fear of tough swims early in the season is crucial for a strong mental mindset at championship time.” - Jessica Abrahamson, Assistant Coach.
Early season meets are all about setting up a baseline mindset and creating good routines for future meets. For some, this meet was about learning what they are made of. For all, it was a chance to rise to the challenge of swimming to the best of their abilities while still in full training mode.
ACAC Coaches & Competitors
Rise, they did! Of the 32 High Point awards given at the meet, ACAC took home 16! In the 12 & under age group, they saw 21 personal bests set in the Saturday morning session alone! Double-digit time improvements were achieved by a number of swimmers on individual races and overall, showing how the skills are starting to click.
Connor French (age 8) saw a 13 second improvement on his 100 individual medley and went on to drop time in all 8 of his events with a whopping 47 seconds in total time improvement! Katherine Buchanan (13) similarly saw time improvements in every race, dropping more than 30 seconds across 8 races!
The 200 Fly showcased ACAC’s 13 & over swimmers with 6 finishes in the top 5 of their different age groups. “So proud of our hardworking swimmers showing up for this grueling race and making it look beautiful and shiny!” - Sarah Corcoran, Head Coach.
One stand-out performance came from Jessie Shaefer (12) who hit a new personal best and an age group sectional time of 1:07.97 for her 100 Fly, taking 1st place. “She has really devoted a lot of training towards improving her fly, and she deserves every second of this accomplishment!” - Coach Jess.
There were large improvements in backstroke across the entire team. “We have had backstroke as a major focus the last few weeks. We enjoy seeing the work… work!” - Coach Jess. With this stroke we saw nearly 40 finishes in the top 5, and a sweep of 1st thru 3rd with the 10 year old boys. New to the team, Leo Karnitz (16) showed he will be a fierce competitor this season when he swam the 200 Back in 2:00.09.
Breaststroke can be a challenging swim to conquer with the extensive criteria that comes together to ensure a fair race for all swimmers. Kendall Hudgens (15), also new to ACAC this season, reigned supreme as the breaststroke queen. She glided into 1st place with more than a 2 second lead and a time of 1:09.92 in the 100 breast then 1st again in the 200 breast by over 6 seconds and a time of 2:38.97! Hallie Hill (13) similarly took 1st in her 200 breast when she took more than 6 seconds off of her time, setting a personal best with huge technique improvements that she has been working on this past summer.
Freestyle Swimmers in the 50 Free
The longer freestyle races had multiple first time swimmers. “We are learning to apply the concepts of race strategies, pacing and staying with our skills under stress. So proud of our early efforts at these new ideas.” - Coach Sarah. Ben Martin (10) swam his first 200 Free and took 2nd! Holden Grossman (12) swam his first 500 Free, taking 3rd!
Andrew Chou is one to watch. Having already made cuts for Junior Nationals and US Open, this weekend he led the team with 63 points! “With poetic splits and long, reaching strokes,” - Coach Sarah - his 500 Free came in under 5 minutes at 4:53.27!
The 400 IM is one of the toughest events at a swim meet. It requires versatility, stamina, and a careful race strategy. Olivia Foy McDaniel (13) “showed her teammates what kind of grit it takes to compete at the next level up!” - Coach Jess. She took 1st in the event with a time of 5:08.77.
It isn’t all about competition, though. The team looks out for each other. Rory O’Neil (12) took new swimmer Riley Olson (8) under her wing as they warmed up together before the meet. Alex Kaye (13) helped to ensure that young sight-impaired Abigail Vincent (8) got to each of her events. These kids exemplify both the competitive and caring aspects of being a part of this amazing team.
Rory O’Neil & Riley Olson
With a strong start to the season, the ACAC coaches, Sarah Corcoran, Jessica Abrahamson and Chris Franklin, are showing they can lead this team to success. There was a lot of fast swimming at this meet, but there is still work to do. It’s at these fast speeds where the skills they try to develop exist. Developing different energy phases early “can make all the difference for their chances at securing qualifying times at their mid-season meets for their championship goals.” - Coach Jess.
Come watch the team in their next competition at the 2022 IMR Lois Weir Meet at the Oak Ridge Civic Center October 8th!
