ACAC Rounds Out Short Course Season with Fast Swims, Sees Successes at Championship Meets

(OAK RIDGE, Tenn.) Atomic City Aquatic Club continued to see personal successes and exceptional swim times as its athletes completed the regular short course season and began championship level competition. 

At the SE Region 2 Championships held in Chattanooga at the end of January, 32 ACAC swimmers worked to achieve personal bests and attain the cut times needed for further short course competition. Nearly every swimmer accomplished at least one personal best! 

A few athletes stood out at this meet, showing grit and growth, fighting through strong competition. 

• Hollins Grubb, 10, showed improvement in all of her events and swam her first ever 500 freestyle. She brought home two first place, one second place, one third place, two fourth place, and one sixth place finishes! 

• Amelia Carrell, 12, is in her first full year with ACAC and has continuously improved every meet. At the Region 2 Championships, she placed in the top six in every event she swam and dropped more than 40 seconds on her 500 freestyle. 

• Jasper Springer, 14, also achieved personal bests in nearly every event he swam and placed in the top six in three events. 

Overall, ACAC saw more than 50 top six finishes at this meet. 

“This was an incredible meet for ACAC because some swimmers were focused on improving technique and swimming clean races while achieving personal goals, others wanted to beat the cut times that allowed them to continue into the championship season,” said ACAC Head Coach Sarah Corcoran. “As a coach, I enjoyed celebrating each athlete’s successes and helping them work toward their goals.”

The first meet that required qualifying times was the Southeastern Winter Short Course Championship, held in Huntsville, Ala. in mid-February. ACAC brought 10 swimmers to Huntsville, primarily in the 13-14 age group. (The 12 and under age group has their eyes set on the Southeastern Speedo Southern Premier in Atlanta later this month.) 

Katherine Buchanan, 14, Jeffrey Nichols, 14, Jessi Schaefer, 13, Dorian Volcansek, 13, Mateo Volcansek, 11, Sophie Volcansek, 11, Logan Williams, 14, and Emmy Zimmer, 13, achieved cut times in at least one event. Preston Dreiser, 13, and Hallie Hill, 14, attended to fill out relay teams for the 13-14 age group. 

• Jeffrey Nichols swam the 100 yard breast, 200 yard breast and 50 yard breast, making finals in the 50 yard breast and taking 10th place overall. 

• Jessi Schaefer swam the 50 yard fly, 100 yard back, 50 yard back, 200 yard back, 200 yard individual medley and 100 yard fly and made finals in every event. She placed 10th in the 50 fly, 12th in the 50 back, 4th in the 200 back and 17th in the 100 fly. 

• Dorian Volcansek competed in the 50 yard fly, 100 yard back, 50 yard back, 50 yard free, 100 yard free and 100 yard fly. In finals he placed 5th in the 50 fly, 9th in the 100 back, 3rd in the 50 back, 17th in the 50 free and 7th in the 100 fly. 

• Logan Williams swam the 100 yard back, 50 yard back, 200 yard breast, and 200 yard back. He placed 18th in the 50 back and 17th in the 200 breast. 

• Emmy Zimmer competed in the 50 yard back, 50 yard free, 200 yard breast, 200 yard back, 100 yard free and 200 yard individual medley. She placed 2nd in the 60 back, 6th in the 50 free, 12th in the 200 back and 8th in the 200 individual medley. 

The next meet on the agenda is the Southeastern Speedo Southern Premier. The 12 and under age group swimmers had to achieve Southeastern Championship cut times in order to attend this meet while the 13 and older age group needed Sectionals cuts, which are the next level of qualifying times. 

“We plan to bring more than a dozen swimmers to this next-level meet,” said Coach Corcoran. “This will be an exciting meet because the competition will be fierce and I am excited to see how these athletes rise to the challenge.”