Edmond swimmers on American Energy Swim Club compete at championships

Local area swimmers with American Energy Swim Club recently earned a trip to the USA Swimming Speedo Winter Junior National (West) Championships. Men and women 18 and under competed at the University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Dec. 6-9. Only eleven swimmers from the state of Oklahoma, some of which are from Edmond, qualified to compete at the national meet and six of those athletes were from the local swim club, American Energy. Coached by Chris Van Slooten, High School Juniors Hanna Newby from Bishop McGuinness and Luke Davis from Edmond Memorial High School, earned spots in the evening finals. Newby had a stellar 7th place finish in 100 and 200 yard Breaststroke. Davis, qualifying in the 100 Y Freestyle, 200 Individual Medley, made a first appearance by finishing 12th in the 200 Y Butterfly. Memorial High School senior Kellie Fischer posted best times in 100 Y Backstroke and Freestyle and will be swimming on scholarship for the Florida Gulf Coast Swim Team in the fall. Dewi Blose missed making finals in the 100 and 200 Y Backstroke but will swim in the fall for the University of Kansas. Casidy High School senior Quinn Bunnag and Edmond North High School junior Matthew Goldsmith qualified in the 100 and 200 Y Breaststroke. Van Slooten, who cares as much about athlete character development as he does performances, reflected, “I'm proud of what this team has accomplished thus far. In less than three years, we have doubled our representatives at the national level. Last year we were represented at Junior Nationals by two athletes, Bunnag and Fischer, and Newby swam at Senior Nationals. Through commitment, discipline and sacrifice four more athletes were added. “As for the meet, it was exactly what one would expect at the national level. It showcased some of the country's best but it also revealed character-building moments for our athletes. Some had personal disappointments but also had positive team-focused rebounds. I'm especially proud of the life skills being learned like delayed gratification and learning to celebrate others in the midst of not hitting your own personal goals. There is much more to AESC than fast swimming. We develop leaders." American Energy Swim Club will be hosting its annual Elite Meet this weekend at Mitch Park YMCA Edmond Recreation and Aquatic Center. More than 450 swimmers are registered to compete.

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Edmond Memorial High School Athletics

EDMOND SWIMMERS ON AMERICAN ENERGY SWIM CLUB COMPETE AT CHAMPIONSHIPS

SHANTEL DAVIS

The Edmond Sun | 12/17/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Edmond Memorial High School Athletics