Feature by Emily Sampl<\/i><\/p>\n
BOULDER, Colorado, August 7. TEXAS, California and Florida have traditionally produced some of the United States' and the world's top swimmers. It might be time to add Massachusetts to that list. Led by rising star and newly-crowned U.S. Olympian Elizabeth Beisel, Bluefish Swim Club in Attleboro, Mass., has made a statement that they're a force to be reckoned with. <\/p>\n
Under the direction of head coach Chuck Batchelor, who arrived in the fall of 2005, Bluefish continues to reel in accolades and fill their ever-growing trophy case. For the third year in a row, the club received Silver Medal recognition from USA Swimming's Club Excellence Program, which is based on athlete performance. Additionally, Bluefish was designated as a Level One team in the Club Recognition Program, which recognizes the organization and development of the club. <\/p>\n
While the club has shown to be successful out of the water, it's in the pool that Bluefish swimmers have made the greatest waves. In March, the team captured its third Eastern Zone Speedo Championship Series Sectional title, winning the men's, women's, and overall team titles by whopping margins. <\/p>\n
This summer, the club finished second in the team race at the Southern Zone Sectionals while winning the women's side of the meet and finishing second in the men's. Sixteen-year-old Alex Forrester tied a Tracy Caulkins meet record in the 200 fly at the meet. Nine swimmers represented Bluefish at this summer's Olympic Trials, highlighted by Beisel's second-place finishes in the 400 IM and 200 back. Other top performances came from Laura Sogar, 17, who took eighth in the 200 breast, and David Russell, 21, who finished 14th in the 100 back. Sogar and teammate Chris Rogers then represented the United States at the 2nd FINA World Youth Swimming Championships in Monterrey, Mexico. To say 2008 has been a good year for Bluefish would be a bit of an understatement.<\/p>\n
Bluefish isn't only for elite swimmers, however. The club offers swim lessons, directed by Batchelor's wife, Christie, all the way up through Masters, offering everyone the chance to succeed, whether they're just learning to swim or preparing for the Olympic Games or their final Masters meet. With a talented coaching staff and a motivated group of swimmers, Bluefish is definitely on the rise. Massachusetts might be a small state, but they're certainly putting some big names on the swimming map.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Feature by Emily Sampl BOULDER, Colorado, August 7. TEXAS, California and Florida have traditionally produced some of the United States' and the world's top swimmers. It might be time to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-usa","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n