Tigers save the best for last in Knoxville

Justin Karpinos
Elena Escalas wins state title; Twillie and 2 boys' relays break school records
Twelve qualifiers from the USN swimming team traveled to Knoxville last weekend to compete in the 2015 TISCA State Championship.  With over 160 teams and 1,000 athletes competing in the deepest state meet in history, we knew our Region performances weren't going to be enough to make a stamp in the finals.  The team finished with 38 points overall, which was good enough for 20th place overall.

Here are our day-by-day recaps:

Friday, February 13:
 
The girls' and boys' 200 medley relays got things rolling to open the meet.  Our girls had a fantastic race, swimming well under the school record from 1995.  Unfortunately, a disqualification slip for a false start followed this race, nullifying the time and taking away our finals spot.
 
The boys' relay team (Kellon Patey, Mackenzie Myers, Neil Zheng, and Joshua Twillie) was equally electric, jumping from 25th to 16th with a huge swim that broke the 2011 school record with a time of 1:40.26.  Kellon (24.7), Mackenzie (28.8), Neil (24.8) and Joshua (21.7) all swam lifetime bests to squeak into finals in an event that was MUCH faster than it has ever been in the history of the meet -- our 12th place finish from 2014 wouldn't have cracked the top 20 this year.
 
Our girls were rattled from the relay disqualification for the rest of the session, but Margaret Luffman managed a lifetime best in her 100 fly, and Elena Escalas qualified for finals in the same event.  Other swims -- Trudy's 200 IM, Ky Hall's 50 free, and Natalie's 100 butterfly -- were close to their lifetime bests but (we think) not reflective of what they're physically capable of.
 
The boys rolled on, with freshmen Joshua Twillie and Curtis Patey contributing lifetime bests in the 50 freestyles (22.6 and 23.2, respectively).  Joshua's time moved him up to 2nd on the USN all-time Top 10 list.  Neil Zheng dropped over a second in his 100 fly (56.2, moving him up to 4th on the Top 10 list).
 
On Friday evening, the boys' relay and Elena had strong races.  The boys' were unable to move up in spite of Neil's drop to 24.4, but Elena improved from 13th to 10th and finished just off her school record, set in 2014.
 
On Saturday, the team returned refreshed and ready to race.  The girls, in particular, had a lot to prove.  Natalie TeSelle started the session off with a gutsy 500, dropping three seconds off her lifetime best.
 
We took a gamble and elected to swim the 200 freestyle relay, thinking that we had a better chance of scoring there, even though none of our girls is a true sprinter.  But the quartet of Trudy Zou (26.6), Elena Escalas (25.0), Margaret Luffman (27.5), and Marina Escalas (26.5) all all had great lifetime best splits, finishing 18th and just .4 seconds out of finals.  Their time of 1:45.66 was the fastest USN girls' since 1999.  Trudy's leadoff split was good enough to earn her a new spot on the USN all-time Top 10 list.
 
Margaret and Katie Watke returned shortly afterwards and had two good 100 backstrokes, just off their lifetime bests from the Region meet.  Trudy, Marina, and Elena all had strong 100 breaststrokes, with Elena winning her heat and taking the top seed going into finals.
 
In the boys'pool, the 200 free relay team of Curtis (23.7), Joshua (21.7), Mackenzie (23.1), and Kellon (21.9) won their early heat going away, crushing the 2014 school record by 2.5 seconds and qualifying for finals:
 
Kellon Patey returned shortly afterwards to earn his first individual finals swim in the 100 backstroke, improving to second on the all-time Top 10 list.  His time of 53.09 was a HUGE improvement over his seed and his lifetime best.
 
Mackenzie Myers equalled his lifetime best in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 1:06.8.
 
Finally, the 400 freestyle relay team of Joshua, Curtis, Neil, and Kellon just missed qualifying for finals, finishing 17th (and just .32 out of finals), with the second fastest time in school history (3:22.12).  Notably, Joshua's leadoff split (50.21) moved him up to second on the all-time Top 10 list, and Kellon's anchor split (47.98) was the second fastest relay split in school history (just behind Michael Ng '11).
 
In finals on Saturday, the boys 200 free relay cut another 3/10ths off their prelim time.  We shuffled the order around to stay in a faster heat; at night, Joshua Twillie broke Michael Ng's school record in the 50 leading off with a time of 22.29, and Kellon's anchor split (21.42) was the fastest 50 freestyle relay split in USN history.

Elena's 100 breaststroke was one of the most exciting races of the entire state meet.  Sitting in second place at the 75, she took the lead in the final 10 yards to win the state title and crush the school record that she's owned since January 2012.  Her time also met the automatic All-American qualifying standard.
 
Congratulations on an oustanding meet!  We are tremendously proud of the way the state team negotiated the emotional highs and lows of the meet to post some amazing performances on the biggest stage of the season.
 
Special thanks all our parent support, to Skye Cameron for his assistance throughout the weekend, and to June and Steve Page, who captured a lot of race videos, which we've linked to below:
 
FRIDAY:
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Championship - Girls 200 yd Medley (Preliminaries) 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BAYlLYKzvY
 
2015 TN HS State a Swim a Meet - Girls 200 yd IM (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN State Swim Meet - Girls 50 yd Free (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Championship - Girls 100 yd Fly (Margaret & Natalie) (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State a Swim a Meet - Girls 100 yd Fly (Elena) (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Boys 200 yd Medley Relay (FINALS)
 
SATURDAY:
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 100 yd Free (Preliminaries)
 
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet -Girls 500 yd Free (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 200 yd Free Relay (Preliminaries)

2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Boys 200 yd Free Relay (Preliminaries)

2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 100 yd Back (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Boys 100 yd Back (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 100 yd Breaststroke- Marina (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 100 yd Breaststroke- Trudy (Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 100 yd Breaststroke- (Elena-Preliminaries)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Boys 400 yd Free Relay (Preliminaries)
 
SATURDAY FINALS:
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Girls 100 yd Breaststroke (Elena - Finals)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Boys 100 yd Backstroke (Finals)
 
2015 TN HS State Swim Meet - Boys 200 yd Free Relay (Finals)
Back

More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Ava ’26 recognized by National Council of Teachers of English

    Congratulations to the rising senior, who has been selected for a 2025 Achievement Award in Writing by the National Council of Teachers of English.
    Read More
  • Retired faculty members gather in Durnan Auditorium for their annual luncheon.

    Retired faculty, staff return to USN

    As part of a longstanding tradition, retired teachers and professionals from USN over the years came together to celebrate, connect, and reminisce during their annual luncheon in Durnan Auditorium.
    Read More

  • Athletes beyond Edgehill

    It is common to have five or more University School of Nashville student-athletes sign college athletic commitment letters each year, and this year, USN saw eight more student-athletes commit to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. USN has several alumni participating in their chosen sport at the collegiate level from the Classes of 2021 through 2025. Continue reading to learn more about where Tigers are competing beyond Edgehill.
     
    Read More
Archive

Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

Resources

USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.