The 2019 NCS Awards Banquet was held on Saturday night, Sept 21, at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.  Ricky Berens was the featured speaker at the event which recognized NCS All Star Swimmers and Top Five Swimmers. Berens, a former NCS athlete with SwimMAC, talked about his days as an age group swimmer in North Carolina and how those early experiences in swimming built a foundation for his outstanding college career at the University of Texas and later to his ultimate goal of an Olympic Gold Medal. 

Earlier in the day, Berens conducted a clinic for NCS All Star swimmers at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. It was and exciting and memorable experience for the fifty swimmers who joined Ricky in the water for a fun-filled session with lots of helpful tips from the Olympic champion.

Prior to the banquet, nearly 300 banquet attendees enjoyed a casual meet and greet autograph session with Berens at the Special Events Center.

Later, NCS General Chair Dave Olack welcomed the group to the banquet before turning the microphone over to perennial MC, Jonathan Watson.  Jonathan reviewed some of the many amazing achievements of North Carolina Swimmers before revving up the crowd with a highlight video from the 2019 World Championships. Then Ricky Berens told a few stories about his swimming journey and some of the high and lows that he experienced along the way. He encouraged the swimmers to enjoy the moment and to make it fun. As one of those kids in the audience not that long ago, his message was even more relevant and impactful to an attentive group of outstanding young NCS swimmers.

Next came the awards. Top Five Caps and All Star towels were presented to those swimmers in attendance.  (Top Five and All Star swimmers not in attendance will receive caps and towels from their clubs.)  Several special awards were also presented and are listed below. Congratulations to all NCS award recipients!

Age Group Swimmer of the Year

11-12	Female	Lilly Willis	TAC
11-12	Male	Erik Petruzzi	TYDE
13-14	Female	Claire Curzan	TAC
13-14	Male	Matthew Lucky	SAIL
15-16	Female	Charlotte Hook	TAC
15-16	Male	Tim Connery	MAC
17-18	Female	Abby Arens	MOR
17-18	Male	Ross Dant	YSST

Open Water Swimmer of the Year

Female	Ashley Twichell	TAC
Male	Owen Lloyd	NCAC

Willis Casey Award (Top NCS International Ranking)

Kathleen Baker

TE

Andy Craver Determination Award

Adyn Cobb

ECA

Age Group Coach of the Year

Billy Thorne

MOR

Franke Bell Senior Coach of the Year

Jeremy Gregory

ATOM

NCS Team of the Year

Division 3 (Small Clubs)	Lowes YMCA Lightning
Division 2 (Medium Clubs)	North Carolina Aquatic Club
Division 3 (Large Clubs)	SwimMAC Carolina

Phillips 66 Service Award

Cynthia Shannon

Jack Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award

Suzanne Heath

USA Swimming Lifetime Memberships

Trish Martin

Amy Faulk

The 2017 NCS Awards Banquet on Saturday night, Sept 23, at the McKimmon Conference Center in Raleigh capped off a full day of activities for NC Swimmers and their families. In the morning, over 70 senior athletes attended an Athlete Workshop at NC State that featured Ceallach Gibbons of USA Swimming and coach Gary Taylor of NC State.

Olympic Gold Medalist, Anthony Ervin

In the afternoon Olympic Gold Medalist Anthony Ervin conducted a clinic for over 50 NCS All Star swimmers before hustling to a meeting with NCS coaches and then serving as special guest speaker at the banquet.   A crowd of over 300 athletes, parents, coaches, and officials were on hand for an autograph session, to listen to Ervin’s inspiring words, and to recognize the accomplishments of some of NC Swimming’s top athletes and coaches.

Current NC State swimmer, Justin Ress, who swam the second fastest time in the world this year in the 50 back and who recently earned three Gold medals at the World University Games, was on hand as the recipient of the Willis Casey Award.  That award was presented by his former coach at the Marlins of Raleigh…and the 2017 NCS senior coach of the year, Paul Silver.

Award caps and towels were presented to NCS Top Five swimmers and NCS All Star swimmers in attendance. Listed below are several special awards that were also presented.

Age Group Swimmer of the Year (Highest National Ranking by NCS Athlete)
11-12	Female	Claire Curzan	RSA
11-12	Male	Nathan Jao	EAC
13-14	Female	Abby Arens	MOR
13-14	Male	Tim Connery	MAC
15-16	Female	Madison Homovich	MOR
15-16	Male	Ross Dant	YSST
17-18	Female	Olivia Carter	EAC
17-18	Male	Zach Brown	MOR
Open Water Swimmer of the Year
	Female	Ashley Twichell	NCAC
	Male	Chip Peterson	NCAC
Willis Casey Award (Top International Ranking by NCS athlete)
		Justin Ress	MOR
Andy Craver Determination Award
		Sydney Parsons	YOTA
Age Group Coach of the Year
		Andrew Rogers	YOTA
Franke Bell Senior Coach of the Year
		Paul Silver	MOR
NCS Team of the Year
		SwimMAC Carolina
Phillips 66 Service Award
		Rebekah Allen