Olympic Gold Medalist Charlie Houchin with SwimMAC coach Alan Pfau and a group of SwimMAC athletes who were on hand to accept awards at the NCS Awards Banquet in Raleigh.
Olympic Gold Medalist and former North Carolina age group swimmer, Charlie Houchin, was the guest speaker at the North Carolina Swimming Awards Banquet at the DoubleTree Hotel in Raleigh on Saturday, September 22. Houchin recalled some of his favorite Olympic experiences and encouraged young swimmers to have fun along the way and to enjoy the sport. Houchin was introduced to the crowd of over 250 swimmers, coaches, and family members by his coach, John Payne. Payne spoke about Charlie’s progression from a young age group swimmer to an Olympic champion.
The event recognized swimmers from North Carolina Swimming who finished in the TOP FIVE for the 2011 LC, 2011-12 SC, and 2012 LC seasons; North Carolina Swimming ALL STARS; NC Swimmers in the National TOP TEN, and TOP THREE Open Water swimmers in the 2012 State OW Championship. Individual Awards were also presented to the Swimmers of the Year in each age group. They were:
11-12 Male Levente Bathory STAR
11-12 Female Kayla Tennant STAR
13-14 Male Colin Ellington YOTA
13-14 Female Kathleen Baker SwimMAC
15-16 Male Kyle Darmody SwimMAC
15-16 Female Maija Roses SwimMAC
17-18 Male Dominick Glavich YOTA
17-18 Female Faith Johnson STAR
Open Water Swimmers of the Year were awarded to:
Female Currie Murch Elliot SwimMAC
Male Benjamin Miller MOR
The Willis Casey Award for the highest ranked international swimmer went to:
Cullen Jones SwimMAC
The Andy Craver Determination Award was presented to:
Caroline Mitchell MOR
The Conoco Philips Outstanding Volunteer Award recipient was:
Jon Fox
The TEAM of the Year was awarded to: SwimMAC
