FCST's own Amber Smolik went to Sarasota, Florida, to compete in the Pan American Masters Championships. She has placed 4th in her age group in the 50 and the 100 freestyle, and 2nd in the 50 and 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM! In her last race of the meet, Amber brought home the GOLD in the 1k open water race! Great Job Amber! We are all very proud of you.

 Senior Circuit II ReCap: A great weekend of racing in College Station saw FCST swimmers race against very fast competition.  Placing at the meet were: Darrin Asphall – 4th 1500 Free, 9th 400 Free, 14th 200 Free Gabby Babb – 17th 50 Breast Alicia Finnigan – 10th 200 Fly, 20th 50 Fly, 21st 200 IM Ashley Harmon – 19th 200 Fly, 24th 800 Free Ashley Mercadel – 23rd 50 Breast Connor Myerson – 12th 100 Breast, 15th 200 Breast Sam Polisini – 18th 100, 18th 200 Breast Delaney Quattlebaum –...

Two FCST swimmers, Simone Manuel and Brett Pinfold, competed in the last stop of the 2013 Arena Grand Prix series. This was the final tune up for several National Team swimmers competing in the World Championship Trials later this month. Brett and Simone both finaled in multiple events and returned home with best times. Simone made the "A" final in the 50 and 100 free, made the "B" final in the 200 free, and swam a personal best in the 200 IM. Brett made the "B" final in the 200...

  IMX Scores through the May Open Meet have been updated. Congratulations to Jordan Dorado (9-yr-old boys) and Kaitlyn Swinney (17-yr-old girls), whose scores already break FCST IMX team records! You may click here to see your score or to see what events are missing to achieve the IMX Score! Keep swimming FAST!

  FCST was well represented this weekend at the SPA May Open as many swimmers swam fast to new qualifying standards and USA Motivational Times. Congratulations to all swimmers for a job well done! New Standards Achieved: Sectional: Brittany Bui – 400 IM & 200 IM Victoria Tillman – 400 IM Sectional Bonus: Bryanna Vasquez – 100 & 200 Free TAGS: Ben Greene – 50 & 100 Free Norah Hay – 50 Back Yun Liu – 200 Back Bryan Pan – 100 Back Victoria Tillman – 100 Back USA Motivational:...

TWST SR Meet Recap First Colony had a great weekend of swimming at the TWST Senior Meet.  Leading the way for the 15 & Over Women was Simone Manuel, winner of 50 Free and 100 Back. Darrin Asphall lead the way for the 13-14 Men as he won the 200 Free, and 400 Free. For the 15 & Over Men Brett Pinfold won 100 Fly.  Also  placing for FCST:  Madison Varisco - 15th in the 50 Free.  Kaitlyn Swinney - 3rd 400IM, 3rd 200 Back, 6th 200 Fly,                              6th...

  Congratulations to 14-yr-old Christopher Yeager, who competed in the 5K at USA Swimming’s Open Water National Championships. This race was a selection race for the US World Championship Team, and the race featured numerous Olympians. Christopher placed 38th overall, and 16th amongst the 18 & under swimmers. Congratulations Christopher on an excellent performance at your first US Open Water National competition!

TOP TIPS FOR FEEDING TEEN SWIMMERS BY CHRIS ROSENBLOOM, PHD,RD, CSSD USASwimming.org nutrition contributor, Jill Castle, recently published “Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School” (Jossey-Bass publisher, 2013), and I asked her to offer her top tips for feeding teen swimmers. Many of our readers are looking for sound nutrition advice with practical tips for families of active swimmers and this book is the go-to source.   Read more:  http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=5225&mid=8712

FCST supporters are encouraged to join iGive.com, which is a free fundraising program for people who shop online. Over 1300 stores are a part of iGive.com, including Amazon, Apple Store, Expedia.com, and more! Up to 26% of your purchase will be donated to FCST! For more information about the program, click here.  For a flyer on the program, click here. For a list of stores, click here. This is a modern version of the old SCRIP prgram, and it's an easy way to support the team!

Keys to Success with Mark Gangloff Mark Gangloff is a  two-time Olympian and a member of the 2010 U.S. Pan Pacific Championships Team. Here are the keys to his success.   1. Hard work. This one is always first and foremost. It’s plain and simple. You have to come to practice every day ready to get at it. Whether you feel good or not – it’s easy to work hard when you feel good – you have to push through it, especially on the hard days, and think, “Even though...