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Head Coach Courtney Shealy Hart and Assistant Coach Bill Koppelman have received two additional verbal commitments, after those of Aidan Pastel and Brennan Day, further bolstering the class of 2020: Austin Whalen of Southlake, Texas, and Danny Yos of Orange, California.
Austin Whalen
Whalen is a senior at Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas, and a captain on their 5-time defending Texas 5A/6A state champion men’s team under Coach Kevin Murphy. Whalen told SwimSwam:
“I chose Georgia Tech because of the great coaches, incredible team atmosphere, and the fantastic academic and other opportunities outside of the pool. I would like to thank my parents and coaches for helping me through this process, my teammates for pushing me every day and supporting me, and the coaches at Georgia Tech for giving me this amazing opportunity. Go Jackets!”
Whalen also swims under Coach Bill Christensen at North Texas Nadadores, where he is primarily a middle distance swimmer with a focus on the 100 and 200 freestyles, 200 back, and 200 fly. At the 2015 Texas 6A High School State Championships, Whalen placed tenth in the 200 free and 15th in the 100 free and was on both Southlake Carroll’s freestyle relays. His top times include:
| SCY | LCM | |
| 100 free | 46.54 | 52.64 |
| 200 free | 1:40.11 | 1:54.47 |
| 500/400 free | 4:37.94 | 4:11.42 |
| 200 back | 1:53.34 | 2:10.59 |
| 200 fly | 1:58.06 | 2:11.23 |
| 400 IM | 4:06.66 | 4:49.56 |
Whalen has had phenomenal time drops over the last year, to the tune of 2-3 seconds in every event in both short-course and long-course seasons. More impressive still was his 9.3-second improvement in the 400y IM. With his versatile repertoire, Whalen should be able to move into whatever holes Hart and Koppelman need filling. Already nearly all of Whalen’s top times make the Georgia Tech top-ten list for the 2014-15 season; if he continues to develop as he has over the last year, he will be a major contributor to the Yellow Jackets’ efforts at conference.
Danny Yos
Yos swims under Coach Brian Pajer at Aquazot Swim Club in Irvine and attends Lutheran High School in Orange where he is a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American.
“I would like to thank Coach Todd and Coach Brian for developing me to be the swimmer that I am today. I also would like to thank my parents, family, and my teammates for pushing me so that I can compete at another level. It was a difficult decision to make, but the coaching staff and the athletes at Georgia Tech made my decision an easy one. Of the many excellent coaches at Georgia Tech, I would especially like to thank Coaches Courtney and Neil.”
Yos had a breakout season as a sophomore in high school, earning his first bid to Juniors. The following season he fell ill at Juniors, his championship meet, and consequently his in-season unrested times stood out at his fastest. Like many of the profiles coming from AZOT, Yos excels in 2/4 IM and 1/2 back, but he also has developed into a strong distance freestyler.
Yos was invited to the inaugural CIF state meet this past May, where he placed 10th in the 200 IM (1:51.60) and 13th in the 100 back (50.94). His top times over the last two seasons include:
| SCY | LCM | |
| 400 IM | 3:58.03 | 4:32.14 |
| 200 IM | 1:51.04 | 2:09.56 |
| 200 back | 1:50.28 | 2:06.90 |
| 100 back | 50.94 | 59.48 |
| 1650/1500 free | 15:53.03 | 16:41.99 |
| 1000/800 free | 9:36.12 | |
| 500/400 free | 4:38.13 | 4:10.57 |
Yos’ fastest 200 and 400 IMs would have ranked fourth on the top-ten performances list at Georgia Tech last year, and his 100/200 backs and distance freestyles would have made the top ten as well. However, it took a 3:56.6/1:48.6 to make the “C” finals in the 200/400 IM at last year’s ACC Championships, and 48.0/1:47.5 to get a second swim in the backstrokes.
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As a former NCAA scholarship swimmer, pulling all-nighters to study for exams, quizzes, etc. is not unusual for any athlete, but is arguably quite typical for swimmers who value an education in the NCAA. DMSWIM should appreciate (as member or affiliate of the rival Dallas area DMSWIM team?) that swimmers have less time than most student athletes to study. Morning and afternoon/evening workouts cut out huge amounts of time and Austin should be commended for valuing his studies as much (or perhaps more) than his swim times! All-nighters may not be productive for some, but when necessary, they can get the job done. Swimmers who value education and maintain good/great grades like Austin Whalen are perhaps some of the best… Read more »
Huge pickup for the yellow jackets in Austin Whalen. He not only excels in the pool, but also in the classroom. The dedication this guy shows towards his studies is something everyone that knows him looks up too. He once pulled three all nighters in a row all to study for a quiz in biology, all while keeping up with his televisions series “it’s always sunny in Philadelphia.” I am certain that he will continue this dedication as a yellow jacket next fall and that the coaches there will fall in love with Austin.
I’m not sure if pulling three all-nighters is something to be admired. It’s unproductive and potentially a sign of poor time management.
Congrats to Mr Whalen