On Friday night in Cary, North Carolina, the North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame will induct five new contributors. Two can be inducted primarily based on their training resumes former UNC Wilmington head coach Dave Allen and old Mecklenburg Aquatic Club (now SwimMAC Carolina) head coach Jeff Gaeckle. 1 is being inducted based totally on their swimming resumes North Carolina native, former National Age Group Record holder, and 14-time collegiate All-American Todd Torres. The magnificence consists of a diver, 2011 NCAA 3-meter champion, and 2012 US Olympian Abby Johnston McGrath, who dove at Duke. The very last inductee cuts throughout categories: former collegiate All-American Janis Hape Dowd, who was a school report holder in the 50, one hundred, and 2 hundred backyard breaststrokes at UNC; and who’s additionally a high-quality economic benefactor of the game of swimming, together with investment the annual Janis Hape Dowd Nike Invitational meet at UNC.
A native of Rochester, NY, David Allen swam collegiately at Springfield (Mass) College and started out his education career at Allegheny College in 1970-seventy one. He spent a yr at Allegheny before becoming head educate at SUNY Potsdam, where he compiled a forty four-26 file with the Bears. At Potsdam, Allen’s squad captured the state championship in 1977 and was ranked No. 15 on the NCAA Division III ballot. In his very last seasons in New York, Allen coached 5 All-Americans and turned into voted State University of New York Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. He turned into inducted into Potsdam’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977. That same year, the University of North Carolina Wilmington became a new natatorium, and Dave became named head educate of the inaugural UNCW Men’s Team. As such, David became the founder and architect of UNCW’s swimming and diving programs. In his 37 seasons at UNCW earlier than retirement in 2014, Allen coached 15 All-Americans and a hundred and fifty-five convention champions. Six of Allen’s swimmers had been inducted within the UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame. During Allen’s tenure, the Seahawks racked up 494 dual meet victories and sixteen Colonial Athletic Association championships, along with 13 straight for the Men’s Team and three for the Women’s Team. Dave was named CAA Coach-of-the-Year 15 times, along with five instances for his successful seasons with the Women’s Team and 10 instances for his Men’s Team’s facts. Allen and his spouse, Ellen, have three children, Matt, Brian, and Stephanie, every of whom attended UNCW and competed on the University’s varsity swim teams.
Jeff Gackle attended Michigan State University in which he became a Varsity Swimmer and served as Team Captain in 1979. After graduation, Jeff moved to Charlotte, NC, and in 1981 became the Head Coach of Mecklenburg Aquatic Club (MAC). During his 12 years as Head Coach at MAC, Jeff built the club into one of the kingdom and us of A’s most fulfilling age group swimming applications. His club athletes blanketed U.S. Olympic Team participants, National and Junior National Champions, State Champions, and National and State Record, Holders. He also based and served as long-time supervisor of the excessive-profile UltraSwim global swimming Grand Prix opposition-held annually in Charlotte. Jeff served at the Board of Directors of MAC for 29 years from 1981-2010 and became President of the Board from 2005-2009. He keeps providing management to MAC as an advisor and CEO. Jeff served as a Board Member and Head of the Marketing Committee for USA Swimming. In 2006 Jeff led MAC in forming a partnership with USA Swimming and the US Olympic Committee to create the u. S. A .’s first “Center of Excellence” in the game of swimming. This center, housed at SwimMAC Carolina, serves as an education center for postgraduate and professional swimmers seeking berths at the U.S. Olympic Team. As founder of Carolina Pool Management (1994), operator of 300 summertime swim clubs throughout the Carolinas; founder of The Pool Management Group (1997), a determined company to sixteen pool management businesses around the u. S. A .; and partner within the Paddock Evacuator Company, which is devoted to improving air nice in indoor swimming facilities, Jeff additionally has had a totally successful commercial enterprise profession in aquatics.
Janis Hape Dowd turned into born in Gary, Indiana. She grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and commenced swimming at the age of 10. At Sewickley Y., She attended North Allegheny High School until her senior year, winning numerous State Championships and the 100 breast report. She swam for the Pitt Aquatic Club and was skilled with Bob Miller during the summer season at Totem Lake Swim Club in Kirkland, Washington. She graduated early from HS to educate him for the 1976 Olympics. As a member of Team USA at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, Janis competed inside the girls’ 2 hundred-meter breaststrokes. She recorded a pleasant time of two: forty-five .57. After the Summer Games, Janis attended university at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Janis turned into a varsity swimmer on the UNC Women’s Swim Team and pinnacle competitor in breaststroke and the medley relays (two hundred and four hundred backyard) from 1977 thru graduation in 1980. She becomes named All-American in both her freshman and sophomore years and installed new UNC records inside the 50, one hundred, and 2 hundred-yard breaststroke occasions. Since commencement Janis has been residing in Charlotte, NC, wherein she maintains to assist the sport of swimming. Together with her family, Janis is a benefactor of us Swimming Foundation, USA Swimming, and her alma mater’s Men’s and Women’s Swim Team applications. Janis helped observe and fund the yearly Janis Hape Dowd Nike Invitational, which functions many of the USA’s top collegiate applications in a multi-day competition hosted through UNC at Koury Natatorium. Janis is married to fellow UNC alum Frank Dowd IV and has 3 children, Will, Diana, and Sally.
Abby Johnston McGrath grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where she started out her athletic career as a younger gymnast. She trained and competed for nine years earlier than lower back damage to give up her gymnastics career. Shortly after, in 2002, Abby began diving and quickly advanced in the sport way to her verbal skills. While in excessive faculty at Upper Arlington High School, Abby changed into a three-year varsity letter winner and two-time Ohio State Champion. Abby additionally has become a USA Diving Junior National Champion on the three-meter springboard, a silver and bronze medalist on the Junior Pan Am Games, and a member of the Diving Olympic Medal Program (OMP). Abby went directly to win our Diving countrywide championship in three-meter synchronized diving in 2005, 2006, and 2008. She, in the end, enrolled at Duke and graduated with a psychology degree in 2013. While at Duke, in 2009, she has become the first Duke diver in records to qualify for the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
In 2011 she became an NCAA Champion via triumphing in the three-meter diving competition, making her Duke University’s first-ever NCAA Diving Champion. Even as she turned into Duke, Abby turned into a four-time member of the united states Diving World Cup Team (2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016) and a finalist at the 2010 Diving World Cup. In her Junior year at Duke, she made the U.S. Olympic Team and captured the silver medal on the 2012 London Olympic Games in 3-meter synchronized diving. Though she entered Duke Medical School in 2014, Abby endured to compete in diving at an Olympic stage, and she or he closed out her Olympic career with a twelfth location finish in person 3-meter diving at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
Todd Torres is a Tar Heel local who began his swimming career as an age organization swimmer in Sanford earlier than Greensboro. In Greensboro, Todd competed for the Greensboro Swimming.
Association (GSA) membership and later for Grimsley High School. Todd has become one of the fastest breaststrokers within the country and set each brief route and long course data inside the two hundred breaststrokes. After graduation, Todd attended Louisiana State University on a swimming scholarship and has become the most embellished athlete within the history of the LSU Swimming and Diving software. During his time at LSU, Todd set a country-wide age group document inside the 100 backyard breaststroke, turned into a 14-time All American, Southeast Conference (SEC) champion and NCAA Champion. During his collegiate years, Todd competed for the United States and received gold and silver medals on the 1987 Summer World University Games in Zagreb, Croatia, and the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba. In addition, Todd played a major function at the 1988 LSU crew that became the most effective SEC Championship team inside the history of the LSU program. That same team completed sixth at the NCAA Championships that year, making it the highest NCAA end within the history of LSU Swimming. In reputation for these accomplishments, Todd was inducted into LSU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
After his collegiate profession, Todd competed in two Summer Olympic Games, in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, and in 1996 in Atlanta. Representing Puerto Rico inside the games, Todd succeeded in the setting as excessive as 12th in Barcelona inside the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay and finaling inside the 100-meter breaststroke. Todd maintains to swim and compete in Masters Competition as a member of the East Carolina Aquatics Masters Swim Team, wherein he has set some latest USMS National and World records. Todd is also presently serving as an officer of North Carolina Masters Swimming.
ABOUT The North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame:
The North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame was founded in 1985 to recognize awesome achievements in and contributions to the game of Swimming in North Carolina. From 1985 to 1991, the NC Swimming Hall of Fame carried out six induction ceremonies honoring 27 inductees but subsequently went on a long hiatus. In 2015 a new NC Swimming Hall of Fame Committee came collectively to re-establish the NC Swimming Hall of Fame. The 2016 Induction Ceremony become the primary in 25 years. Under the brand new Committee, the Hall aims to apprehend fantastic accomplishments and contributions across a broader spectrum of aquatic sports activities such as Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo, Masters Swimming, and Open Water Swimming. In unique, the Committee seeks to honor those people or corporations that have performed excessively and/or made a large superb distinction in aquatic sports in North Carolina. For extra facts on the North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame, visit www.Ncswimhalloffame.Com.
ABOUT The 2019 NCSHOF Induction:
The 2019 N.C. The swimming Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary, 201 Harrison Oaks Boulevard, Cary, North Carolina 27513, on Friday, April 5, 2019. The evening’s festivities will begin with a Cocktail Reception at 6:30pm, followed through a Dinner & Ceremony starting at 7:30pm. The Induction Ceremony is being held in conjunction with the North Carolina Masters Swimming State Championships in Cary. Individual Tickets are available for $60 with the aid of visiting ncshof2019.Eventbrite.Com Sponsored Tables of 10 are $800 and are to be had through contacting:
