Chattahoochee Gold Swimmer Credits Coach with Scholarship

Submitted by Larry Blase

Rachel Pelzek, a member of the Chattahoochee Gold swim team, has accepted a swim scholarship from Western Kentucky University.

Rachel is a senior at Sequoyah High School and has competed for Gold since the eighth grade.

She says the scholarship offer never would have happened without her coach, Mark Schilling,

“I can literally say that Mark is the reason I have stayed with this sport and am able to swim in college,” she said. “ He has never given up on me and he constantly inspires me to reach higher goals than I ever thought possible.”

Rachel is mostly a sprint freestyle swimmer and plans to major in exercise science at Western Kentucky.

While she’s excited about her future as a HIlltopper, Rachel will miss her Gold family.

“Being a member of Gold is like having a perfect family, full of friends and people who care about you,” Rachel added. “It is, and always will be, the best thing that ever happened in my life.”

Chattahoochee Gold, a USA Swimming club, is based in Woodstock and teams train at facilities in Holly Springs, East Cobb, Cumming and Marietta.

(Photo: Rachel Pelzek, left, with coach Mark Schilling. Credit: Larry Blase)