Dragons Nab Gold's Kelsey Jackson

Woodstock-based Chattahoochee Gold swim club's Kelsey Jackson is proud to announce her commitment to continue her competitive swim & academic careers at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The MSUM Dragons compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They finished fifth at the conference swim & dive championships in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in February.

Kelsey says as she reached out to potential Division II college swim programs, the MSUM team was quick to respond and seemed the most down-to-earth. "I’m sure that initially I was just another email but I feel that my races had a lot to do with it, they only have one sprint back stroker and they will be almost gone by the time I get there so I am sure that plays a role in this as well. The current assistant coach has set numerous school records that I think are reachable for myself in the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke. I plan on taking a couple of those records for myself."

Kelsey is Chattahoochee Gold's reigning long course champion in 15-16 year old Girls 50 Backstroke with a time of 33.27. "I have not swam for Gold very long. But my proudest achievement of swimming for Gold is being able to qualify for the sectional meet within my first year of being on the team. I didn’t want to join Gold for the longest time due to being scared that I’d not be good enough for the team and honestly at first I was not good enough at all, but after a lot of patience from both Coach Luke and Coach Mark I began to make improvements slowly but surely which has lead me to my seasonal goals. Coach Mark has been with me through my highs and lows through the past year, he has shown me a lot of tough love and helped me reach goals that I didn’t even think were in reach for me. That being said, had I not joined Gold I would not be going to this school. I would not have near the talent needed to attend."

Coach Mark Schilling credits Kelsey achieving the opportunity to swim in college with her being coachable and a quick learner. "Kelsey is a relative late-comer to the year-round swimming scene so it would be an understatement to say how overjoyed I am that she was able to succeed so much in a short window of time. I am so happy that a girl who is such a hard worker and great teammate has found an awesome college match for her!"

Kelsey is a rising senior at Canton's Sequoyah High School. At MSUM, she'll major in Kinesiology/Exercise Science with an eye on a master's degree in Athletic Training.

Chattahoochee Gold is one of USA Swimming's top 100 programs. The team is headquartered at the Woodstock Aquatic Center and also trains its swimmers at the Mountain View Aquatic Center in Marietta and the Cumming Aquatic Center.

goldswim.com