New Team!
A lot has happened since I last sent an e-mail out to everyone.
I guess the first thing I should mention is that I ended up not going to San Francisco for my scheduled last race of the year. I wont bother you will the details here (go here if you want more information and check the blog articles), but I will say that there was a huge mess-up on the race directors end out in California that would have resulted in my trip costing ~65% more. As a result, my coaches, parents, and I decided that going to the race was not worth the increased cost and hassles associated with those costs. There was no benefit to racing besides increased experince as there were no worlds spots or other advantages from the race that justified the costs associated with it.
On another note, I just recently joined up with an Elite team (formerly Riptide Multisport) that is based in Arvada, CO (just outside of Denver) and recently merged with MultiSport Madness, the name the new combined team will retain. The two primary leaders of the team are Sean Wendt and Kieth Dickson. They are supported in large part by Coach Reese from Austin, TX swimming who writes our swim workouts.
As a result of joining MultiSport Madness, I will be racing at nearly all Pan American Cups in the US barring any injuries. I will also be racing in Mexico on April 19th at the U23 PATCO race instead of Collegiate Nationals. I have also been invited to train in Colorado with Sean and the other PROs on the team this winter break. The PROs that are living out in Arvada, CO are all over the U23 age category and have longtime experince in ITU racing (some of which is on the World Cup circuit). It's a high powered team that is well equipped, funded, and extremely well organized.
So, since I am now in my "off season" for the next week or so, I'll be relaxing and enjoying the short break from intense training. Take care everyone, and stay in touch!