COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Denver Hilltoppers achieved Gold Medal status from USA Swimming for the second consecutive year. The Hilltoppers placed 14^th in the nation with 19,672 points. Led by 11th-year head coach Shawn Smith, the Hilltoppers capped their second-best season ever in the 10-year history of the Club Excellence program by placing among the top 16 in the 2010 calendar year. The Hilltoppers achieved Gold Medal status last season by placing 13^th with points. 26,115

Darien Brunetti (Denver, Colo.), Sawyer Franz (Pine, Colo.), Benjamin Holston (Denver, Colo.), Mike McCormick (Parker, Colo.), Bridgette McNally (Lone Tree, Colo.), Kyle Milberg (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Paige Newell (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Shelly Patton (Littleton, Colo.), Mackenzie Stein (Lakewood, Colo.) and P.J. Wickwire (Arvada, Colo.) met qualification times in their respective events that contributed to DU's overall score.

"Since I took over as head coach in 2001, we have had two primary goals for our Elite athletes," Hilltoppers head coach Shawn Smith said. "First, to produce nationally competitive swimmers, and second, to make collegiate swimming the destination for our athletes.  To have our club ranked in the top 16 in the country two years in a row, is a very humbling accomplishment. 

"The majority of the other Gold Medal Clubs train out of multiple sites, and have 500-1000 athletes on their roster. With just over 200 swimmers, I think we are doing a great job developing a higher percentage of kids to the national stage.  As for the goal of collegiate swimming, training at the University of Denver has been a tremendous asset.  Being on a college campus, training and competing with the Pioneer athletes in the summers, has helped accelerate the process of getting athletes and families to believe in and support the quest for excellence."

The University of Denver Hilltoppers Swim Team is a year-round aquatics program that gives youth the opportunity to grow technically, physically and mentally in a fun and healthy environment. Our team is designed to provide the fundamentals of technique and training to our developing age group swimmers, while providing the opportunities for our Senior athletes to excel at the national level.

The program has swimmers from ages five to postgraduate swimmers and offers training groups ranging from developmental introduction to Olympic Trial preparation.  

Following are the Gold Medal Clubs for 2011:

1. North Baltimore Aquatic 57,953
2. Swim Atlanta 38,234
3. Curl Burke Swim Club 35,565
4. Dynamo Swim Club 35,142
5. SwimMAC Carolina 33,015
6. Carmel Swim Club 29,797
7. NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc 28,424
8. Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics 27,991
9. Aquajets Swim Team 23,913
10. Bolles School Sharks 21,416
11. Delaware Swim Team 21,339
12. Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club 21,123
13. Colorado Stars 19,851
14. University of Denver Hilltoppers 19,672
15. The Woodlands Swim Team 19,524
16. Kansas City Blazers Swim Team 19,507

The 2011 program results are based on performances in the 2010 calendar year. Clubs have been selected as Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal clubs according to the following parameters:

Gold Level: The top 16 point-scoring clubs eligible for the Gold level.
Silver Level: The remaining clubs ranked through #100 and/or not achieving Gold status.
Bronze Level: Clubs ranked #101 through #200 and/or not achieving Gold or Silver status.

The USA Swimming Club Excellence Program is a program that recognizes USA Swimming clubs for their commitment to excellence in performance. In addition to recognizing the top club teams, the program provides grant funding for resources that enable clubs to expand and/or enhance the services they already provide to athletes.

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