Austin, TX

Erin Gemmell Remains 5th in US with 200 FR Season Best of 1:57.51 at Longhorn Elite Invite

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2024

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Erin Gemmell Remains 5th in US with 200 FR Season Best of 1:57.51 at Longhorn Elite Invite

2024 LONGHORN ELITE INVITE

Friday Finals Livestream Video

As many Florida and Georgia names are repping at the 2024 Atlanta Classic, many more Texas names are going in on the weekend racing action two time zones over at the 2024 Longhorn Elite Invite in Austin, TX. Friday’s finals session sounded off with a set of four more women’s and men’s event finals, the 200 free, 200 back, 400 IM, and 100 fly.

Texas freshman Erin Gemmell of Nation’s Capital easily won the women’s 200 free at 1:57.51, ahead of Texas redshirt Jillian Cox (2:00.96). This marks a season best for Gemmell, following her 1:57.98 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series. For Cox, her finals time was just off her season best of 2:00.22 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series.

Gemmell now affirms herself as the 5th-fastest American in this event this season after being tied with Addison Sauickie. Gemmell owns a lifetime best of 1:55.90 from the 2023 World Championships.

2023-2024 US Rankings- Women’s 200 FR LCM

Katie Ledecky, 1:54.97
Anna Peplowski, 1:56.99
Paige Madden, 1:57.25
Simone Manuel, 1:57.37
Erin Gemmell, 1:57.51**
Addison Sauickie, 1:57.98

Four Texas Longhorn women finished 1-2-3-4 on the women’s side of the 100 fly. Kelly Pash (58.16) took the four-tenths win over Emma Sticklen (58.57) while Dakota Luther touched out Olivia Bray by 0.07s for third, 59.01 to 59.08.

Pash’s 58.16 eclipses her 2024 calendar year best of 58.34 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series. She remains the 7th-fastest American in 2024 in this event. At the October 2023 Pan American Games, Pash won silver with a time of 57.85, which still ranks 7th this season.

Meanwhile, Sticklen’s 58.57 is a small drop from her 58.81 year best and keeps her ranked 12th in the nation this year. Luther’s 59.01 was a hair off her 2024 best time of 58.84. In the same way, Bray’s 59.01 was just off her US No.11-ranked 58.42 year best.

2024 US Rankings- Women’s 100 FL LCM

Torri Huske, 55.68
Gretchen Walsh, 56.14
Regan Smith, 56.36
Claire Curzan, 56.61
Alex Shackell, 57.22
Alex Walsh, 57.59
Kelly Pash, 58.16**
Josephine Fuller, 58.37

TXLA’s Shaine Casas took out another win in Austin, topping the men’s 100 fly at 51.48, splitting 23.80/27.68. Casas’ season best rests at 51.03 from the 2023 US Open, but has a 2024 calendar year best of 51.40 from the January Knoxville Pro Swim Series. With his 51.03 season best, Casas sits in second in the US only behind Caeleb Dressel this season. Casas put up his lifetime best of 50.40 back at the 2022 US Nationals.

SMU transfer Danny Kovac was spotted exactly a second behind, in second place, at 52.48. Kovac remains 10th-ranked in the nation this season, dropping 0.03s from his 52.51 from a SMU time trial last month. This marks Kovac’s fastest 100 fly since the 2021 US Olympic Trials, where he swam 51.61 to rank 4th in semi-finals before dropping to 8th in the final.

Pro Carson Foster, representing the Mason Manta Rays, won the men’s 200 free by exactly two seconds at 1:47.10. That’s just tenths off his season best time of 1:46.58 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series last month, which ranks 4th in the nation for the 2023-2024 season. Foster does own a lifetime best of 1:45.57 from the 2022 US Team Trials.

Austin trainee Rex Maurer narrowly took second at 1:49.10, ahead of Texas’ Luke Hobson of Lakeridge (1:49.35). Maurer put up a new season best, dropping from his 1:49.98 at last month’s Fran Crippen Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo. He owns a lifetime best of 1:47.63 from the 2023 US Nationals, which ranked 20th in the nation at the end of last season. Meanwhile, Hobson holds the top time in the nation this season at 1:45.26 from the outlandishly-scheduled February World Championships.

More Day 3 Event Winners

Wisconsin commit Maggie Wanezek of Elmbrook handily took the women’s 200 back with a 2:11.99. Wanezek recently set her personal best of 2:10.33 at the March NCSA Spring Championships, ranking 12th in the nation this 2023-2024 season.
Texas commit Cooper Lucas of Lakeside easily won the men’s 400 IM in 4:24.52, just off his 2024 year best of 4:23.54 from the Knoxville Pro Swim Series. Lucas owns a lifetime best of 4:18.76 from the September 2023 World Junior Championships, which puts him in 8th in the US this 2023-24 season.
Texas’ Chris O’Connor easily won the men’s 200 back at 2:03.54, dropping just about a second from prelims (2:04.44). In February, O’Connor swam an unrested 2:12.28 at a TCU dual meet. He owns a lifetime best of 1:58.24 from 2023 US Nationals, which ranked 15th in the nation at the end of the 2022-23 season.
After swimming the event for the first time since June 2022 in prelims, Texas’ Angie Coe dropped from a fresh 4:57.97 personal best to an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 4:48.76. She now adds this 400 IM cut to her 200 IM cut achieved in January.

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Austin, TX

Austin, TX, Proves It’s a Ski Town at Ikon Pass Stoke Night – SnowBrains

Published

8 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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Austin, TX, Proves It’s a Ski Town at Ikon Pass Stoke Night – SnowBrains

Austin Loro Stoke — Austin skier Ricky Stillwell and his son are stoked to be heading to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Alyeska this coming season. | Photo: Bob Witowski

You might ask, “Why is there an Ikon Pass Stoke Event in Austin, Texas?”

Fact: There are more skiers and snowboarders in Texas than in Colorado. According to a 2017 Snowsports Industry Association study, Texas is home to roughly 800,000 skiers and riders, compared to Colorado’s 500,000. That impressive number puts Texas third in the nation for total ski and snowboard participants, behind only California and New York. Texans alone make up about 6% of all U.S. ski and snowboarders. And the proof is on the slopes: Ski areas in Colorado and New Mexico report that a staggering 70% of their out-of-state visitors hail from the Lone Star State. Yes—the legend of Texans being everywhere on the mountain is absolutely true.

Fact: Every Texan who skis is a destination skier. With no local ski resorts that are a quick Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City or short interstate drive away, Texans go big: they travel, stay longer, and spend more at Ikon Pass Destinations. As Kristin Rust, Vice President of Communications for Alterra Mountain Company, puts it, “Texas is a huge market, and Austin has a great number of pass holders.” With Ikon Pass offering such a wide network of resorts, and Texas home to so many skiers, Austin is a natural place for a Stoke Event.

This year’s Ikon Pass Stoke Event took place at Loro, the wildly popular South Lamar hangout blending Asian smokehouse flavors with laid-back Austin vibes. The gathering drew a lively crowd of local Ikon Pass holders. Guests enjoyed a spread of standout dishes—Oak-Grilled Edamame, Wonton Chips and Dip, Arugula & Melon Salad, and Oak-Smoked Brisket—paired with beer, wine, soft drinks, and Austin-meets-après cocktails like an Old Fashioned and, of course, the non-traditional slope-side margarita, a playful nod to Jimmy Buffett and the city where Margaritaville was written.

Attendance was strong, and the outdoor, under-the-oaks setting added an easy, welcoming feel. The energy was high as skiers swapped plans for upcoming trips to Ikon Pass destinations including SkiBig3 in Banff, Jackson Hole, Killington, the six Utah resorts on the pass, and the perennial “home resorts” for Texans—those in Colorado and New Mexico. Members of Austin Skiers, the city’s long-standing ski and travel club, were out in force and buzzing about club trips to the Ikon Pass resorts of Snowmass, Mt. Bachelor, SkiBig3, and Steamboat.

Austin Loro Ikon Pass Stoke — Austin Skiers—Joyce, Ann, Crystal, Bob, Susie, and Stuart—are buzzing with excitement as they get ready to chase fresh snow at their favorite Ikon Pass destinations this season. | Photo: Bob Witowski

A major hit of the night was the CMH Heli-Skiing virtual-reality experience, a full 3D immersion complete with helicopter-ride visuals of the Canadian Rockies and a run down untouched powder with a small ski group. Riders found themselves carving turns, watching skiers float past, and looking up, down, and across the alpine terrain—an astonishingly vivid taste of what a heli-ski trip feels like. The CMH station stayed packed all evening.

The night wrapped up with a spirited swag giveaway, where lucky attendees scored prizes including Yeti mugs, a coveted Shot-Ski, and an Ikon Pass. What a great way to top off a fantastic night!

In the end, the Ikon Pass Stoke Event proved to be a fantastic celebration of Austin’s vibrant ski community—a chance to meet fellow snow lovers, swap stories, and get excited about the season ahead. For one night, Austin truly became a “Ski Town.”

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Austin, TX

Southwest Airlines establishing new crew base in Austin

Published

20 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Southwest Airlines establishing new crew base in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (KVIA) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Southwest Airlines will establish a new pilot and flight attendant crew base in Austin.

Abbott joined the Austin mayor at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to make the announcement today.

The expansion to Austin will lay the groundwork for future operational growth in Texas. It is expected to generate 2,000 jobs in Austin by mid-2027. In addition to the pilots and flight attendants, Austin will now also be home to managerial and support staff. The new crew base will have an average salary of $180,000 a year, the Governor’s Office says.

The state is extending a $14 million Texas Enterprise Fund to the airline, as well as a $375,000 Veteran Created Job Bonus.

“Southwest Airlines was born and raised in Texas and has been a core element of the economic growth we have seen in our state,” said Governor Abbott. “We are excited to announce that today Southwest Airlines will add over 2,000 high paying jobs right here in Texas. We are the home of economic opportunity for our fellow Texans more than any other state in the United States, and we know a key reason for that is because of everything Southwest Airlines provides. We are proud to partner with everybody connected with Southwest as well as the City of Austin on such a huge announcement for our state.”

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Austin, TX

Fire destroys abandoned E Austin auto shop

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Fire destroys abandoned E Austin auto shop

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin firefighters battled their second major fire Thursday afternoon, responding to an abandoned East Austin auto shop engulfed in flames.

Crews responded to 3100 Manor Road around 4 p.m., AFD said.

No injuries were reported and no one was inside the building.

ALSO | 40+ residents displaced in North Austin third-alarm apartment fire, no injuries reported

The incident was called in as a first alarm. The building is a total loss, according to officials.

CBS Austin has a crew on the way to the scene.

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Earlier in the afternoon, firefighters extinguished a three-alarm fire in north Austin.

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