Austin, TX
Rising Texas Sophomores Modglin, Germonprez Post Lifetime Bests on Day 1 of Austin Sectionals
2024 Austin Sectionals
- July 11-14
- Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center
- Austin, Texas
- LCM (50 meters)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2024 ST TXLA SZ LC Sectional Champs”
Rising University of Texas sophomores Will Modglin and Nate Germonprez kicked off Austin Sectionals on Thursday night with lifetime bests in the 100-meter freestyle and 200 breaststroke, respectively.
Modglin fired off a personal-best 49.07 to win the 100 free, a few tenths quicker than his previous-best 49.41 from last month’s Olympic Trials, where he placed 28th. The 20-year-old also placed 6th in the 100 back (53.69) and 8th in 200 IM (1:58.44) at Trials last month.
Germonprez pulled off an impressive three-second drop in the 200 breast with a victory in 2:13.38, crushing his previous-best 2:16.86 from last summer. The 19-year-old placed 12th in the 200 IM at last month’s Trials, where he did not contest the 200 breast. Germonprez is now within a second of the time it took to make the 200 breast semifinals at Trials (2:12.23).
Modglin was the No. 2 recruit in the high school class of 2023 while Germonprez was ranked 5th.
Recent Texas A&M graduate Chloe Stepanek claimed the women’s 100 free crown in 54.99, just a few tenths off her Olympic Trials performance from last month (54.63) that placed 15th overall. The 22-year-old is in the NCAA transfer portal after spending her first four seasons swimming for the Aggies.
Stepanek reached the wall just a blink ahead of Texas graduate Grace Cooper, who earned a runner-up finish in 55.05. The 21-year-old touched within a couple tenths of the 54.91 she clocked at Olympic Trials last month en route to 21st place. Cooper’s lifetime best sits at 54.67 from last August.
The women’s 200 breast also came down to the wire as rising Texas junior Lindsey Hosch (2:35.43) eked past 17-year-old Aliana Marakovic (2:35.60). Hosch, 20, was only a few tenths shy of her personal-best 2:35.04 from May. Marakovic, a Harvard commit (’25), has been as fast as 2:33.69 last August.
Raphael Wang registered a lifetime best in the 200 breast on his way to 2nd place in 2:16.61. The 17-year-old Duke commit (’25) shaved more than a quarter of a second off his previous-best 2:16.87 from last month.
Texas graduate Emma Sticklen cruised to the women’s 200 butterfly victory in 2:08.95. The 22-year-old is coming off a solid showing at Olympic Trials last month that saw her post a personal-best 2:07.44 in semis before ultimately placing 4th in 2:08.07.
Matthew O’Konski captured the men’s 200 fly title in 2:03.84, dropping more than two seconds off his previous-best 2:06.02 from last July. The Crawfish Aquatics 17-year-old beat Logan Walker (2:04.48) and Andres Brooks (2:04.69) by less than a second.
Austin, TX
Austin church to use 3D printing for new campus
AUSTIN, Texas — The housing market has cooled, with J.P. Morgan predicting house prices in the U.S. will stall. Despite the stagnate home price analysis, one Texas-based tech company is developing an unconventional way to build. An Austin church is tapping into ICON’s 3D printing technology to rebuild its church campus.
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church has been on its 8-acre property since the late 1950s.
“We’ve long been in this kind of predicament here as a congregation that we have these really deep-level structural problems with our buildings, and we’ve really never been able to imagine being able to pay for it,” said Father Zac Koons, the leader of the church.
He said costly quotas to repair aging infrastructure is one big reason they partnered with ICON to develop a whole new church campus.
“It’s not only a less expensive or a more affordable way to build, it’s also a more environmentally friendly way to build,” Koons said.
ICON’s “Titan” construction system will be used for this project, bringing the world’s first 3D-printed church to Austin.
“I think this will be a famous building,” said Jason Ballard, the CEO and co-founder of ICON. “I think it will stand for hundreds of years, and I think they’re just so pleased with what they’re able to get on their budget out of this building.”
The company says its concrete mixture can save future homeowners and businesses roughly 40% compared to conventional wood and metal frameworks.
“For the past two years, we have been working on a second generation of printer technology that is multi-story, easier to set up, easier to operate, even lower cost, even faster,” Ballard said.
Had it not been for the partnership with ICON, Koons said his church would not have been able to afford such a large-scale project.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do something as ambitious as we’re talking about doing without ICON, for sure,” Koons said.
He said they’ll break ground in about a year, with hopes to finish the first building by the summer of 2028.
Austin, TX
Goodwill Central Texas launches “Swap Your Shop” Challenge
Austin, TX — If you’re looking for an easy way to make a difference this Earth Day, Goodwill Central Texas has a simple challenge for you.
It’s called “Swap Your Shop,” and the idea is straightforward. Instead of buying something new, try picking up one secondhand item. That one small switch can help cut down on waste and reduce your environmental impact.
According to a 2023 report, if every U.S. shopper made that choice just once this year, it could reduce carbon emissions by more than 2 billion pounds. That’s like taking 76 million cars off the road for a day. It could also save more than 20 billion gallons of water and keep hundreds of millions of pounds of waste out of landfills.
And it doesn’t have to be a big commitment. Even buying one thrifted clothing item instead of a new one could prevent about 450 million pounds of waste each year.
So whether you already love thrifting or have never tried it, this is a good time to start. Swap out one purchase, give something pre-owned a second life, and see the difference it can make.
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If you do take part, you can even share your find on social media and tag @austingoodwill.
Austin, TX
AUS plans for 18,000 departing passengers day after Trump order pays TSA employees
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin airport expects over 18,000 departing passengers on Saturday, this coming the morning after Trump signed an executive order to pay TSA employees after Congress failed to agree on DHS funding.
The airport recommends travelers arrive 2.5 hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international departures.
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AUS noted that many MotoGP fans will be departing from the airport this weekend, the motorcycle racing event at Circuit of the Americas happening this weekend and ending on Sunday.
The DHS shutdown has burdened airports nationwide with hours-long TSA lines. Austin’s lines were especially long during SXSW, stretching out the terminal and down the road.
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