Tennessee

U.S. Open Qualifier Mac Clark Sends Verbal To Tennessee (2025)

Published

2 years ago

July 7, 2024

U.S. Open Qualifier Mac Clark Sends Verbal To Tennessee (2025)

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Mac Clark of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has announced his verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Tennessee. Clark has one year remaining at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School, and will arrive in Knoxville next fall for the 2025-2026 season.

“I’m thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic careers at the University of Tennessee. I’d like to thank my family, coaches, friends, and teammates for helping me reach this point. I also want to give a special thanks to all of the coaches at Tennessee for extending me the opportunity to be a Vol. Can’t wait to get to Rocky Top! Go Vols!”

Clark, a distance freestyle specialist, trains and competes year-round with Team Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics. He is a U.S. Open qualifier in the 500, 1000, and 1650, as well as in the 400m, 800m and 1500m in long course. Clark also holds numerous Allegheny Mountain LSC Records, including the boys’ 15-16 1000, which used to be the oldest yards record for the LSC by more than a decade.

This past December, Clark competed at Speedo Winter Juniors – East, where he recorded his top finish in the 1650. He stopped the clock at 15:18.12 to finish 11th overall and take nearly twenty seconds off his previous best time. He also set personal bests in the 500 (4:26.61) and 400 IM (4:01.65) earning 23rd and 65th, respectively.

More recently, Clark has opened his long course season with a slew of best times this spring. At the ISCA International Senior Cup, he collected wins in the 400 IM (3:58.29/4:33.31), 1500m (15:46.48), 800m (8:15.93), and 400m free (4:00.91) with best times across all of them. This month he cracked the 4:00 barrier in the 400m free, as he clocked a 3:59.76 at the Holtrey Summer Classic.

Top SCY Times

500 free – 4:25.26
1000 free – 9:07.23
1650 free – 15:18.12
400 IM – 3:58.29

The Tennessee Vols finished 5th as a team at the 2024 SEC Championships with a total of 992 points. With over a year before arriving on campus, Clark already owns a personal best in the 1650 that would have scored this year.

Jake Narvid led the distance squad with a 10th place finish at SECs (14:57.29), while Joey Tepper (15:11.00) and Rafael Ponce De Leon (15:12.15) also scored with 19th and 20th place finishes. Clark’s arrival is timely for the Vols, as Tepper, Narvid, and Ponce De Leon were all seniors last season.

Clark joins Jack McCoy, Mike McCarthy, Gabe Nunziata, Liam O’Connor, Luke Amerson, and Ian Combs in Tennessee’s class of 2029.

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Tennessee

L.L.Bean opens first Tennessee store in Franklin. See inside

Published

5 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Press Room

L.L.Bean opens first Tennessee store in Franklin. See inside

The boot has arrived. After months of anticipation, L.L.Bean opened its inaugural Tennessee location at Cool Springs Galleria mall in Franklin July 17.

To celebrate and spread the word, L.L.Bean’s 13-foot-tall Bootmobile boot-shaped vehicle made appearances throughout the Franklin area, including stops at The Franklin Butchery, Hank’s Coffee Station, Leiper’s Fork Distillery and a Nashville Sounds game.

“For generations, Tennesseans have shopped with L.L.Bean through our catalog and online channels, and we’re excited to finally bring the brand experience to life in Franklin,” said L.L.Bean District Manager Kenon Mitchell. “With its strong outdoor culture and growing community, Franklin is a natural home for L.L.Bean. We look forward to deepening our connection with longtime customers while introducing the brand to new audiences through our legendary service, quality products and outdoor expertise.”

Some fans of the Maine-based outdoor gear store arrived for the opening before dawn.

First in a line of about 150 people was Paul Smith, who got there at 3 a.m.

“We are super excited for this,” Smith said. “We always go up to their headquarters in Maine, so we know what L.L. Bean is and we love them.”

Smith was most excited to purchase some more of their equipment: “Their outdoor equipment is really great. Their backpacks are well known for being waterproof and long-lasting.”

L.L.Bean also made a $10,000 contribution to the Franklin Family YMCA. Since 2022, L.L.Bean has contributed more than $2.25 million to YMCA Summer Camp scholarships.

“We’re an all-American outdoor lifestyle program,” Mitchell said. No matter if you’re walking your dog, playing with your kids, or you’re hiking around, we’re providing the gear that helps to make that experience better. We’ve been around for 114 years and our stuff is really well crafted, that people have loved for years. We’re happy to bring this store to our current fans while bringing our store to more people.

L.L. Bean is located at 1800 Galleria Blvd. Suite 252 at Cool Springs Galleria. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

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Tennessee

State encouraging Paramount to come to Tennessee

Published

17 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Press Room

State encouraging Paramount to come to Tennessee

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Tennessee

How did your school district do? New TCAP scores released across Southeast Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

July 16, 2026

Press Room

How did your school district do? New TCAP scores released across Southeast Tennessee

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — New TCAP results are giving parents their first look at how students performed across Southeast Tennessee during the 2025-26 school year.

Among the districts in the Chattanooga area, Dayton City Schools posted the highest proficiency rates in English language arts and social studies, while Rhea County led the region in math.

Here’s how districts in the Tennessee portion of the NewsChannel 9 viewing area performed:

Hamilton County: