Alto Coaching Staff

Joey Sementelli is the Head Coach of Alto Swim Club and Lead Coach for the National Group. Joey has been instrumental in developing Alto into one of the best club teams in the country. In 2019, Alto won 1st place at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championship. Prior to Alto, Joey spent 7 years with Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics as Head Coach and Owner of PASA (Stanford Site).

Learn More about Coach Joey Here

Laura Mitchell is the Head Coach of Alto Swim Club and Lead Coach for Senior 1. Laura has worked to elevate the team's performance and drive significant growth and success. In 2019, Alto won 1st place at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championship. In local championship meets, Laura has coached Far Western and Junior Olympic champions and Far Western and Pacific Swimming record holders. Prior to Alto, Laura spent 8 years with Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics as Head Coach and Owner of PASA (Stanford Site).

Learn More about Coach Laura Here

Greg Meehan works primarily with the collegiate & post-graduate swimmers. Greg is the Head Coach of Stanford Women's Swimming. As a three-time NCAA Swimming Coach of the Year Greg has led Stanford to three consecutive National Championships, 2017-2019. Greg is the 2020 U.S. Olympic Head Coach for Team USA. He also was Head Coach for 2019 FINA World Championships.

Learn More about Coach Greg Here

Natalie Loredo
Alto Team Manager

Natalie Loredo is entering her second season with Alto Swim Club. Natalie plays a crucial role in ensuring Alto’s success by guiding and supporting team families, facilitating communication, and assisting the Alto coaching staff in all areas. Natalie was born and raised in the Bay Area, grew up playing recreational sports (soccer, softball, basketball, gymnastics), and later competed in varsity softball and competitive cheerleading. Natalie graduated from Foothill College with an A.A in Kinesiology and joined the Alto staff after five years working at the management level in the customer service and food industries. Natalie is a tremendous resource for our Alto team families.

Richie Barth
Head Age Group Coach

Richie Barth comes to Alto with over 11 years of coaching experience internationally in Austria and Switzerland. Richie will be working with the Alto Age Group Program as the Lead Coach for Age Group Silver and Age Group Gold. Richie was most recently a Senior coach at Bern Swimming Club (Switzerland). He has coached athletes to 22 Top 3 finishes at the Swiss Junior Age-Group Championships, 4 Top 3 finishes at Swiss Championships, and one Swiss National Single-Age Record (50 Freestyle, Womens 16-year-old). Richie was also the Team Leader of Education and Training at Campus Sursee Sports Arena and Head Coach at Swim Team Lucerne. In the spring of 2022, Richie fulfilled a dream of his by traveling around California for 3 months, visiting swim teams from San Diego all the way up to the Bay Area. He loved having the chance to visit and observe more than twenty club and college programs and interact and learn from coaches at every level!

Alec Scott
National and Senior

Alec Scott joined the Alto Swim Club staff after successful coaching stints at both the University of Alabama and the University of Northern Colorado. He is also an Assistant with the Stanford Men's Swimming & Diving team. Alec works primarily with the National Group and is involved in all aspects of the competitive team. As assistant coach at Northern Colorado, Alec helped the Bears win 3 Individual WAC conference championships, achieve 4 NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standards, break 7 school records, and produce 7 medals with 14 total podium finishes. Swimmers achieved 39 lifetime best performances and Petra Kis was named conference freshman of the year. Alec was at Alabama as a Volunteer Assistant for the 2016-2017 season. He worked closely with the Breaststroke and IM group which included 2016 Olympians Christopher Reid (100M Backstroke) and Anton McKee (100M & 200M Breaststroke). Alec helped Reid to an SEC Championship in the 200 Backstroke and McKee to an SEC Championship in the 200 Breaststroke as well as a runner-up finish in the same event at the 2017 NCAA Championships. In total, Coach Alec helped Alabama to 33 All-America honors among 13 athletes and 7 school records while the Men’s team posted their fifth consecutive top-15 finish at the NCAA Championships. Alec began his collegiate career at Indian River State College. As a sophomore, he was named 2014 NJCAA Men’s Swimmer of the year. After two seasons in the junior college ranks, Alec transferred to Alabama, finishing his collegiate career with the Crimson Tide. He represented Alabama at the 2016 SEC Championships and was also a 2016 Olympic Trials qualifier. Alec graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

Dustin Fukuda
Senior

Dustin Fukuda comes to Alto with 12 years of coaching experience. He works primarily with Senior 2 and will assist in all aspects of the competitive team. Dustin was most recently a Senior coach at Punahou Aquatics in Hawaii. In 5 years with Punahou Aquatics, Dustin developed multiple Junior National and National level qualifiers, Future's finalists and a USA Swimming Scholastic All American. Multiple swimmers ranked top 10 in the United States in their respective age groups. Additionally, Dustin served as a physical education teacher for Punahou School. Prior to coaching with Punahou Aquatics, Dustin was a Senior Coach at Kamehameha Swim Club for 5 years. Kamehameha won every Age Group and Senior Championship meet in Hawaii during his time with the team. Swimmers set a National Age Group record for a 15-16 year old boys relay and posted multiple nationally ranked swims. The club ranked as a United States Silver medal throughout the course of his tenure. Dustin competed at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He competed four years at Conference USA Championships and qualified for USA Swimming Nationals.

Patrick Novak
Age Group

Patrick has been involved with swimming, either as a swimmer or a coach, for nearly 30 years. He began swimming competitively at age 5, and he had a successful age group career that included multiple YMCA State Titles. In High School, Patrick received All American Honorable Mention in both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Breaststroke. He continued his swimming career on scholarship at Division II, Catawba College, where he set multiple school records.

Patrick graduated from Catawba College with a B.S. in Business Administration with Economics. He continued his education at Villanova Charles Widger School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor in 2014. Patrick has coached swimming since age 18, beginning as an Assistant Coach for Catawba Valley Aquatics Club while pursuing his degree. Throughout law school, he remained involved in swimming by coaching summer league.

After spending a brief time in the corporate world, Patrick returned to coaching as the Assistant Coach for Division III, Cedar Crest College. From there, he started as the Assistant Coach for Lost Creek Aquatics, before being promoted to the Head Location Coach of their Cedar Park, TX location. While in Texas, he also served as the Head Coach for St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. Before joining Alto, Patrick spent 2 years as the Head Coach for Lower Moreland Swimming and Lower Moreland High School in Philadelphia, PA, where he coached qualifiers for Sectionals, Futures, Junior Nationals, and the U.S. Open.

Kara Guenther
Age Group

Kara Guenther comes to Alto from Lakeside Aquatic Club where she worked as a 12 and Under coach. She is the Lead Coach for Age Group Bronze and Age Group 2. While at Lakeside, Kara worked primarily with the Age Group Program at The Colony, Texas site. She excelled in coaching multiple 12 & Under groups. Lakeside has been recognized as a USA Swimming Gold Medal club. Kara grew up in the Dallas Metroplex and swam with Lakeside Aquatic Club. Kara had a successful swimming career with Lakeside Aquatic Club and competed at multiple Junior National Championship Meets. She continued her swimming success at the University of Wyoming where she was a finalist at the Mountain West Conference in 2017. Kara graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition.

Maddie McKean
Age Group

Maddie McKean is beginning her second season coaching with Alto, where she works primarily with Age Group 3 and assist with Age Group Silver. Maddie’s previous coaching expereince includes working as an Age Group coach for the Middlebury Aquatic Club. Maddie was a student-athlete at Middlebury College, where she was a four-year member and captain of the Middlebury Swimming & Diving team. In her time at Middlebury, she was a Division III NCAA All-American and School Record Holder in the 200 Medley Relay. Maddie majored in Neuroscience with a minor in Education Studies. Currently, in addition to coaching with Alto, Maddie works as a Research Assistant at Stanford in Juliet Knowles's Lab in the Department of Neurology.

Michael Hung
Age Group

Michael Hung comes to Alto with 7 years of coaching experience. He works primarily with Age Group 3 and Age Group 1 and he assists with all levels of the Age Group Program. Michael started his coaching career with Kaneohe Swim Association in Hawaii, where he worked with athletes of all ages and levels including Hawaii Age Group Long Course State Championships qualifiers. From 2018 to 2022, he assisted with the Age Group and Senior programs at Punahou Aquatics. Michael is a current member of the American Swimming Coaches Association and he is involved in local swimming governance and organization.

Melina Gold
Age Group

Melina Gold comes to Alto with over 10 years of teaching and coaching experience. Most recently, Gold was Head Coach of the Mavericks Swim Club and the Half Moon Bay High School swim team for 2 years. During her time with the Mavericks, she developed all groups in the country and helped athletes achieve multiple Junior Olympics and Far Western qualifying times. Coach Gold also led the Half Moon Bay High School Cougars to winning two consecutive PAL - Ocean Division Championships. Six new individual High School records were set during her time coaching the coastal high school swim team. Prior to coaching with the Mavericks, Gold coached at the Bulldogs Swim Club for 5 years, and helped grow the team's 12 and under developmental and competitive age groups. Gold's love for swimming began at the age of 6. She was the age group national record holder in the 100m and 200m breaststroke for 6 consecutive years in her native country Bulgaria. She became an Olympic hopeful at the age of 14 with strong focus toward the Seoul 1988 Olympics. Gold is an American Swim Coaches Association member. In her spare time, Gold has been practicing real estate as a licensed realtor since 2015.

Mark Tiersma
Age Group

Mark Tiersma has been an assistant coach with the team since 2022. A native Californian, Mark grew up in the Central Valley near Visalia where he swam competitively for 10 years for the Tule Nation Tritons (TNT), specializing in breaststroke and backstroke mainly. During that time he also spent 5 years coaching various age levels (8-18) for the Visalia Waves as well as providing private swim lessons. Mark did his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley where he obtained a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Genetics and Genomics. In addition to coaching with Alto, Mark currently works as a research assistant at Stanford in the Snyder Lab in the Department of Genetics.

Audrey Hsi
Age Group

Audrey Hsi is starting her first year coaching at Alto working primarily with Age Group 1. Audrey was a student-athlete at Middlebury College as a four-year member of the Middlebury Swimming & Dive team. At Middlebury, she double majored in Biology and Anthropology. In addition to coaching at Alto, she is a PhD student in the Earth System Science Department at Stanford University.

Kat Capulong
Age Group

Kat Capulong brings a wealth of aquatics experience to her coaching role in her first year with Alto. Her coaching philosophy emphasizes teamwork, sportsmanship, and the holistic development of her athletes. In addition to coaching with Alto, Kat coaches the Atwater High School's JV swim and water polo teams and guided the program to their first-ever CCC Championship. Kat is currently a student at San Jose State pursuing a degree in Kinesiology. Kat also played Division 2 water polo at Azusa Pacific University and competed on the swim and water polo teams at Merced Junior College.

Landon Harris
Senior

Landon Harris has spent the majority of his life involved in swimming. As a coach for the past 26 years, he has helped develop numerous swimmers compete at the highest levels. In 2021 six of his swimmers competed at Olympic Trials with one reaching the finals in the 200 Backstroke. He has been recognized for his coaching skills, receiving awards such as the 2019 Georgia Senior Coach of the Year and the ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year in 2007.

Prior to Alto, Landon was a head site coach for Swim Atlanta, a USA Swimming’s Gold Medal Club. He spearheaded and developed his location for 15 years consistently producing high quality swimmers. His focus was on helping his swimmers develop stroke skill and technique. From 2016 – 2022 he had numerous swimmers rank in the Top 10 nationally. Most went on to compete at the highest levels of swimming through Division I, II and III Universities. As a swimmer, Landon earned a Division 1 scholarship to Clemson University. He competed in the 1996 US Olympic Trials, where he placed in the Top 20 in 100 Breaststroke. Also in his swimming career, he placed in the Top 10 at Sr. Nationals and Top 3 at Jr. Nationals for 100 and 200 Breaststroke. Landon’s philosophy is to give swimmers the opportunity to learn self-worth, the importance of hard work, dedication, and commitment. His goal is to teach his swimmers to be self-motivated, disciplined, and have a team attitude. He believes that if swimmers can develop these qualities in the pool, they can apply them to any area of their lives.

Wes Thomas
Senior and Age Group

Wes Thomas joined the Alto coaching staff after training and competing with Alto as a postgrad swimmer during the lead up to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Wes competed at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Trials in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. He was a student-athlete at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a six-time Ivy League Championship finalist and Team Captain. Wes graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Robotics. Outside of coaching with Alto, Wes still stays in the water with the Stanford Masters swim team.

Kyle Renne
Age Group

Kyle Renne comes to Alto with 11 years of coaching experience and after very successful stints at both CSP Tideriders and Tigard Tualatin Swim Club. He was most recently the Lead Developmental Coach for CSP Tideriders in St. Louis, Missouri. During Kyle’s time with CSP, the team won nearly every LSC championship meet at the 8 & under, Age Group, and Senior levels. Prior to coaching with CSP, Kyle was the Head Age Group Coach for Tigard Tualatin Swim Club in Oregon. He has coached multiple Oregon and Ozark LSC record holders, and was the Age Group Chair and Head Zones Coach for Ozark Swimming.