University of Tennessee Athletics
Top Thrill D(r)agster: Race to the Sky
August 27, 2014 | Swimming & Diving
By: Robby Veronesi
A roller coaster.
One of man's modern marvels, the intricacies that go into such a structure amaze both engineers and adrenaline junkies. At one moment, you're at ground level, the next you're whisked into the extreme limits of either positive or negative g-forces. While the thought of being corkscrewed and shot at high speeds around a track at frightening heights scares many people, one UT swimmer loves it so much that even his social media handle reflects this healthy addiction.
Meet @TopThrillDagster, known to many as Jimmy Dagley. Living in close proximity to a pair of massive U.S. amusement parks in Chicago and in his current hometown of Hudson, Ohio, has helped create a strong desire for these engineering and architectural wonders.
"It started when I was 8 years old. My parents took my younger brother and sister and me to Disney World," said Dagley. "Back when I lived in Chicago, we lived about 30 minutes from the Six Flags there, so after the Disney trip, I asked `can we go to Six Flags some time?' They said `sure.'So we ended up going one time and at that point I fell in love.
"My mom always thought it would be one of those things where it would come and go. I guess it was the right age where it just stuck and it's something that I've enjoyed ever since."
It's hard to avoid the topic of roller coasters. His twitter handle stems off a play-on from a roller coaster at Dagley's `home park' of Cedar Point in nearby Sandusky, Ohio. Profile pictures on social media are of the junior sitting front row on some massive rides. Even his major, mechanical engineering, ties in with his favorite hobby.
"When you ride one, it's not an everyday experience that happens to you," said Dagley. "Being an engineer, the easiest way to have this explained is that when you're walking around, you're just at 1 G, one normal force of gravity. When you're on a roller coaster, it can vary from -2 to +5 or 6. This is a way to get a bunch of physical experiences and it's something that I enjoy doing.
"Part of the addiction is that it's actually something that I want to do. I want to design them and work for a company that makes them or an amusement park. I like math and I'm good at it, so it all just fit together nicely. It's been feeding its own addiction."
Through years of travel and riding, Dagley has accumulated quite the list of roller coaster experiences, spanning across the globe from California out to Italy and Austria. He's even narrowed down and fine-tuned what he loves most in a coaster.
"Personally, I like rides that tend to be on the more intense side, either putting a lot of pressure on you or feeling like you're being thrown out of your seat," said Dagley. "I like rides that really put your physical abilities to the test. My favorite one is Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion, outside of Richmond, Va. It drops 300 feet through a five-second turn and it's the only ride that's ever consistently made me lose vision. I actually have to fight it; that's scary to some people, but I find that fun and enjoyable. The rest is fast and intense and just a whole lot of fun."
So, Intimidator 305 tops our resident expert's list, but which other coasters round out his top-10? If you're ever curious, he can give you his top-30 with little hesitation.
1. Intimidator 305 (Kings Dominion, Doswell, Va.)
2. Maverick (Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio)
3. Lightning Run (Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville, Ky.)--NOW OPEN
4. Storm Runner (Hershey Park, Hershey, Penn.)
5. Millenium Force (Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio)
6. X2 (Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, Calif.)
7. Banshee (Kings Island, Mason, Ohio)
8. Goliath (Six Flags Over Georgia, Austell, Ga.)
9. Thunderhead (Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.)
10. Diamondback (Kings Island, Mason, Ohio)
It seems that one of the only challenges for Dagley is finding some of his Tennessee teammates to drag along and enjoy the rides with him. While some like Ben Myhre and former Vol Carl Svagerko have shared in the fun thanks to a recent Spring Break trip to Central Florida and Six Flags Over Georgia, others are not so inclined to join in.
"The two that immediately come to mind are Faith Johnson and Maddie Tegner," said Dagley. "Maddie because she's terrified of heights and every time something like this comes up she's like `you're never going to get me to get on one of those things.' Faith, too, has mentioned that she's not a particularly huge fan of them. Hopefully one day, when I finally land a job designing them, I'll drag them along."
