LEXINGTON, Ky.–Four Kentucky swimmers will take part in the 2006 ConocoPhillips National Championships in Irvine, Calif., Aug. 1-5.
Recent graduate Daniel Farnham and rising juniors Jenny Bradford, Will Vietti and Grant Nelson will compete in the prestigious championships.
Twenty Olympic gold-medalists highlight the competition as Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Katie Hoff are all expected to compete in the Championships.
The National Championships serve as the selection meet for five international meets. Success in Irvine not only offers the chance to be a national champion, but it will also propel a participant to represent Team USA. Chosen top performers will be added to one or more of the following events: 2006 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships, 2007 FINA World Championships, 2007 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, 2007 World University Games and 2007 Pan American Games.
The four Wildcats have trained extensively throughout the summer in preparation for a chance to represent the red, white and blue.
?We?re expecting them to swim well,? said UK Coach Gary Conelly. ?They?ve had a good summer of training here and I think they can really compete at this level.?
Farnham, Bradford and Vietti have used the familiar confines of the Lancaster Aquatic Center to train, while Nelson has opted to train closer to home.
Farnham concluded his career with the Wildcats this past spring. Sprint freestyle, backstroke and butterfly were his major events while in Lexington. At the Championships, Farnham will participate in the 100-fly, 50-free and 100-free events.
?Daniel swam personal best times here at UK and he?s now really well rested,? said Conelly. ?I think he?s a top eight guy and he should make one of the teams.?
Conelly?s confidence in Farnham?s ability is not uncharacteristic for a coach to exude. However, Farnham has represented his coach?s optimism with results in the pool.
The Mount Berry, Ga., native earned a school-best 16 All-America distinctions over his four-year career. In his final season, he tied for 15th place in the 100-free event at the NCAA Championships. Farnham was also an intricate part of the relay squads at NCAAs, as he helped his teammates to a 12th place finish in both the 200-free and 200-medley events and a 16th place finish in the 800-free.
Farnham put a firm stake in the UK record books, holding the top time in school history in the 100-free. He is a member of all of the top relay teams in the school?s history (200-medley, 400-medley, 200-free, 400-free, and 800-free). Farnham possesses the second-best time in the 50-free and the fourth-best in the 200-free.
The lone female representative for the Wildcats is also a premier freestyle sprinter. Bradford has already left an incredible mark on the program in two short years. The Groveport, Ohio native owns the leading score in the UK record books in both the 50-free and 100-free. Like Farnham, Bradford is a central figure in the relay teams and she is a part of the chief teams in Kentucky records in the 200-medley relay, 400-medley, 200-free and 400-free. With two years of eligibility remaining, Conelly is confident Bradford will emerge as one of the top swimmers in the country.
?Jenny elevated her status as a premier sprinter at the NCAAs in the spring,? Conelly said. ?I think she has a shot at being on one of the teams as well, because she really can be a premier sprinter even in the world.?
At the 2006 NCAA Championships, Bradford garnered five All-America recognitions. Her highlights included a fifth-place finish in the 50-free and seventh in the 100-free.
Bradford will take part in the 100-fly, 50-free and 100-free at the 2006 ConocoPhillips National Championships.
Conelly attributes Vietti and Nelson to performing their best in ?big-time meets.? The UK coach believes both swimmers have a great chance at being the dark horses of the meet and surprising other swimmers.
?Will has dropped so much time in his swims since he arrived here. He usually swims his best in big events like this,? said Conelly. ?Will has really improved and two years ago he wouldn?t have even qualified for this. Other people need to be aware of him, because he has a real possibility of making one of the teams.?
Vietti will take part in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. The Thermopolis, Wyo., native?s sophomore campaign was highlighted by a sixth- and seventh-place finish in the 200-breast and 100-breast respectively at the SEC Championships. His times and finishes improved greatly after 14th- and 16th-place finishes in the same events his freshman season.
Nelson exhibits some of the same qualities as Vietti including a determination to improve. The Tampa, Fla. native has seen action in a variety of events, but the butterfly is where he has really emerged.
?Grant falls into the same category as Will; he?s a big-time swimmer at big events,? Conelly said. ?Over the last one and a half years, Grant?s 200-fly has come into its own. He?s a dark horse, but I think he has a real chance.?
Nelson participated in the 500-free and 100-fly at the SEC Championships. He placed 19th and 21st respectively, but like Vietti he improved drastically from his freshman season. As a rookie, Nelson took 24th in the 1650-free, 26th in the 500-free and 33rd in the 200-free. Butterfly is a new event for the historically distance swimmer, but he will partake in the 200-fly as well as the 400-free event.
For the first time in USA Swimming history, fans can log-on to usaswimming.org/nationals for up-to-date information, times and results throughout the meet.
Updates on each of the four UK swimmers can be found at ukathletics.com after each day of participation.
