Aug. 9, 2010
IRVINE, Calif. – A dozen current and former Kentucky swimmers competed in the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships. Many swimmers recorded career-best times while racing side-by-side with the best swimmers in the country at the championships held in Irvine, Calif., at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center from Aug. 3-7.
Tyler Reed, a senior from Morgantown, Ky., competed in the 100-, 200- and 400-freestyle races. Reed won the bonus final in the 100-free by touching in with a time of 50.03 seconds. It was the 17th-best time out of the 126 swimmers competing.
Reed finished with a time of 1:51.50 in the 200-free, good for 26th place. Reed finished 43rd in the 400-free with a time of 4:00.37.
Competing in the 50-free on the men’s side was senior Colin Faris and sophomore David Sanders. Faris earned a career-best time of 23.41 to come in 37th place out of 115 racers. Sanders touched in with a time of 23.69 seconds.
On the women’s side, senior Kayla Sergesketter raced to a time of 26.76 seconds in the 50-free. Fellow senior Jenna Newsome recorded a time of 27.46 in the same event.
Sophomore Maclin Simpson came through with a pair of career-best times in the 200-fly and 200-individual medley. Simpson finished in 36th place in the 200-fly with a time of 2:03.36. Simpson, a Louisville, Ky., native, later recorded a time of 2:09.28 in the 200-IM for his second career-best time at the championships. Simpson also competed in the 100-butterfly, where he recorded a time of 55.76, and the 400-IM, where he came in with a time of 4:33.39 seconds.
Chatham Penrod and Megan Eppler each competed in the 200-backstroke. Penrod qualified for the bonus finals, finishing in 22nd place overall with a time of 2:17.24. Eppler raced in at 2:22.69.
Penrod, who was named the most valuable swimmer by her coaches at last season’s annual team awards banquet, also raced in the 100-back. The senior clocked in at 1:03.91, the 33rd-best time out of 139 swimmers.
Junior Jenna Willis swam a 1:15.99 in the 100-breaststroke at the championships.Grant Cooksey, a junior from Pewee Valley, Ky., raced to a 2:27.54 in the 200-breast.
Former UK swimmers Kyle Greene and Alex Forbes also competed in the ConocoPhillips National Championships.Greene raced to a career-best time of 23.33 in the 50-free. Greene’s time was the 33rd best for the event out of the 115 recorded times. Greene also competed in the 100-free where he finished in 28th place with a time of 50.86.Forbes competed in the 50-free, 100-free and 100-fly. Forbes finished in 46th place in the 50-free with a time of 23.56. Forbes, an Orlando, Fla., native who was named the most valuable swimmer by his coaches at last season’s annual awards banquet, clocked in at 51.90 in the 100-free. Forbes recorded a time of 56.40 in the 100-fly.
Follow along all year at UKathletics.com for more information regarding the UK swimming and diving squads.
