North, who clocked a 56.16 to place third in her heat, turned in the highest finish by a Boise State swimmer at the Olympic Trials. She missed qualifying for the semifinals by eight-tenths of a second.
MW Swimmer of the Year Amber Boucher, who along with North exhausted her eligibility at Boise State during the 2011-12 season, tied her personal best in the event with a 56.99 to finish 68th.
Four MW swimmers took part In the prelims of the women's 200-meter breaststroke competition, with San Diego State's Katelyn Weddle finishing 50th in a time of 2:35.17. Former UNLV swimmer Marley Prothero was 61st in the event (2:36.40), while Boise State junior Chelsea Miller placed 66th in a time of 2:36.79. Freshman Kim Davis, the first female swimmer from the Air Force Academy to compete at the Olympic Trials, finished 100th (2:40.26).
On the men's side, former Wyoming standout Brandon Fischer, making his second appearance at the Olympic Trials, finished 79th in the 200 medley (2:06.53) while Cowboys sophomore Jordan Turner (2:09.38) placed 108th in the event.
Wyoming junior Jaycee Calhoon (2:07.66) placed 95th in the prelims of the men's 200-meter backstroke.
The swimmers with the top 16 times in the preliminary heats advance to the semifinals. From there, the top eight finishers in the semis move on to the finals, with the first- and second-place finishers qualifying for the 2012 Olympics in London (July 22-August 12).
The following MW athletes will be competing in preliminary heats through Sunday. The meet concludes on Monday with finals in the women's 50-meter freestyle and men's 1500-meter freestyle.
Today: Senior Cody Roberts, the UNLV and MW record holder in the event, will compete in the men's 100-meter fly, while San Diego State senior Leona Jennings and UNLV senior Dannica Brennan will swim in the prelims of the women's 200-meter backstroke.
Sunday, July 1: Boise State's Amber Boucher and Stephanie North will be joined in the prelims of the women's 50-meter freestyle by SDSU senior Leona Jennings, UNLV junior Rachel Dixon and former Wyoming standout Kelsey Conci.
Mick McGrane has covered the Mountain West since the league's inception in 1999. He spent 12 years at the San Diego Union-Tribune, where he served as the beat writer for San Diego State football and men's basketball. He currently represents the MW as a member of the Football Writers Association of America All-America Committee and is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. McGrane serves as senior writer to the Mountain West, providing readers with exclusive, in-depth information about the Conference by highlighting its 10 member institutions and contributing feature stories on student-athletes that participate in the league's 18 sponsored sports.
Mark Knudson is a Colorado State journalism school graduate and a 12-year veteran of professional baseball. During his playing career, Mark pitched for three major league teams, including the Colorado Rockies, where he was the first Colorado native to play for the hometown team. He recorded wins over three of the four legendary pitchers who make up the 4,000 strikeout club: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. His win over Ryan came for the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day in 1991.
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