Conci, an All-MW performer, finished in a time of 1:01.16, three places removed from reaching the final. She is the first UW swimmer to move past the preliminaries since Scott Usher made the U.S. Olympic Team in 2004.
"I could not be more proud of Kelsey," said Wyoming coach Tom Johnson in a release on WyomingAthletics.com. "She had a great swim and missed the finals by less than a half a second. She was a little slower coming off the wall in the beginning, but I think that it helped her really turn it on coming down the stretch. Down the stretch she really was coming strong and was just touched out."
Meanwhile, Boise State sophomore Heather Harper finished third in her heat and 111th overall in the 100-meter breaststroke. Harper posted a time of 1:12.96 to move up 35 spots from her seed of No. 146.
The race concluded Harper's schedule at the Olympic Trials. San Diego State senior Katelyn Weddle (1:11.19) finished 50th overall in the event, while former UNLV standout Marley Prothero placed 100th in a time of 1:12.74.
In the prelims of the 100-meter backstroke, UNLV juniors Katelyn Herrington (1:00.72) and Rachel Dixon (1:04.90) finished 41st and 124th, respectively, while senior Carmen Robb was 77th in the event with a time of 1:03.96.
The swimmers with the top 16 times during the preliminary heats will advance to the semifinals. From there, the top eight times in the semis move on to the finals with the first- and second-place finishers in the finals qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, which will be held in London July 22-August 12.
The following MW athletes will be competing in preliminary heats through Sunday, July 1. The meet concludes on Monday, July 2, with finals in the women's 50-meter freestyle and men's 1500-meter freestyle.
Today: San Diego State junior Mikaela Macklin will compete in the 200 individual medley, while Aztecs senior Meghan Zimmer will take part in the women's 200 freestyle.
Thursday, June 28: UNLV junior Brandon Meier will complete in the men's 200-meter breaststroke, as will Brandon Fischer, who recently completed his career at Wyoming and will be swimming in his second Olympic trials. Boise State's Rachel Henry will take part in the women's 200-meter butterfly.
Friday, June 29: Boise State's Amber Boucher and Stephanie North will compete in the women's 100-meter freestyle, while teammate Chelsea Miller will take part in the women's 200-meter breaststroke. Miller will be joined in the event by sophomore Kim Davis of Air Force, the first female swimmer in Academy history to compete in the Olympic Trials, UNLV's recently graduated Marley Prothero and San Diego State senior Katelyn Weddle. Wyoming's Brandon Fischer will swim in the men's 200 individual medley on Friday, as will Cowboys sophomore Jordan Turner. Wyoming junior Jaycee Calhoun will compete in the men's 200 backstroke.
Saturday, June 30: 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.
Leave a comment