Mountain West Swimmers Make Waves on Opening Day of U.S. Olympic Trials

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Boise State graduate Amber Boucher, the 2012 Mountain West Swimmer of the Year, and UNLV junior Katelyne Herrington competed against each other one more time on opening day of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb. Herrington swam a 1:00.72 to finish tied for 41st overall, while Boucher posted a time of 1:01.87 to finish second in her heat and 85th overall in the 100-meter butterfly on Monday.

Boucher will race again later in the week in the 100-meter freestyle and 50-meter freestyle. Herrington swims again today in the 100-meter backstroke.

Eight more MW swimmers will be in action today, including Boise State sophomore Heather Harper, former UNLV standout Marley Prothero, Wyoming junior Morgan Hartigan and San Diego State seniors Katelyn Weddle and Leona Jennings in the prelims of the 100-meter breaststroke; and former Wyoming standout Kelsey Conci, UNLV junior Rachel Dixon and Rebels senior Carmen Robb in the prelims of the 100-meter backstroke.

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.

Wednesday, June 27: 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 compete 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.

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MICK MCGRANE

MW Senior Writer Mick McGraneMick 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.

Have a question for Mick? E-mail him at mick@TheMWC.com or check him out on Twitter @MWCMick.


MARK KNUDSON

Mark Knudson 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.

Since his retirement, Mark has been a feature writer and columnist for Mile High Sports, a radio talk show host and TV analyst for numerous sports media outlets. For the past six years, he was a columnist and baseball analyst for The Mtn., along with being one of Colorado's six Heisman Trophy voters.

Have a question for Mark? Visit him at ElevationSportsNetwork.com or check him out on Twitter @MarkKnudson41.

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