Rachel @ USA Nationals

Pre-Race Day:

Well, we made it over the pass, checked in at the pool and got to warm up with World Record Holder (and Olympic Gold Medalist) Cullen Jones.  Off to a pretty good start.  The first picture you see is Rachel holding her free FS Pro from our sponsor Speedo.  If you want to track her times, Omega will be posting live results at this web-site. [Live Results]

Day 1:

We woke up around 7AM, got some hot breakfast in the hotel, and had to go scrape the car before we could go in for warm-ups around 8 AM.  After watching some very impressive swims, Rachel re-warmed up for her 50 Free, in the 6th out of 14 heats.  (Log into the Floswimming SWAT site to watch the race.)  She blasted off the blocks with a blazing .65 reaction time (2nd fastest in the top 25).  She won her heat and was 11th.  Over the next 9 heats, we held our breath as she continued to stay placed in the top 20.  With the final heat up, she was 19th, and only 5 people beat her.  Thrilled to make it to finals, we finished the warm-down and headed out to lunch with Coach Rory and the Whitworth swimmers at the meet. 

In Finals, Rachel swam her 3rd fastest ever 50 Free, moving up one place to rank 23rd.  Great work Rachel, and congratulation on being the first ever SWAT swimmer to make finals at the US National Championships.   

Day 2:

Today, Rachel ended up getting a hug from Matt Grevers, swimming her 2nd fastest 200 Free, and moving up from 83rd to 61st.  Tonight, we are going to finals to watch and get pumped up to race Rachel's top two ranked races. On a side note, Coach Rory Buck swam the 100 Breast, just missing Whitworth's team record, and making a NCAA "B" cut.

[Watch it Live]

Day 3:

Rachel raced well today. The 100 Free, though she added time, she led her heat from the start and moved up from 50th to 43rd.  Overall the meet was a fantastic experience with a truly great swim.  If you see her at the pool, congratulate Rachel on a great weekend! 

Our very own Coach Rory Buck qualified to swim at night, racing to 21st place finish in the 200 Breast while achieving and NCAA Automatic qualifying time.  Great work Coach Rory!