Leave of Absence

As you can see, I have not been making posts to the SLO Swimming Scene for a couple of months now. I want formally say that I have taken a leave of absence from writing stories for this blog. 

I have taken a job as the head coach of boys swimming and diving at Arroyo Grande high school, and I believe this creates a conflict of interest. I don’t believe I should be writing a blog on swimming in the SLO county area when I have a job with a particular program in the area. Also, one of my major subjects has been Cal Poly swimming and diving, and my brother is currently a freshman on that team. 

I apologize, but I think this is the only course of action that is fair to my readers. 

I may post some opinion columns on swimming in general, but I will no longer be reporting on swimming in the area. I want to thank everyone that has read or followed this blog in the past year and a half. I sincerely appreciate it. 

Cal Poly to Host Defending Champs

The Cal Poly Swimming and Diving team will kick off its 2012-2013 season today when they host the two-time NCAA defending champion Golden Bears of UC Berkeley.

The meet starts at 11 a.m. Friday, and will continue at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Anderson Aquatic Center.

Friday’s session will consist of a pentathlon. Each swimmer will swim 100-yards of each stroke and cap it off with a 100 individual medley. Those five times will be added up to determine the “King and Queen of the pool.”

Saturday both teams will compete in relays.

Antoniuk Swims 1500 at Trials

Cal Poly swimmer Konrad Antoniuk competed in the preliminaries of the 1500-meter freestyle this morning at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Antoniuk finished the longest event contested at the Trials in 16 minutes, 11.47 seconds.

The electrical engineering junior-to-be, who was competing for the Canyons Aquatics Club, finished  80th in a field of 90 of best distance freestylers in the nations.

The top qualifier in the prelims was Andrew Gemmel, 21, who finished in 14:57.29. The top eight finishers in prelims will swim the final of the 1500, also known as the mile, Monday night. The first and second place finishers will qualify for the Olympic Team.

Complete 1500 freestyle results. 

Cal Poly’s Antoniuk to Swim at Olympic Trials

Cal Poly swimmer Konrad Antoniuk will swim the 1500-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday.

Konrad Antoniuk, a member of the Cal Poly Swimming and Diving team, will swim in the preliminaries of the 1,500-meter freestyle on Sunday at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Antoniuk, who hails from Valencia, Calif., is also representing the Canyons Aquatics Club, the swim club he grew up on.

The  electrical engineering junior-to-be  is seeded 71st in a field of 96 of the nation’s best distance freestylers. His entry time is 15 minutes, 18.17 seconds.

Antoniuk had the highest placing of any Cal Poly swimmers at the 2012 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. He finished 13th in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:36.01.

Click here for to view the live webcasts of the Trials. 

Click here for complete results from the Trials. 

Prenot Advances in 200 IM

Santa Maria Swim Club swimmers Joshua Prenot qualified for the semifinals in the 200-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Prenot’s time of 2 minutes, 2.58 seconds earned him 13th place after prelims. The top 16 swimmers advance to semifinals, which will be held tonight and aired on NBC at 8 pm PDT. Prenot will be in heat two, lane one.

Prenot moved up a couple of spots, as he was seeded 18th before prelims.

Prenot Swims Semifinal

Santa Maria Swim Club swimmer Joshua Prenot competed in the semifinal of the 200-meter breaststroke Thursday night at that U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Prenot finished in a lifetime best time of 2 minutes, 12.21 seconds. The mark set a National Age Group record for 17-18 boy’s.

The 18-year-old UC Berkeley freshman-to-be missed making finals by 21 one-hundredths of a second. He finished 10th, but only the top eight advance to the finals.

The top time of the semifinals was posted by Clark Burckle. He finished the race in 2:10.01.

Prenot will next swim the 200-meter individual medley on Friday, the fifth and final event he will compete in at the Trials. He is seeded 18th with a time of 2:02.24.

For results from the Trials, click here.

Prenot and Stevens Hit the Water Again

Santa Maria Swim Club swimmer Joshua Prenot and Puma Aquatics swimmer Zachary Stevens competed in the 200-meter breaststroke today at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Prenot finished in a lifetime best 2 minutes, 13.00 seconds. He placed ninth in the preliminary session, which means he will advance to the semifinal round for the event (the top 16 advance). The 18-year-old UC Berkeley freshman-to-be will be in the second semifinal heat tonight and will be in lane two.

In the lane next to Prenot (three) will be Brendan Hansen, who won the bronze medal in the 20-meter breaststroke at the 2004 Athens Games. Hansen punched his ticket to London on Tuesday night by winning the 100-meter breaststroke.

Prenot will also swim the 200-meter individual medley on Friday. He is seeded 18th with a time of 2:02.24.

Stevens, 16, also had a personal best time in the event. He finished in 2:19.52, which was 46 one-hundredths of a second faster than his entry time. Stevens finished 63rd after being ranked 104th going into the event.