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.

Events Poll #2

Stevens Selected to Camp

Puma Aquatics swimmer Zachary Stevens has been selected to be a member of the USA Swimming  National Select Camp, which is taking place October 27-30 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The camp has 30 male roster spots and 30 female roster spots. The swimmers selected are the top two swimmers for their age group in each respective event.

Stevens qualified for the camp by posting one of the top two times in the nation for his age group (15-16) in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.

Stevens’s performance at the 2011 Junior Nationals, held this past August in Palo Alto, made him eligible for the camp. The 16-year-old placed 12th in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 19.98 seconds. His time of 1:04.28 in the 100 breaststroke earned him a fourth place finish.

Stevens has qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in both of the breaststroke events. He is preparing to compete in the trials, which will take place in Omaha, Nebraska, next June.

Puma Coach Rich Firman is accompanying Stevens on the trip to Colorado Springs.