Mesa State College has a very impressive new athletic center, the $41m Saunders Fieldhouse. It’s a terrific new athletic facility and swimming coach Brian Pearson is excited about the improved facilities, what it will do for his program and his recruiting. We are excited to share the news with beRecruited athletes!

Here is the article from the Grand Junction Press:

Brian Pearson says his program at Mesa State is moving toward the “haves” of NCAA Division II swimming.

Or “have-mores,” as President George W. Bush coined it.

With the expansion and renovation of the college’s four-decades-old Saunders Field House, Mesa State’s third-year swimming coach said new facilities will attract a different type of swimmer to Grand Junction.

Better ones.

“We’re going to be able to recruit (NCAA) Division I talent,” a brimming Pearson said Wednesday, among dozens of college staff and officials on hand at a groundbreaking ceremony for Mesa State’s $41 million overhaul of its athletic facilities.

Pearson’s swimmers currently get by with what he called “some of the worst facilities I’ve worked in.” Next year, they’ll be swimming at the Orchard Mesa Community Pool.

Things are about to change: The work which kicked off Wednesday will eventually raise western Colorado’s only 50-meter indoor swimming pool.

“We’ll be able to host regional and national swimming events,” he said with a smile. “This will be one of the top three Division II swimming facilities in the country.”

Saunders Field House over the coming years will see the renovation of approximately 125,000 existing square feet, plus the addition of another 200,000 square feet.

Mesa State spokeswoman Dana Nunn said the firm handling the work, Adolfson & Peterson Construction, is targeting completion for December 2009.

Aside from the pool, Saunders’ expansion will include locker rooms along with practice and competition venues for all of Mesa State’s 14 intercollegiate sports. The new building will also house Mesa State’s Department of Health Sciences, which includes an EMT program, nursing, kinesiology, radiological sciences and athletic training.

Nunn said the community will essentially have the same level of access to the new facilities: The college will sell passes for use of the new swimming pool.

Pearson and men’s basketball coach Jim Heaps are already using the new construction to lure recruits. Heaps’ days of sharing locker space with the football and baseball programs will soon be a thing of the past.

“Every recruit we’ve had on campus has been thoroughly impressed with the growth,” Heaps said. “Going around the state, there’s a lot of campuses stagnant and not growing.

“It’s an exciting time.”

Alain Berard smashed 100 meter freestyle word record… which is *so* much faster than anyone else has EVER been.

100-meter freestyle record for the second time in as many days Saturday, clocking 47.50 seconds to win his first major title and place his opponents on notice that he is the man they will have to surpass for gold at the Beijing Olympics.

“Now I know I’m the man to beat,” he said. “I have been searching for this level for years.”

The new Speedo Fastskin just came out - Michael Phelps predicted world records would tumble.

“I don’t think it’s coincidence that all the world records were broken just a few weeks after the suits were released,” former Olympic swimmer Michael Klim said.

As a former collegiate swimmer, I am psyched to try the much-anticipated Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer… which is being hyped as the most revolutionary, high-tech swimsuit ever produced. Considering how much the original Fastskin changed the game, the LZR must be incredible if it that much better than it’s predecessor. According to the New York Times:

Six months before the Games, in what has practically become a tradition among sportswear companies since full-length bodysuits revolutionized the look and speed of the sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Speedo staged its version of an “upfront” to introduce what the company is describing as “the world’s fastest swimsuit.”

It is in essence the same design as the world’s fastest swimsuit that Speedo introduced in 2004, only now it is made from fewer pieces (3 instead of 30). And the seams, rather than being sewn together, were ultrasonically welded. But more on that later. Phelps was still waxing poetically onstage.

“It literally feels like you are a rocket coming off the wall,” he said, describing the feeling of diving into a pool in Speedo’s new LZR Racer, which is pronounced Laser Racer. (The vowels would apparently have taken too much time to spell out.)

“The water completely runs off the suit,” he said.

I intend to get the legskin version and wear it during this summer’s Alcatraz swim:

In the NCAA swimming season-opening meet that came down to the final event, the LSU men’s swimming team gave No. 2 Stanford all it could handle on Friday, but the Stanford Cardinals responded with a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay to edge the Tigers, 139-123, at the LSU Natatorium:

Men 50 Yard Freestyle\
=====================================
Name Year School Seed Finals Points \
====================================
1 Malberg, Miko LSU-LA NT 20.52 9 \
2 Allen, Jake STAN NT 21.55 4 \
3 Lubenau, Christoph LSU-LA NT 21.78 3 \
4 Kolsrud, BJ STAN NT 21.92 2 \
5 Meyers, James LSU-LA NT 22.16 1 \
6 Selts, Brandon LSU-LA NT x22.29 \
7 Zeller, Eric LSU-LA NT x22.36 \
8 Boehringer, Karl STAN NT 22.58 \
9 Helmig, Laust LSU-LA NT x22.98 \
10 Nat, Chris LSU-LA NT x23.37 \
11 Grade, David LSU-LA NT x24.38 \
\

(more…)

Mike Golic’s daughter Sydney Golic is 12 years old and placed 4th at Eastern Zones in the 200 meter backstroke with a time of 2:31.88 - which is very fast for a 12 year old! No word yet on what Mike did in the 100 meter buttefly.

STAR Swimming 8/11/2007 - 20:50PM
Eastern Zone Age Group Long Course Champs - 8/8/2007 to 8/11/2007
ECC & UB, Buffalo, NY
Hosted by ECC & Star Swimming

Event 1 Girls 11-12 200 LC Meter Backstroke
==================================================================
Meet Record: M 2: 23.49 8/8/2007 Kaitlyn Jones, Middle Atlantic
N.A.G Record: ! 2:15.17 2005 Elizabeth Beisel NE
NAG Rprtble: + 2:33.99
2:45.59 CUT
Meet Qualifying: 2:45.59
Name Age Team Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===

1 Jones, Kaitlyn 12 MIDDLE ATLANTIC 2:23.73 2:25.01+CUT
33.83 1:10.44 (36.61)
1:48.37 (37.93) 2:25.01 (36.64)

2 Hu, Janet 11 POTAMAC VALLEY 2:33.41 2:30.02+CUT
35.29 1:13.78 (38.49)
1: 52.66 (38.88) 2:30.02 (37.36)

3 Zilinskas, Rach 12 ALLEGHENY MTN. 2:31.69 2:32.73+CUT
35.94 1:14.55 (38.61)
1:53.80 (39.25) 2:32.73 (38.93)

4 Golic, Sydney 12 CONNECTICUT 2: 31.88 2:32.97+CUT
36.23 1:14.75 (38.52)
1:54.42 (39.67) 2:32.97 (38.55)

5 Gray, Nicole 12 VIRGINIA 2:33.21 2:33.96+CUT
36.55 1: 15.23 (38.68)
1:55.11 (39.88) 2:33.96 (38.85)

6 D’Innocenzo, Ma 12 NEW ENGLAND 2:35.03 2:36.32 CUT
36.86 1:16.69 (39.83)
1:56.89 (40.20) 2:36.32 (39.43)

7 Kaulius, Kara 12 ALLEGHENY MTN. 2:45.50 2:36.36 CUT
37.02 1:15.85 (38.83)
1:57.07 (41.22) 2:36.36 (39.29)

8 Kessler, Rachel 12 METROPOLITAN 2: 38.48 2:37.17 CUT
38.70 1:17.83 (39.13)
1:58.22 (40.39) 2:37.17 (38.95)

I won’t sleep well tonight…. scared:

San Francisco Bay PORTS, NOAA/NOS at 9:09 am PDT May 11, 2001
———— TIDES —————— CURRENTS —
(F)lood, (S)lack, (E)bb —–

Golden Gate -0.3 ft. :
Golden Gate (predicted) 1.1 kts.(E), 227°T
Alameda -0.4 ft.,Falling: Oakland 0.3 kts.(E), 316°T
Richmond -0.2 ft.,Falling: Richmond
Port Chicago 1.5 ft.,Falling: Benicia Bridge
Redwood City 0.3 ft.,Falling:

————– Spec.Grav. Salinity Water Tmp ————– Spec.Grav. Salinity

Grizzly Bay ******************** :
Golden Gate *****************
Alameda *****************
Richmond *****************

— METEOROLOGICAL —- Wind Speed/Dir ———
Air Press Air Temp Water Temp

Golden Gate 3 knots from W , gusts to 8 1014 mb 53°F 55°F
Alameda Calm 1013 mb 56°F 65°F
Richmond Calm 1013 mb 56°F 60°F
Port Chicago 13 knots from WSW, gusts to 16 1012 mb 60°F 65°F
Redwood City Calm 1013 mb 60°F 68°F
Oakland 7 knots from NNW, gusts to 9

As the Alcatraz swim is two weeks from today, Marcos Diaz put us to shame with a 20 hour swim around Manhattan… TWICE. That is about 60 miles in some gross water:

Dominican world-record swimmer Marcos Diaz, who fought childhood asthma by exercising in the Caribbean waters, faced a new challenge on Saturday: a nonstop, 20-hour swim around Manhattan….

He planned to circle the island twice and finish the 60-mile swim by Sunday afternoon at the Dyckman Marina in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood, which is the heart of New York’s Dominican community.

In a protective swimsuit, he planned to circle Manhattan at more than 4 mph, with a support boat following. A bottle or cup with nutritional fluids would be placed into the water about every 20 minutes along with, if needed, pieces of fruit or candy.

Diaz’s team aboard the boat was to measure the changing currents so he could opt for the swimming route of least resistance.
Read more on NewsDay

Very scary story out of San Francisco - in yesterday’s Alcatraz Swim or Die swim race, that team beRecruited swam in last year, had a participant die during the race. The swimmer was 51 year old Sara Lowes and there is no word yet on how she passed, whether she was wearing a wetsuit, etc. The awfully named swim race, Alcatraz Swim or Die, will surely be renamed next year.

Team beRecruited will have many competitors swim the Alcatraz 100 race in month.

51-year-old swimmer dies during Alcatraz race

A woman competing in the 1.5 mile Alcatraz Challenge Aquathlon swimming race died Sunday of undetermined causes.

The San Francisco medical examiner identified the woman as 51-year-old Sara “Sally” Lowes of Houston. Lowes was pronounced dead at 9:32 a.m. after being pulled from the water. An autopsy will be conducted to find the cause of death.

Her body was discovered floating in the bay near Crissy Field beach and was recovered by the Marin County sheriff’s patrol boat.

With a motto of “Swim or Die!,” the Alcatraz Challenge Aquathlon & Swim is a 1.5-mile course that begins at Alcatraz and finishes at the East Beach of Crissy Field, according to race director Gary Emich. Sunday’s was the 27th annual race.

The event included 569 registered swimmers, the youngest about 10 and the oldest in their 70s, Emich said.

“Everybody is saddened by the situation. Any death is a tragedy,” Emich said.

It was the first death of a participant in the Alcatraz Challenge since the USA Triathlon Association-sanctioned race began in 1981, Emich said.

Of the “Swim or Die!” motto, Emich said: “It’s been a tongue-in-cheek motto for years because the Alcatraz races are exceptionally safe. Thousands and thousands have participated safely since 1981.”

The event, originally a triathlon, has evolved over the years. Some participants now just swim; others go on to run from Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge and back.

Dara Torres had a remarkable comeback in Sydney… when everyone marveled at how she could come back at that age and after so much time away from the pool. Now at 40 years old and only being in the water for a year (actually less), Torres won the 100 meter freestyle at the US National Championships. It’s pretty impressive when you overshadow Michael Phelp’s 33rd National Title and the 3rd fastest swim ever… in an event that he is not known for!
Phelps won the 200-meter backstroke with a scintillating performance Wednesday night at the U.S. National Championships, finishing more than two seconds ahead of a field that included world record holder Ryan Lochte, who finished fourth.

Capturing the 33rd national title of his brilliant career, Phelps swam a time of 1 minute, 54.65 seconds, the third-fastest ever. Lochte’s mark of 1:54.32, set in March at the worlds, barely held up.

Phelps shared top billing on night two of the meet with 40-year-old Dara Torres, who surprised everyone — herself included — by winning the 100 freestyle. The 14th national title of her long career came more than a quarter-century after the first, as a 14-year-old in 1982.

Torres came out of retirement last summer and quickly established herself as a legitimate contender to make the Olympics for the fifth time. Her first appearance came at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

“I really wasn’t expecting this,” Torres said while sprawled out on the floor of the media room, getting an impromptu massage. “Now the bar is raised a little higher. I have to kind of change my goals.” Read More from AP.

I am thrilled to see Alan Webb’s success in running continue. A little known fact about Alan is that he was also a terrific swimming in high school - he was a junior national qualifier in the breaststrokes and teammate of mine at Curl Burke in DC / Virginia. He eventually gave up swimming to pursue bigger things in track and field (good choice) and it’s great to see him continue to improve as 2008 approaches.

Webb breaks Scott’s meet record

Alan Webb has long spoke about wanting to break Steve Scott’s records, and he got one of them Sunday in a thrilling Nike men’s 1,500m. Webb ran in the style that suits him best, taking the lead and pushing the pace. Webb towed the pack through quick splits of 57.56 for 400m and 1:56.23 for 800, when defending champion Bernard Lagat took the lead.

Webb and company stayed right with Lagat, however, with Said Ahmed, Chris Lukezic and Leonel Manzano also tailing the leader. Lagat passed 1,200 in 2:53.8 as the race continued to escalate. Coming off the final curve, Lagat, Webb, Lukezic and Manzano all were in the running, and it came down to a final sprint.

As he did to win the Reebok Grand Prix, Webb displayed a sizzling kick in the last 30 meters to win in 3:34.82, breaking Steve Scott’s meet record of 3:34.92 set in 1982 and winning his third career national title. The University of Texas’ Manzano passed Lagat to place second in 3:35.29, with Lagat, who on Friday won the 5,000, placing third in 3:35.55. It was the fastest third-place time in USA Championship history. Read More…