All the links you need for the 2015 U.S. Junior National Championships

2015 U.S. Junior Nationals

• Thursday, July 30th – Monday, August 3rd
• Northside Aquatics Center – San Antonio, Texas
• Prelims 9AM/Finals 6PM (local time)
• Full coverage
• Psych sheets
• Live stream link
• Live results

Live Stream

Event Schedule

Thursday, July 30th

• 200 fly
• 100 breast
• Girls 800 free
• Boys 1500 free

Friday, July 31st

• 200 back
• 100 free
• 400 IM
• 4×100 free relay

Saturday, August 1st

• 400 free
• 100 fly
• Boys 4×200 free relay

Sunday, August 2nd

• 200 free
• 200 breast
• 100 back
• Girls 4×200 free relay

Monday, August 3rd

• 200 IM
• Girls 1500 free
• 50 free
• Boys 800 free
• 4×100 medley relay

6 Races to Watch

1. Boys 100 fly

The boys 100 fly on day 3 features several of the top talents at the meet going head-to-head, but each with his own unique objective. Top-seeded Alex Valente out of Buenavista is coming off of an outstanding 2014 season that saw him drop his best time from 54.0 to 52.6. Another great taper could see him joining the U.S.’s lengthy list of sub-52 second butterflyers. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Michael Andrew is chasing both Valente and the 15-16 NAG record of 52.75 – a record Andrew just missed at the MV Championships last week. Then there’s Maxime Rooney, who has a shot at up to 4 individual titles in San Antonio, though Valente’s presence makes this the toughest of Rooney’s 4 high seeds (200 free, 100 free, 200 fly, 100 fly). As a dark horse, keep an eye on David Crossland out of the Delaware Swim Team. Crossland has a huge improvement curve in the long course pool over the past few years, and has been 47.7 in short course yards. He’ll swim in the early heats with his yards seed.

2. Girls 200 IM

We’ll have to wait until the final day for what’s potentially the marquee matchup on the girls side. Future Stanford teammates Ella Eastin and Kim Williams are set to do battle in the 200 IM, holding the top two seeds. But blue chip prospect and high school senior Katie Drabot is lurking just behind them, and all three have a chance to take down Missy Franklin‘s meet record of 2:12.73. The 17-18 NAG (Liz Pelton‘s 2:10.02) is quite a bit farther off, but all three are the type of elite talents that could potentially pop off big swims in the national spotlight, especially if a close finals struggle brings out the competitive best in all three.

3. Boys 200 breast

The boys 200 breast is worth highlighting, not so much for a close race, but the possibility of a monster swim. Reece Whitley is the top seed and very much the favorite, coming into the meet with a 15-16 NAG record of 2:12.92. The 6-foot-8 Whitley is among the more exciting young prospects in USA Swimming’s farm system, and needs only one more big drop to put himself into contention for a spot on the senior national team at just 15 years old. (Last year, a 2:11.28 was the final time to make the U.S. National Team).

4. Girls 200 back

The girls 200 back is a showcase of youth, and features the youngest title contender in the entire meet. 13-year-old Alex Walsh is already among the youngest swimmers qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials, and she sits #2 on the psych sheet in the 200 back. But the rest of the field is far from old, either. Top-seeded Grace Ariola is just 15, and 13-year-old Regan Smith is also in the hunt. Though Missy Franklin has set the NAG records outrageously low in this event, watch for the youngsters in this field to put on a show as they continue to drop time in bunches.

5. Boys 100 free

The boys 100 free features a bunch of big-time talents right on the edge of cracking the 50-second barrier, a major step for a developing sprinter. Crawfish Aquatics 17-year-old Colin Bone vaulted himself into the top seed with a huge 50.43 earlier this month. Bone has already dropped 1.5 seconds off his lifetime-best this season alone. He’ll have to contend with Rooney and Andrew, though, both of whom are also chipping away at the 50-second barrier with each swim. Texas commit Tate Jackson and Upper Dublin’s Michael Jensen – currently the top-ranked high school left on the recruiting market – join the party to make things really interesting.

6. Girls 100 back

The shorter backstroking distance on the girls side looks like one of the best international showdowns of the meet. Scottsdale’s Taylor Ruck lives and trains in the U.S., but is a Canadian citizen who plans to represent that country internationally. She’s the top seed, but only just ahead of Elise Haan, the Swim Florida 17-year-old who just signed on with Florida Gulf Coast for next year. Haan is one of the nation’s top incoming college freshmen. The usual suspects from that 200 back will also be in the hunt here, including the youngsters Walsh, Ariola and Smith, along with So Cal’s Emily Eastin. And watch out for Katrina Konopka out of the early heats. Konopka is seeded with a yards time, but she’s been 52.70 in short course yards, which should make her a sneaky-good threat this summer if she can transfer that speed to the Olympic-sized pool.