Kevin Steel Turns in Superman Effort With U.S. Open Record in 50 Breast

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INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, June 27. TUCSON Ford's Kevin Steel lowered his own U.S. Open record again with a blistering time during finals of the men's 50-meter breast at the U.S. Nationals and World Championship Trials.

Steel blasted the sprint breaststroke event with a time of 27.26. That swim downed his U.S. Open record of 27.33 from prelims, which in turn surpassed Mark Gangloff's previous standard of 27.34 by the slimmest of margins.

The 50-meter breaststroke definitely gave Steel the chance to claim some of his own Tucson Ford breaststroke spotlight away from his training partner Kevin Cordes. Steel's time jumped him to third in the world behind only Christian Sprenger (26.90) and Joao Gomes (27.20), and could contend for a world title in Barcelona.

Cordes, who rattled the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke earlier in the meet as well as shocked the world with his short course yard American records at the 2013 NCAAs, wound up taking second in the sprint event with a time of 27.38. His effort clipped his morning swim of 27.38 to move him ahead of Glenn Snyders for seventh in the world rankings.

Trojan's Mike Alexandrov turned in a third-place time of 27.53 to round out the medalwinners in the event. Tennessee's Brad Craig picked up fourth in 27.84, while Gangloff took fifth in 27.97, just half-a-second off his previous U.S. Open mark.

Athens Bulldog Nick Fink (28.03) and Tucson Ford's Carl Mickelson (28.35) took sixth and seventh in the finale, while Minnetonka's Nelson Westby drew a disqualification.

Crimson's Charles Katis raced his way to the B final win in 28.48, while another Tucson Ford swimmer, Andrew Sovero, clinched the C final in 29.01.

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