Streamlined News: Records Falling at Junior Nationals; Ledecky to Line Up in Maryland

PHOENIX, Arizona, December 6. THEY'RE not playing around in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the USA Swimming junior nationals, as meet records fell and national age group records were threatened in today's prelims session. Meaghan Raab and Kathleen Baker both broke the meet record in the 200 IM with times of 1:57.86 and 1:58.02 this morning, setting up a great race for finals. Curtis Ogren had a fast swim in the 200 IM prelims as well, leading the men's race with a 1:46.56. Three swimmers behind posted times of 1:48. SwimMAC-Carolina is the top seed in the women's and men's 200 free relay, but the more interesting story was the major depth of 50 freestylers for the Bolles School men's team, which posted the second- and third-fastest relays in prelims. Also swimming fast in prelims was Phoenix Swim Club's Keaton Blovad, who posted a 22.92 in the leadoff leg of her team's 200 free relay, not too shabby for a 14-year-old.

Katie Ledecky will step up to swim the 1000 freestyle later today at the Tom Dolan Invitational on the campus of the University of Maryland. Ledecky first big swim of 2012 was in the 1000-yard freestyle in March at the NCSA junior nationals, where she swam a 9:25.07 on the way to a great swim in the 1650. Her best time in the 1000 now is 9:22, done as a split in her 1650 last week at nationals. It will be interesting to see how fast she can go in the 1000, knowing she doesn't have another 650 yards to swim.

Swimming World will bring you on-demand coverage of tonight's races at the Tom Dolan Invite, then stream finals live Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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