A Look at the 2007 Lost Dutchman Invitational

By Duncan Scott

CHANDLER, Arizona, February 20. NOT all of the preparations for the FINA World Championships have been taking place in the USA Swimming Missouri Grand Prix in Columbia, college conference meets, the New South Wales Open Championships or Hungary, a few of the locations producing first-rate performances around the swimming world in the last week.

Stand aside for the Lost Dutchman Invitational hosted in short course yards by the Rio Salado Swim Club at the Chandler High School Pool in Chandler, Ariz. Swimming outside, occasionally in a light rain and among a crush of youngsters in the two-tank, 10 & Under, 11-12, 13-14 and senior, invitational, at least two potential medalists in Melbourne and another late addition to the USA "Duel in the Pool" roster, not only swam but have produced first rate efforts.

South African 400 freestyle relay Athens gold medalists Roland Schoeman and Lyndon Ferns, both former University of Arizona Wildcats representing Tucson Ford Dealers, each had outstanding efforts.

Ferns, a sprinter who was the 2006 NCAA 100 butterfly champion for Arizona, along with a championship finalist in the 50-100 freestyles, greatly extended his normal range with a meet record 200 fly at 1:45.77 [split: 49.83], breaking the 2000 mark of 1:47.93 by Uger Taner, the three-time NCAA champion (1994, 1995, 1996) in the event for Cal-Berkeley.

Schoeman, the reigning FINA world champion from 2005 Montreal in both the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly, with a world record in the latter, also chose to extend his normal range up to the 200 distance. From lane 1 after qualifying seventh, he was out under 10 seconds at the 25 and went though the 50 at 21.58, 100 at 46.20 and 150 at 1:11.92. He held off a challenge from USC-bound National Junior Team member Buddy Turner over the final 50 finishing at 1:38.32, to Turner's 1:39.07.

This guy is such a pure sprinter. I've personally followed Schoeman's results since first seeing him swim at the 1996 Phoenix Grand Prix, and while he may have swum the 200 on occasion, he's not on U of A's all-time top 10 in the event and not even on their 800 freestyle relay in a year he was swimming well enough to be NCAA champion in the 50 (2002). This 200 from lane 1 shows he may have developed more staying power over the last five meters of the long course 100, which may make a difference in Melbourne against Olympic champion Pieter Van den Hoogenband or the Italian Filippo Magnini, behind whom he got silver in the event in Montreal.

The 200 free took enough from Schoeman that he was a medical scratch (hamstring twinge) from his anticipated duel with Ferns in the 50 butterfly. Ferns scorched the field in 21.58, with Turner in at a pretty good high-schooler performance of 23.08.

On Sunday, both Schoeman and Ferns were 44.4 and some hundredths in the preliminaries of the 100 freestyle. In the evening, Ferns did not return but seeing Schoeman alone was worth the price of admission ($2; really it was worth much more than that) for any true swim fan.

Think of yourself as an Arizona high school athlete swimming in a good local mid-season invitational meet, one at which some athletes might rest to try to make cuts for some upcoming meet but certainly any athletes who already have cuts for their next meet would not be resting. You are Buddy Turner, the Arizona High School Swimmer of the Year and a medalist in the 100 free for the USA at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii last month, one of Dave Salo's prime signers for the USC Trojans next fall. You are swimming very well for a mid-season meet, putting your feet on the wall at the 50 at 21.33 … only you are awash in a world-class wake from the next lane, trailing at the half-way point of the race by two body lengths!!

Schoeman put his feet on the 50 wall at 20.15. 20.15 to the feet outdoors in overcast cool, though not cold, early evening conditions, and with 800 age groupers in the vicinity. Over a month out from the meet in Melbourne where he has to be preparing to actually swim fast.

Then he kept going to a 42.51 finish. His best ever in the crucible of the championship meets of college swimming was 42.56. This swim was only 1.02 seconds off the all-time fastest 100, the 41.49 by Croatian Duje Draganja of Cal-Berkeley (Olympic Silver 2004 50 free) at the 2005 NCAA meet. The swim was only .04 seconds off Schoeman's lifetime best from last March indoors in one of America's Taj Mahal facilities at the University of Texas.

Turner bravely soldiered on though the wake to finish at 45.20, clearly one of the fastest, if not the fastest, unrested swims of the year by a high school athlete.

It was impressive, frankly from both of them in their own ways. Turner came back later in the session to win the 500 freestyle against a more "normal" field for the Dutchman.

Ferns had apparently already accomplished his intended goals for the meet and did not return at all on Monday.

But Schoeman returned for one more swim, the prelims on the 50 freestyle, a session when a full fledged rainstorm hit the pool. He still managed another meet record, dipping just under the magic 20 second mark at 19.99, breaking the 20.13 mark of former Wildcat Coley Stickles. That was enough, and he returned to Tucson, one step further on the road to a good Melbourne preparation.

Also putting in a notable swim was Caitlin Leverenz of El Dorado, who was recently added to the U.S. "Duel in the Pool" roster for that post-WC competition in Australia based primarily on her 200 yard breaststroke win (2:08.11) in the recent short course yard Long Beach Grand Prix meet. Leverenz swam several off events but did venture into the 100 breaststroke where she put up a 1:01.78 (29.45 split), leading Rio's Samantha Maxwell to the wall (1:03.30; 1:03.23p).

Other solid swims came from Ashley Evans, 15, BEST, at 4:52.88 in the 500 free, Erik Scalise, 29, RENO, at 49.87 in the 100 fly and a 23.98 prelim 50 free by Aleesha Miller, Desert Thunder.

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