Gabriel Souza put up the fastest time of the morning with a2:19.56 out of the first circle-seeded heat, and will have his hands full thisevening as Mike Alexandrov (2:19.97) and Felipe Lima (2:20.13) both have thepedigree and ability to make this a two-man race this evening if Souza isn'tcareful.

Mexico's Christian Schurr Voigt (2:20.30) and Tennessee'sBrad Craig (2:20.42) qualified fourth and fifth, and will be pushing the topthree seeds all the way in what could turn out to be an extremely excitingfinale. 

Dmitriy Shvetsov (2:21.20), Azad Al-barazi (2:21.25) and DanielLe (2:22.14) also earned spots into the finale, with emerging 16-year-oldCarlos Claverie of Venezuela just missing with a ninth-seeded time of 2:22.70.  

Canada's Martha McCabe, a 2011 Worlds bronze medalist inthis event, turned in a strong top-seeded time of 2:32.36.  Meanwhile, Lithuanian Olympian RamintaDvariskyte of SMU qualified second overall in 2:34.14.  Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson rounded outthe top three with a time of 2:36.87. Those three swimmers definitely have plenty of credentials to support arun at the title this evening.

Youngster rounded out the rest of the championship heat, andwill be looking to upset the veterans tonight.

Davie's Emily Kopas, 16, qualified fourth in 2:38.26, while German15-year-old Margarethe Hummel touched fifth in 2:38.79.  Saint Andrew's Rachel Bradford-Feldman, 15, placedsixth in 2:39.21.  SwimMAC's KathleenBaker, 15, and KING's Carolyn McCann, 17, qualified seventh and eighth with a2:39.23 and 2:39.77, respectively.  

Olympic 1500 free silver and bronze medalist Ryan Cochrane cruisedinto the top seed in the middle distance event with a time of 3:54.61.  He likely will post a much faster time infinals, but will have some competition. Ix3's Charlie Houchin qualified second with a time of 3:56.44, while Canada'sAlec Page wound up third in 3:57.16.

Club Wolverine's Michael Klueh (3:58.47), Island's EricHedlin (3:58.65), Conor Dwyer (3:58.99), Davie's Esteban Enderica (3:59.64) andScotland's Robbie Renwick (3:59.79) all broke 4:00 to get into the championshipheat, helping create yet another incredible international finale.   Ryan Lochte will be swimming in theconsolation finale with a 12th-seeded 4:01.25 to his credit thismorning. 

Clearwater's Becca Mann, 15, will be looking for the400-meter sweep, having already won the 400 IM last night.  This evening, after potentially medaling inthe 200 fly, Mann will look for the 400 free triumph after smoking a 4:11.47 inprelims, nearly a five-second advantage over Ashley Steenvoorden'ssecond-seeded 4:16.30.  Mann's best is a4:08.65 from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, with this morning's swim rankingseventh all time in her career. Steenvoorden, meanwhile, has a 4:07.63 to her credit and will push Mannall the way tonight.

Canada's Samantha Cheverton touched out her compatriot AlexaKomarnycky, 4:16.39 to 4:16.47, in the final heat as the swimmers earned thethird and fourth seeds overall.  AnotherCanadian Barbara Jardin won her heat to qualify fifth in 4:18.12.

Andreina Pinto (4:21.17) picked up sixth, while the recentlyrelocated Kate Ziegler of The Fish, who returned home to train after a stint inCalifornia with FAST, qualified seventh in 4:21.45.  Dynamo's Kylie Stewart also earned anotherfinals swim tonight with a 4:22.42. U.S. Junior National teammate Mann might begetting the headlines, but Stewart has definitely been putting up strong timesthis weekend. 

The men's 100 back is stocked as well, with another WestVirginia Mountaineer as a top seed. Bryce Bohman is having an incredible meet, having already chalked upseveral finals swims.  This morning, heset a lifetime best in the event, clearing 56 seconds for the first time, witha top-seeded 55.56.  That swim eclipsedhis previous personal record of 56.56 from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. 

Australia's Robert Hurley, now training at the University ofArizona in Tucson, checked in with a swift 55.70 and will challenge for thetitle.  Bolles' Ryan Murphy, who owns the15-16 U.S. National Age Group record with a 53.76 from the 2012 U.S. OlympicTrials, is still hunting for Jack Conger's 17-18 mark as Murphy has agedup.  Conger holds the record with a 54.07from last year.  Murphy turned in a 55.81this morning to qualify third, and could take down the standard this evening.

Germany's Yannick Lebherz qualified fourth in 56.37, while ClubWolverine's Tyler Clary keeps on scheduling tough doubles during the ArenaGrand Prix as he earned fifth with a 56.69. 

Germany's Felix Wolf (56.97) and Canada's Charles Francis(57.03) qualified sixth and seventh, while Ryan Lochte must be providing somedrama for his E! reality television show with his second eighth-seeded effortas he clocked a 57.30. 

After the 50 free, Colorado Stars' Missy Franklin will jumpright back in the water with the 100 back. About the only swimmer in the finale field that might have a shot at anupset is Glenview Titan's Olivia Smoliga, as both have cleared the 1:00 barrierin the event.  However, Franklin's1:00.64 this morning compared to Smoliga's third-seeded 1:02.49 projects thatFranklin will win her 11th gold medal of the Arena Grand Prix circuit,assuming she doesn't already win the 50 free earlier in the night. 

Canada's Hilary Caldwell qualified second in 1:02.20, while SwimMAC'sKathleen Baker picked up fourth in 1:02.68. Dynamo's Kylie Stewart (1:02.89), Germany's Eileen Diener (1:03.38),Saint Andrew's Tasija Karosas (1:03.66) and Redlands' Yulduz Kuchkarova(1:03.68) earned the other transfer spots into the championship heat. 

The fans are going to have a treat this evening with the men'ssprint freestyle championship field assembled this morning.  Unheralded Tim Squires nearly clocked alifetime best with a sizzling 23.09 to lead the way. His personal record is a23.08 from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Squires is a member of the West Virginia Mountaineers, and could belooking at a breakout championship this season if he can progress this evening.

Olympian, and all around swimming celebrity, Anthony Ervincruised in with a 23.16 for the second seed. He's definitely got more in the tank, having routinely cleared 22seconds in the past.  Another topAmerican sprinter finished third with Josh Schneider putting a 23.19 up on theboard. 

Adam Brown (23.27), New York's Tyler McGill (23.44), CentralFlorida's Alexander Forbes (23.49) and Germany's Tim-Thorben Suck (23.52)finished fourth through seventh.

Meanwhile, Ryan Murphy clinched the eighth and final seed into the finale with a 23.59.

The women's splash-and-dash has some heavy hitters in thechampionship field.  Tucson Ford'sChristine Magnuson, who began her world-class career as a butterfly specialistwith a silver medal in the 100 fly at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has definitelytransitioned into a top-flight sprint freestyler later in her career.  She led the way this morning with a 25.42,which is among her top 15 times all time. Her best ever is a 24.72 from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Denmark's Jeanette Ottesen, the 2011 world champion in the100-meter free, qualified second with a 25.63, while Colorado Stars' MissyFranklin surged to third with a time of 25.89. That's among Franklin's top 20 times in the event ever, with her bestbeing a lightning fast 25.23 from the 2009 U.S. Junior National Championshipsduring the techsuit era. 

SwimMAC's Madison Kennedy (25.99), Canada's SandrineMainville (26.19), Glenview Titan's Olivia Smoliga (26.19), SwimAtlanta'sAmanda Weir (26.19) and Fox Chapel's Heidi Miller (26.48) also made thefinale.  Miller clipped her lifetime bestwith her swim, bettering her 26.69 from the last summer's U.S. Junior NationalChampionships. 

Island's Alec Page led the final heat of the men's 200 flypreliminary sessions with a 2:02.65, and that proved to be the quickest heat ofthe day as the top three finishers of the morning took the top threeseeds.  Club Wolverine's Wu Peng checkedin with a 2:03.64, while Swim Ontario's Zack Chetrat touched third in 2:03.80in that heat and overall.

Club Wolverine's Tyler Clary proved to be the top Americanswimmer with a 2:05.23 to qualify fourth, setting up a double with the 100 backlater in the day.  Bolles' JosephSchooling raced to fifth in 2:06.29, while Gamal Assaad picked up the sixthseed in 2:06.47. 

Swim Ontario's Brayden Salmon (2:06.67) and Mexico's IsraelDuran Mata (2:07.19) completed one of the most international finale heats inthe history of the Arena Grand Prix. Arena already has helped FINA push the World Cup to strong internationalfields, and is beginning to make that impact on the USA Swimming Grand Prix circuitas the new title sponsor. 

Canadian Olympian Audrey Lacroix turned in the top time inprelims with a strong 2:12.00.  Aftertaking bronze last night in the 100 fly, she'll be looking to get back on topof the podium like she did at the Austin stop of the Arena Grand Prix.  

Clearwater's Becca Mann, just 15, is back in the water aftera pair of medals last night that included a near-lifetime best in the 400IM.   She qualified second this morningwith a time of 2:13.19. That's the fifth-fastest time in her career, behind afoursome of 2:11s including a 2:11.19 at the U.S. Olympic Trials last summer.

Metro's Isabella Paez raced to third with a 2:14.84, herfirst time under 2:15.  That time bestedher personal record of 2:15.61 clocked at the 2012 NCSA Junior Nationals lastyear, broadcast live on SwimmingWorld.TV.

New York's Kim Vandenberg, a globetrotting butterflyspecialist who usually competes in Europe, qualified fourth in 2:15.89.  Andreina Pinto (2:18.32), Dynamo's NicoleStafford (2:18.65), Davie's Laura Gutierrez (2:19.33) and Clearwater's BrookeBennett (2:19.99) comprised the rest of the finale.

Bennett is a fun story, as she's the new Dara Torres thisyear.  She's returned to competitiveswimming after initially competing in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics for the U.S.,winning three golds in the process.  Sheprevailed in the 800 free in 1996 Atlanta, and topped both the 400 and 800 freeevents in 2000 Sydney. She attempted to make the 2004 Olympics, but hadsurgeries on both of her shoulders and missed a third team.  She finished third in the 800 free at Trialsthat year.  She also made a run at tryingto make the 2008 team, but fell short.