{"id":309519,"date":"2018-05-16T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=309519"},"modified":"2018-05-16T08:11:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-16T15:11:27","slug":"four-dark-horse-threats-for-2018-us-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/four-dark-horse-threats-for-2018-us-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Dark Horse Threats for 2018 U.S. Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eamonn Keenan, Swimming World College Intern.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The NCAA swimming program has routinely been credited with the success and longevity of Team USA\u2019s international performance. Often, the majority of elite veterans who represent the U.S. internationally earned their stripes within the collegiate sphere, frequently making their first international team either during or recently after their time as a student-athlete. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even though this has been a well-recognized trend for some time, it has recently begun to take on a different shape within the competitive swimming landscape. Whereas college swimmers mostly occupied the bottom of the totem pole on national team rosters, college swimmers are beginning to dominate the professional arena. <\/span><\/p>\n

With 2016 Olympic Gold Medalists Caeleb Dressel<\/strong>, Lily King<\/strong> and Ryan Murphy<\/strong>\u00a0turning into \u201chousehold names,\u201d it is becoming increasingly clear that college swimmers are the future of Team USA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, the NCAA Championships have become a good indicator of USA Swimming\u2019s competitive finesse on both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s sides. Not only did this year’s meets show that the college swimmers who have already established themselves internationally are continuing to swim fast, but also that an abundance of fresh talent exists at USA\u2019s disposal.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we are almost two months away from the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships – which serves as the selection meet for the 2018 Pan Pacific Champions and the 2019 World Championships – four breakout performers from this year\u2019s NCAA DI Championships could potentially be in the mix for making their first major international team.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Ian Finnerty<\/h2>\n
\"ian-finnerty-\"

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

In a meet filled with many surprises and upsets,<\/span> Ian Finnerty<\/strong> – a junior at Indiana – emerged as possibly the most shocking performer of the whole meet. He became the first man to break 50 seconds in the 100 yard breaststroke<\/a><\/span>, posting a blistering 49.69.\u00a0<\/span>Finnerty\u2019s new American Record was a 1.69 second drop from last year, a 51.38 from the 2017 Big Ten Championships. <\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to his national title, Finnerty had only made one finals appearance at NCAA\u2019s, with a 16th place finish in the 100 breast his freshman year. Given his rapid rate of improvement and newfound historic success, Finnerty is likely brimming with confidence.<\/span><\/p>\n