Spartan Swimmers Head to USA Swimming National Championships
7/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
July 1, 2009
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KevinLaRocque
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Two of Michigan State's best swimmers, kevin Puskaric and Jon LaRocque, will compete in the 2009 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and World Championship Trials July 7-11 in Indianapolis at the Indiana University Natatorium.
"It's a huge meet and the best swimmers in the United States, some of which are the best in the world, will be there," said LaRocque, who will be a senior this fall. "It's a great opportunity to swim against these guys and it will be a learning experience the whole time we are there."
LaRocque will compete in the 100 back on Wednesday (July 8) at the National Championships. Last season, he was the Spartans' best in the backstroke as he posted the team's top times in the 50 back (22.92), 100 back (48.33) and 200 back (1:47.66). His time in the 100 back set a new school record on Nov. 22, 2008, at the TRY Invitational.
Puskaric led the team in the breaststroke events last season as a sophomore. He set the school record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:57.09 at the TYR Invitational and later set a new mark of 1:56.33 in the last meet of the year. Puskaric will compete in the 100 breaststroke on Monday (July 6) and the 200 breaststroke on Saturday (July 11) at the National Championships.
"It's a chance to swim against the best of the best and you're just trying to do as well as you can," said Puskaric. "It brings out the best in you because the competition is certainly there."
Puskaric and LaRocque continued training throughout the offseason and are ready to compete with the top swimmers in the country. The two are also hoping their experiences at this year's National Championships will help them become stronger this fall.
"I swam well last summer and competing in this meet is even bigger so I really look forward to taking this experience into next season," LaRocque said.
Heats for all events at this year's National Championships will begin at 9 a.m. while the finals for each event will take place later that day at 6 p.m.
For more details, please visit usaswimming.org/nationals