Swimming: Mountaineers Complete Olympic Trials
July 09, 2008 02:43 PM | General
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
July 9, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four members of the West Virginia University swimming team wrapped up their trip to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., on June 29-July 6.
Kevin Donohue, Michael Walker, Kayla Andrews and Morgan Callaway all represented the Mountaineers as they swam their way to a conference-best finish.
“We swam well at trials,” said Head Coach Vic Riggs. “Not only did we swim faster than our seed times, but we competed above the other BIG EAST schools and that says a lot about our program.”
In the 100 breast, Donohue crossed the line with a time of 1:02.91 to beat his qualifying time of 1:04.60. Donohue recently earned All-American honors for his performance in the 100 breast at the NCAA Championships (53.15), the first-ever WVU swimmer to earn the honor in an individual event.
Walker also had an excellent showing at trials as he finished 20th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.36, two seconds over his qualifying time of 2:05.91. He also finished 29th in the 400 IM (4:27.18) and 36th in the 200 breast (2:18.64).
On the women’s side, Callaway’s best performance came in the 100 back as she crossed the line with a time of 1:02.97, good enough for 31st place and just under one second better than her qualifying time of 1:03.90. She also finished 63rd in the 400 free (4:20.02) and 64th in the 200 back (2:17.42). Andrews concluded competition with an 81st -place finish in the 50 free with a time of 26.65.
A total of 14 members on the WVU swimming and diving team secured all-conference honors at the BIG EAST Championships this season. The women’s team finished third and the men came in fourth.
