Three Mountain Hawks Preparing for Olympic Trials
5/23/2016 2:57:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
Part I of our summer series featuring the Lehigh swimming and diving program and the lead up to the Olympic Trials
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With classes and final exams now behind them, the members of the Lehigh swimming and diving teams can focus their attention on summer workouts, as well as getting some much need rest and relaxation. But for a few members of the team, this summer's workouts will have much more meaning as they prepare for June's U.S. Olympic Trials.
Jamal Willis, Justin White and Kaitlyn Ruffing, all rising seniors, will become the first Lehigh swimmers in over 40 years to compete in the Olympic Trials. The eight-day long event in Omaha, Nebraska will feature hundreds of the top swimmers from around the nation, all of whom will be attempting to qualify for a spot on the U.S. National Team to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Willis and White both qualified for the trials in the 50 meter freestyle at the AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships back in December. Willis finished 38th overall in the 50m sprint after winning his heat by hitting the exact Olympic Trial qualifying time of 23.29 seconds. White followed in the next heat by also exceeding the qualifying time in 23.16 seconds, tying for 31st place out of 106 competitors overall.
The Winter Nationals featured several prominent names, who will also be competing at the Olympic Trials, such as Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian and Missy Franklin. Adrian, a U.S. National Team member and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, competed against Willis and White in the 50 meter freestyle.
Ruffing joined her teammates in qualifying for the Olympic Trials on February 25 at an Olympic Trial qualifying meet hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy. In the long course trials at Navy, Ruffing completed the 50 meter sprint in 26.14 seconds, surpassing the Olympic Trial qualifying time of 26.19 by five hundredths of a second. The swim capped what was another highly successful 2015-16 campaign for Ruffing, where she won all eight 50 yard freestyles and all seven 100 yard freestyles she competed in during the regular season. Ruffing set a new school record and hit a NCAA B-cut with her second place finish in the 50 yard freestyle (22.88 seconds). She added a fourth place finish in the 100 yard freestyle (50.37), and helped set three additional school records with the 200 free (2nd/1:32.10), 400 free (2nd/3:21.58) and 400 medley relay teams (5th/3:49.03). The performances earned her Second Team All-Patriot League honors, her third all-league honor in as many years.
Willis and White were both named second team all-league this past season and were members of the third place 400 yard freestyle relay team that set a new school record at the Patriot League Championships. Willis added a runner-up finish in the 50 yard freestyle, and White took fourth place in the 50 free and 100 free.
Ruffing, Willis and White are hoping that a fourth member of the team will be joining them at the Olympic Trials this year. Their classmate Jacob Moyar will be competing at the Memorial Day Invitational in New Jersey, hosted by the Berkley Aquatic Club in hopes of qualifying for the Olympic trials in both the 200 meter butterfly and 400 IM.
Check back to Lehighsports.com this Wednesday for Part II of our summer swim series, which will preview Moyar's quest to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With classes and final exams now behind them, the members of the Lehigh swimming and diving teams can focus their attention on summer workouts, as well as getting some much need rest and relaxation. But for a few members of the team, this summer's workouts will have much more meaning as they prepare for June's U.S. Olympic Trials.
Jamal Willis, Justin White and Kaitlyn Ruffing, all rising seniors, will become the first Lehigh swimmers in over 40 years to compete in the Olympic Trials. The eight-day long event in Omaha, Nebraska will feature hundreds of the top swimmers from around the nation, all of whom will be attempting to qualify for a spot on the U.S. National Team to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Willis and White both qualified for the trials in the 50 meter freestyle at the AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships back in December. Willis finished 38th overall in the 50m sprint after winning his heat by hitting the exact Olympic Trial qualifying time of 23.29 seconds. White followed in the next heat by also exceeding the qualifying time in 23.16 seconds, tying for 31st place out of 106 competitors overall.
The Winter Nationals featured several prominent names, who will also be competing at the Olympic Trials, such as Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian and Missy Franklin. Adrian, a U.S. National Team member and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, competed against Willis and White in the 50 meter freestyle.
Ruffing joined her teammates in qualifying for the Olympic Trials on February 25 at an Olympic Trial qualifying meet hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy. In the long course trials at Navy, Ruffing completed the 50 meter sprint in 26.14 seconds, surpassing the Olympic Trial qualifying time of 26.19 by five hundredths of a second. The swim capped what was another highly successful 2015-16 campaign for Ruffing, where she won all eight 50 yard freestyles and all seven 100 yard freestyles she competed in during the regular season. Ruffing set a new school record and hit a NCAA B-cut with her second place finish in the 50 yard freestyle (22.88 seconds). She added a fourth place finish in the 100 yard freestyle (50.37), and helped set three additional school records with the 200 free (2nd/1:32.10), 400 free (2nd/3:21.58) and 400 medley relay teams (5th/3:49.03). The performances earned her Second Team All-Patriot League honors, her third all-league honor in as many years.
Willis and White were both named second team all-league this past season and were members of the third place 400 yard freestyle relay team that set a new school record at the Patriot League Championships. Willis added a runner-up finish in the 50 yard freestyle, and White took fourth place in the 50 free and 100 free.
Ruffing, Willis and White are hoping that a fourth member of the team will be joining them at the Olympic Trials this year. Their classmate Jacob Moyar will be competing at the Memorial Day Invitational in New Jersey, hosted by the Berkley Aquatic Club in hopes of qualifying for the Olympic trials in both the 200 meter butterfly and 400 IM.
Check back to Lehighsports.com this Wednesday for Part II of our summer swim series, which will preview Moyar's quest to qualify for the Olympic Trials.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Swimming and Diving
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