No freshman class has the ability to affect the NCAA team race more than Stanford’s group. Last year a freshman and sophomore-dominated team finished third overall. If this year’s class doesn’t push them over the top, they put themselves in good position for a 2010 title run. At the very least, they’ve ratcheted up what it will take to claim the team title.

Stanford gets to double-dip a bit. Chad LaTourette was the top member of their top-ranked class last year. He deferred a year to stay with the Bill Rose distance caravan in hopes of making the Beijing team, but it didn’t seem to hurt the Cardinal’s freshman class from delivering. With a little more weight towards sprinting, LaTourette’s ranking dropped a bit, but he’s still one of seven top-80 recruits and a threat to make the team. LaTourette is one of four of the nation’s top ten 500 freestylers along with Bobby Bollier (also #1 in the long fly), and Trevor Scheid. Morgan Priestly is also in that group, but his versatility – wither in the 50 free or the backstroke, put him in a different category. Curtis Lovelace ensures there will be no drop off when breaststroker Paul Kornfield graduates a year from now. Geoffrey Cheah (Hong Kong) and Eirik Ravnan (Norway) are a couple of wildcards for a team that generally doesn’t go the foreign route.

After last year’s school record fiasco, its obvious that Stanford, with these two classes that has positioned itself for another NCAA run.

A rival coach’s perspective: “Skip and Ted are doing everything right. Priestley is better than his brother and LaTourette’s is so much better than he was just a year ago.

7	Bollier, Bobby	Kansas City Blazers
	Kansas City, MO	Pembroke
11	Priestley, Morgan	Birmingham Family YMCA
	Birmingham, MI	Birmingham Seaholm High
19	Lovelace, Curtis	Nashville Aquatic Club
	Nashville, TN	Montgomery Bell Academy
27	Scheid, Trevor	Jewish Community Ctr Sailfish
	Pittsburgh, PA
38	Andrews, Rob	Great Lakes
	Richland, MI	Hackett Catholic Central
71	La Tourette, Chad	Mission Viejo Nadadores
	Mission Viejo, CA
78	Cheah, Geoffrey
	, Hong Kong
220	Zoldos, Michael	La Camarilla Swimming
	Paradise Valley, CA	Arcadia HS
245	Ravnan, Eirik
	Norway
323	Koerner, Nick
	Longmont, CO