Three for the Money

This morning's men's 100-yard breaststroke prelims were definitive races. Going through to the championship finals were eight swimmers that will all have a fighting shot at the title tonight. But in the top eight, there are three swimmers that will most likely steal the spotlight.

Staten Island sophomore Pavel Buyanov, MIT junior Rastislav Racz, and St. Olaf senior Nelson Westby are all very familiar with each other, and each will look to outdo the others in tonight's finals.

Buyanov comes into the race with the morning's best time of 54.70. The time is only 0.21 seconds off of the national record that he set at last year's NCAA Division III National Championships where he edged out Westby by 0.01 seconds to claim the title. Of Westby, Buyanov states "he is a great guy. He is a very good swimmer, and he will be good comptetion tonight and tomorrow."

But Westby is not the only challenge facing Buyanov tonight. Racz is seeded fourth coming into the evening session after swimming a prelim time of 55.17. Racz finished fifth in last year's race, and looks to bring a podium finish back to Massachusets with him. MIT swimming head coach Dawn Gerken has only good things to say about the junior from Bratislava, Slovakia. "Rastislav is one of the nicest guys out there. He is a hard worker in practice, and should give the other swimmers a run for their money. Look for him to swim 54-mids tonight," said Dawn after the prelims. If Racz swims like that, he will definitely be in the hunt.

The fifth seed after this morning is Olaf's Westby. After his heartbreaking loss in last years finals, Westby is back and swimming better than ever. After swimming a 55.18 this morning, Oles coach Bob Hauck said "Nelson swam very steady this morning. Look for him to swim faster tonight." Westby himself added that he "has no concerns entering tonight's race. I'm in the perfect spot." Look for Westby to fight hard to bring the title home.

Also swimming tonight will be a host of swimmers that will look to remain within striking distance and push all three for the trophy. Kenyon junior David Lazarus finished second in this morning's prelims with a time of 55.09, while TCNJ junior Myles O'Connor slid quietly into third with a solid finish at 55.12. Rounding out the finals in the six through eight spots are Puget Sound senior Paul Hughes, Emory junior Kevin Yamada, and Ohio Wesleyan junior David Gatz.

With this outstanding bunch of swimmers in the finals, it is anyone's guess who will come away with the top spot. But one thing can be assured: this will be one of the best races of the year.