This is a great way to see fast NCAA Division I and III swimming in your own backyard, and a great opportunity for anyone considering swimming in college.

In a Big East-ACC matchup, Maryland will meet West Virginia at 1 p.m., at Maryland’s Eppley Center in College Park.

(Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Check out former RMSC swimmers Andrew Relihan (Georgetown Prep), Sean Stewart (Wootton), and Erin Stout (Sherwood), along with Alex Spina (Paul VI Catholic) from Curl-Burke, competing for U-Md. They’ll take on former Annandale and Potomac Marlins standout Rachael Burnett, starring for WVU.

Also, Georgetown will travel across town to face George Washington at the Smith Center, at 11 a.m., and Washington & Lee (Lexington Va.) and Catholic will face Marymount at home for a tri-meet on Saturday, at 2 p.m., at the Lee Center.

Although a bit far for an afternoon trip, if you’re looking for fast swimming, rivals North Carolina and U-Va. face off in what promises to be one of the fastest ACC match-ups of the year, held at the Koury Natatorium – men will begin at noon; women at 3 p.m.

The meet boasts some of the ACC’s top talent, not to mention a slue of former Potomac Valley’s elite swimmers and divers, including our athlete blogger Bradley Phillips (Oakton/Curl-Burke), who will likely swim a tough schedule against UNC’s fast group of distance swimmers.

(photo provided by Virginia Athletes Media Relations)

At the Austin Grand Prix, Phelps beat Lochte by nearly two seconds, winning in 1 minute 58.52 seconds. Lochte came in well ahead of third in 2:00.30.

Both athletes were unrested for the competition, which may account for the lackluster performances by Lochte, who is known for under performing until he’s on taper.

What is apparent from this weekend is that the title of “World’s Best Swimmer” is far from decided, we’ll have to wait for London 2012 before bestowing that designation on either Phelps or Lochte.

Also in the water on Sunday, Sarah Haase, the reigning All-Met Swimmer of the Year from Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club, placed sixth overall in the women’s 100 breaststroke, finishing in 1:09.78. She was the highest finisher among the group of Potomac Valley swimmers that competed this weekend. Rebecca Soni won the event in 1:06.88.

Former area swimmer, Matt McLean, finished fourth in the men’s 1500 freestyle (15:42.46), just behind Thomas Allen and Peter Vanderkaay. Michael Kleuh won the event by a wide margin, finishing in 15:25.33.

Allison Schmitt got her third win in the freestyle events, winning the women’s 800 freestyle on Sunday. She also won the 400 freestyle in record-breaking time on the opening night.

Matt Grevers touched first in the men’s 100 backstroke in 53.55, against a fast field that included Phelps – finished third – and Lochte – finished sixth, who swam very busy schedules this weekend, including the subsequent event. Jack Conger (RMSC) finished 12th overall in 56.28.

Missy Franklin won the women’s 100 backstroke in 59.92 for her second win this weekend.

Natalie Coughlin won the women’s 200 IM (2:12.44), just beating out Katie Hoff who touched in 2:12.95. This will be one of the most competitive events at Trials this year, with the likes of Caitlin Leverenz, Elizabeth Pelton, and Elizabeth Beisel joining the field in Omaha.

For complete results from the first night of the Austin Grand Prix, click here.

Evans, who came out of retirement earlier this year, swam in the “B” Final after reaching the Olympic Trials standard in the event during the morning session with a time of 4:17.27.

Michael Phelps won the men’s 100 butterfly, over Tyler McGill, in a time of 52.41. Jack Conger (RMSC) reached the event’s “B” Final, finishing in 14th place in a time of 55.11.

In the men’s 400 freestyle, Matt McLean put together an inspired eight lengths to win the “B” Final. His time of 3:49.88 would have been the top time in the “A” Final.

Missy Franklin got her first win of the competition in the women’s 100 freestyle (54.70), beating a strong field of former Olympians, including Schmitt, who placed second in 55.03, and Amanda Weir, who finished third in 55.21.

In the men’s 100 freestyle, Nathan Adrian (48.97) and Ricky Berens (49.13) were able to hold off South African sprint-star Gideon Louw (49.19) to take first and second. Phelps dominated the “B” Final, improving over a second from his morning swim to finish in 49.14.

For complete results from the first night of the Austin Grand Prix, click here.

Plenty to watch on night two of Austin Grand Prix; Results from Saturday’s prelims

Phelps advanced as the top seed in the men’s 400 IM in a time of 4:23.48. Ryan Lochte decided not to swim the event this weekend, but Lochte’s Florida teammate, Conor Dwyer (4:24.79), will challenge Phelps for first.

RMSC’s Charlotte Meyer (17) will appear in the “C” Final of the women’s 400 IM (5:01.21).

Look for an exciting race between Schmitt and Franklin in the women’s 200 free. Both swimmers’ best times are within half a second of each other. Franklin will also appear in the women’s 200 backstroke as the top seed.

The race of the night will probably come from the “A” Final of the men’s 200 free, where Berens (1:49.21) and McLean (1:50.08) are the top seeds, but will meet Lochte, who is looking to add events to his Olympic schedule.

Lochte was the top qualifier in the men’s 200 backstroke in 2:01.05. He’ll battle Matt Grevers and Nick Thoman, both accomplished backstrokers. Conger was the top qualifier in the “B” Final with a 2:03.10.

Finals begin at 7 p.m. USA Swimming will have a live webcast of the meet online throughout the weekend. For additional information visit www.usaswimming.org/grandprix.

Brendan Hansen competes in the Men's 4x100m Medley Relay during the Duel in the Pool at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center on December 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

They’ll be competing at the second of seven Grand Prix Series long-course events, held by USA Swimming this year, giving swimmers additional chances at achieving their Olympic Trials qualifying times.

Local clubs, RMSC and Machine Aquatic, will be in attendance with members from their national teams, who are all looking to add to or make their first Trials cuts.

“We have ten swimmers within three-tenths of a second of a [Trials] cut time,” said Machine Head Coach Daniel Jacobs. “USA Swimming has been pushing the bar to get teams to compete in the Grand Prix Series. It’s great to get out here and see the country’s best competing.”

Getting her first taste at this level will be 13-year-old Suzanne Dolan, swimming for Machine. She will join the team’s headliners, Ryan Natal (17) and Ali Haufler (17), who are both gunning for their first Trials cuts.

Already qualified for Trials, RMSC’s Jack Conger (17) will be competing for several finals appearances, including “A” Finals in the 100 and 200 backstroke events. The reigning Boys’ All-Met Swimmer of the Year will be joined by the Girls’ Swimmer of the Year, Sarah Haase (17), who is looking to add to her list of events for Trials in June.

They’ll compete against marquee names who use these series as training meets, as they hone their race skills before the last push to Trials.

Phelps is entered in six events, including the 100 freestyle, where he will meet American sprint-star Nathan Adrian. Phelps is expected to mix up his events going into his fourth Olympics, and may add the 100 free to his repertoire at Trials this year. In 2008, Phelps competed in the event in order to secure a spot on the Men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.

The underlying story of the meet surrounds the “come-back kids” for this year’s Olympics, which include former area standout Ed Moses, alongside sprinter Anthony Ervin, Brendan Hansen, and Olympic legend Janet Evans.

Former Olympic gold medalist JanetEvans trains in Huntington Beach, Calif. (Chris Carlson/AP)

If you’re not familiar with Evans, check out her biography page on her website. The four-time Olympic gold medalist is often considered the greatest American distance freestyler of all time.

Another long-time retiree, Moses is striving to get back to his 2000 form, documented in his Universal Sports series “Against the Tide.”

The furthest along in the group of former Olympians is Hansen, who had a brilliant Duel in the Pool, winning both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. It won’t be easy for the 30-year-old, despite the overall weakness of American breaststrokers this year.

Eric Shanteau, who missed the finals of the 2008 Olympics in the 200 breaststroke, is still the best in the event, and he won’t give up that spot easily.

Few swimmers will be rested for this meet, with Trials such a long way off, but it should be exciting to see which American swimmers step up when they’re swimming next to the person challenging them for a coveted spot on the US Olympic team.

Full psych sheet is available here.

Watch the 2012 Austin Grand Prix live at USASwimming.org Friday through Sunday. Timeline available here.

Lea Gwennap raises up at the start of the girls 11-12 200 backstroke.

Seeded first going into tonight, Sanjay Wijesekera (11) from RMSC went a personal best to remain in the top spot of the 11-12 200 backstroke in 2:08.56. Lea Gwennap, age 12, Curl-Burke, matched her seed time of 2:04.65 to win the girls event.

Sanjay Wijesekera cruises into the finish of the boys 11-12 200 backstroke.

The boys 1,000 held much of the same, the top two seeds remained unchanged in both the open and 13-14 events.

Brian Tsau (14) and Gregory Song (14) went one and two in the 13-14 1,000. Tsau won in a time of 9:25.91, with Song right behind with a time of 9:31.32. Both swim for Curl-Burke.

RMSC’s Garrett Powell (17) broke the PVS record in the boys open 1,000, holding consistent splits to beat Tyler Harris (23) from Trojan Swim Club, in a time of 9:00.87. Harris finished second in 9:04.12.

On what was largely an uneventful night with little change between seed and final positions, the girls mile saw the biggest changes in position and time.

17-year-old Kaitlin Jones (Quest Swimming) took second in the girls open 1,650 (17:02.24), dropping 22 seconds. Bailey Hall from NOVA took third (17:14.87). The biggest movers in the event were RMSC’s Leah Hubert, who dropped 40 seconds to take fourth-place (17:16.35), and Kayla Iverson, also from Quest, who dropped 55 seconds to take fifth-place (17:17.50).

Despite losing her cap mid-race, 14-year-old star, Katie Ledecky (Curl-Burke), won the event. She finished the race in 16:24.20, over 50 yards ahead of teammate Megan Byrnes (14), who finished second overall, winning the 13-14 girls event in a time of 16:59.02.

Katie Ledecky races ahead in the 1,650 despite losing her swim cap (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Ledecky opened up a body length lead over the top heat of the event’s timed final in the race’s first 200 yards. She never let up, building a wide lead before losing her cap with over 500 yards left. Her split times barely slowed, remaining under 31 seconds per 50 for the entire race.

Ledecky is recovering from an illness that knocked her out of the 2011 Winter Nationals last weekend in Atlanta.

Curl-Burke swimmers placed first in five of the eight events on Thursday night, but local rival RMSC was able to place several swimmers highly behind Curl-Burke’s winners.

Swimmers from out-of-town club teams Quest and North Carolina Aquatic also placed high on the first night of competition.

Prelims start Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. (13 & over) and 2:00 p.m. (12 & under). Finals will begin at 6:05 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. For more information, click here.

To read more about the 2011 Tom Dolan, click here.

For complete results, click here.

“The last several years this has become a destination event for a lot of clubs. We are just about the fastest winter meet on the East Coast, many of our senior events require a USA senior national [qualifying] time to get in to finals,” said meet director, Brian Pawlowicz. “Many of our age group swimmers are listed in the top ten of their events according to USA Swimming.”

Prelims will begin at 8:45 a.m. (13 & over) and 2:00 p.m. (12 & under) Friday through Sunday. Finals sessions will begin nightly at 6:05 p.m for all age groups. The meet’s name-sponsor, two-time Olympic gold medalist Tom Dolan, will be in attendance on Sunday to present awards. The meet will be streamed live at SwimmingWorld.com.

For a second straight year, the meet will feature the Fran Crippen Memorial Mile, in honor of Fran Crippen, who lost his life in an open water swim in October 2010. Crippen was a former Germantown Academy standout and University of Virginia swimmer. Fran’s sister Madeleine Crippen will be presenting the mile awards on Sunday.

Here are some of the swimmers to key an eye on when they step up on the blocks.

Up-and-coming Curl-Burke star Lea Gwennap (12) is the top seed in all seven of her individual events — 200 backstroke (2 minutes 4.65 seconds), 100 back (58.74), 200 individual medley (2:09.21), 200 butterfly (2:09.05), 100 IM (59.86), 200 free (1:54.18) and 400 IM (4:27.61).

She will face stiff competition in several events from teammates Emily Meilus (12) and Cassidy Bayer (12). Bayer is the top seed in the 100 free (54.42), 50 fly (26.79), 50 free (25.18), and 100 fly (56.54). Meilus is seeded first in the 500 free (5:07.04).

Two events you won’t want to miss are the boys open 200 freestyle and the girls open 100 butterfly. For the boys, ten swimmers are under 1 minute 42 seconds in their 200 freestyle, which should make for a blistering “A” Final. The girls butterfly event will feature area standouts Natalya Ares (17) from RMSC, Alli Haufler (17) from Machine, and Curl-Burke teammates Janet Hu (16) and Hellen Moffitt (16).

Between them, Curl-Burke’s Anthony Nguyen (10) and RMSC’s Djordje Orcev (10) may walk away with nearly all of the 10 & Under boys awards. Nguyen is seeded first in the 50 fly (29.15), 100 breast (1:17.94), 200 IM (2:25.68), 100 IM (1:09.26), 100 fly (1:04.13), and 50 breast (36.27). Orcev holds the top spot in the 100 free (59.03) , 100 back (1:06.95), 50 free (27.16), 50 back (31.10), and 200 free (2:06.03). The only events in which they are seeded second, they are positioned behind the other.

The strongest all-around swimmer in the boys 11-12 age group, Devin Truong (12), RMSC, will challenge for seven first-place finishes and is currently the top seed in the 100 back (58.90), 200 breast (2:18.52), 200 IM (2:05.51), and 500 free (5:11.20).

Central Bucks’ Allie Szekely (13) is seeded first in four events — 100 breast (1:04.53), 400 IM (4:26.67), 200 breast (2:16.65), and 200 back (2:04.42) – but will challenge for first in each of the six events she has entered.

Carsten Vissering (14) from Curl-Burke has a shot at winning as many as five events and is currently seeded first in the 100 breast (58.30), 400 IM (4:13.87), 200 breast (2:07.19), and 200 IM (1:59.73).

The other half of the 13-14 boys events may be won by Machine’s James Murphy, the top seed in the 200 free (1:46.01), 100 fly (53.67), and 200 fly (1:56.96).

All-Met Swimmers of the Year, Sarah Haase (17) and Jack Conger (17) will be swimming just one week after representing RMSC at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta. Conger is the top seed in both the 100 back (47.95) and 200 back (1:43.16). Haase holds the top seed in the 100 breast (1:00.44).

Curl-Burke’s Katie Ledecky (14) is scheduled to swim up in seven girls open events. She is the top seed in the 500 freestyle (4:35.14), 1,000 freestyle (9:29.81), and 1,650 freestyle (16.07.33). Her times in the 500 and 1,000 free are 13-14 National Age Group Records, set last month at the National Age Group Team Challenge. Ledecky may scale back her meet schedule as she recovers from an illness that knocked her out of Winter Nationals last week.

In the 10 & Under girls events, Greenwich YMCA star Alex Walsh holds the top position in five events — 100 breast (1:15.92), 50 free (28.29), 100 IM (1:09.11), 50 breast (36.57) and 100 free (1:01.87). She is seeded second in her sixth event, the 200 IM (2:28.20).

An unknown on the east coast, Michael Andrew (12), swimming unattached for the Missouri Valley-LSC, is a clear favorite to win out in all of his events, which include the 50 breast (28.25), 100 free (49.58), 50 fly (24.57), 100 breast (1:02.08), 50 free (22.08), 100 IM (56.01), and 100 fly (56.31).

Other swimmers to watch are Curl-Burke’s Gregory Song (14), Zach Hayden (24), and Timothy Wu (12); Delaware Swim Team’s Tanner Kurz (18) and Lily Dubroff (14); and RMSC’s Jaycee Yegher (12), and Garrett Powell (17).

In previous years, RMSC and Curl-Burke have dominated this meet, taking first and second place in the team overall each year. Curl-Burke has 454 athletes currently entered in this year’s meet; RMSC 417. They will account for over fifty percent of the 7,144 individual entries.

Live results for both prelims and finals will be posted here as soon as events have concluded.

For a complete psych sheet, click here.

Teams from outside of the Potomac Valley-LSC participating include Central Bucks Swim Team (Doylestown, Pa.); Chesapeake Bay Aquatic Club (St. Mary’s City, Md.); Delaware Swim Team (Wilmington, Del.); Greenwich YWCA Dolphins (Greenwich, Conn.); North Carolina Aquatic Club (Chapel Hill, N.C.); NOVA of Virginia Aquatics (Richmond, Va.); Pine-Richland Aquatics (Gibsonia, Pa.) ; Poseidon Swimming (Richmond, Va.); Prince Williams Swim Club (Woodbridge, Va.); Quest Swimming (Midlothian, Va.); Rivertown Aquatics Rays (Pleasantville, N.Y.); Suburban Seahawks Club (Elwyn, Pa.); Tidewater Aquatic Club (Chesapeake, Va.); Tri-City Aquatic Club (Virginia Beach, Va.); and Trojan Swim Club (Los Angeles, Ca.)

Rachael Burnett (West Virginia University/Potomac Marlins) finished sixth in a timed finals of the women’s 800 freestyle in a time of 8 minutes 47.44 seconds.

Moving up one position, Jack Conger (RMSC) finished ninth in the “A” Final of the men’s 200 backstroke (2:02.27).

In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Jennifer Wilson (Northwestern University/Curl-Burke) was able to improve upon her morning swim by over two seconds, finishing in 16th place, with a time of 2:33.25. RMSC’s Sarah Haase dropped several positions from her seed, finishing in 19th position, with a time of 2:35.48. George Mason’s Ashley Danner (Mason Makos) touched fifth in the “C” Final in a time of 2:35.57, 25th overall.

Janet Hu finished 13th in the women’s 200 butterfly (2:12.78).

Michael Flach (University of South Carolina/FISH) finished second in his heat of the men’s 200 butterfly (2:02.01), improving on his morning swim by two seconds, finishing 22nd overall. Mark Sarman (Georgia Tech/Curl-Burke) finished in 30th place with a time of 2:05.94.

Make sure to catch the rebroadcast of the 2011 Winter Nationals finals on NBC, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.

2011 Winter Nationals: Day Three – Prelims

Swimmers were back in the water Saturday morning for the final day of preliminary qualifying at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta.

Jack Conger swimming backstroke (Courtesy of Bridget Conger)

Conger (RMSC) reached his second “A” Final of the meet in the men’s 200 backstroke in a time of 2 minutes 1.98 seconds.

After facing off in Friday night’s 100 breaststroke finals, Haase (RMSC) and Wilson (Northwestern University/Curl-Burke) will meet each other in the “B” Final of the women’s 200 breaststroke. Haase is seeded 16th with a time of 2:35.13. Wilson is right on her heels, seeded 17th, with a time of 2:35.50. Finishing 24th in prelims, Danner (George Mason University/Mason Makos) will appear in the “C” Final, with a time of 2:36.65.

Curl-Burke’s Hu will appear in the “B” Final of the women’s 200 butterfly (2:14.78) as the 13th seed.

Also making it back in the 200 butterfly, Flach (University of South Carolina/FISH) finished in 26th position with a time of a 2:04.38, as well as Sarman (Georgia Tech/Curl-Burke) in a time of 2:04.78, finishing in 30th position. They will swim Saturday night in the “C” Final.

For full results, click here.

In Friday night’s first heat, Rachel Burnett (University of West Virginia/Potomac Marlins) took second in the “C” Final of the women’s 400 individual medley (22nd overall) with a time of 4 minutes 54.07 seconds, improving her time from Friday morning by over five seconds.

Curl-Burke’s Janet Hu posted a time of 1:1.28 in the women’s 100 butterfly, finishing in 26th place.

Matt McLean (FAST/U-Va./SNOW) moved up one position in the 200 freestyle (1:49.66), finishing second in his heat and 12th overall.

In a “B” Final packed with local talent, Jennifer Wilson (Northwestern University/Curl-Burke) out-touched RMSC’s Sarah Haase in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:10.49, finishing 13th overall. Haase finished in 14th place, less than one-tenth of a second behind, in a time of 1:10.58. George Mason junior Ashley Danner (Mason Makos) finished ninth in the heat, 19th overall, in a time of 1:11.78.

The night concluded with the men’s 100 backstroke, where Jack Conger (RMSC) finished 56.10 for tenth place in an “A” Final won by the event’s 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Matthew Grevers (53.26).

For full results, click here.

Day Two – Prelims results

Day Two prelims concluded at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta with several area swimmers earning a lane in Friday’s finals, starting at 6 p.m.

This morning’s big-mover was RMSC’s Conger who jumped up ten spots to claim the fourth seed in the “A” Final of the men’s 100 backstroke in a time of 55.34 seconds.

Jack Conger swimming backstroke (Ricky Carioti/For The Washington Post)

After a strong 400 freestyle last night, McLean (FAST/U-Va./SNOW) reached the “B” Final of tonight’s 200 freestyle (1:50.72).

Curl-Burke’s Hu finished 21st in the women’s 100 butterfly in a time of 1:1.11 seconds. She will be the top seed in tonight’s “C” Final.

The Potomac Valley will be well-represented in tonight’s “B” Final of the women’s 100 breaststroke. Former Curl-Burke swimmer Wilson (Northwestern) earned herself a center lane, finishing 12th overall in a time of 1:10.13. RMSC’s Haase is seeded 14th overall with a time of 1:10.54. Danner (George Mason/MAKO) finished 17th in a time of 1:11.22.

Burnett* (West Virginia/Potomac Marlins) narrowly missed appearing in her second finals of the meet in the 200 freestyle (2:03.97), finishing 31st, just three hundredths of a second behind 30th position. As the first alternate, she will swim if any finalists scratch before tonight’s races.

Michael Flach (University of South Carolina/FISH) did not return to the finals on his second day of competition. In the 100 butterfly (55:54), he fell well short of reaching the finals, finishing 42nd, despite being within half a second off his personal best time in long course. He is currently the first alternate in the 200 freestyle (1:52.63).

*Correction: Burnett earned the final spot in the “C” Final of the women’s 400 individual medley with a time of 4:59.58.

For full results, click here.

Rachel Burnett (West Virginia/Potomac Marlins)  finished ninth in the “A” Final of the 400 freestyle in 4 minutes 14.96 seconds, moving up one position from her prelims seed.

Also swimming in an “A” Final, Matt McLean (FAST/U-Va./SNOW) finished seventh in the men’s 400 free with a time of 3:52.73, improving upon his morning swim by nearly two and a half seconds.

In the previous heat, Michael Flach (South Carolina/FISH) finished third in the “B” Final, 13th overall, of the men’s 400 free (3:55.80).

Sarah Haase (Good Counsel/RMSC) finished fifth in the “C” Final, 25th overall, of the 200 individual medley in a time of 2:18.65.

All four Day One finalists will be back in the water Friday for another morning session, as well as many other Potomac Valley swimmers,  including All-Met Men’s Swimmer of the Year, Jack Conger, hoping to make his first finals of the weekend in the 100 back.

Results from prelims and finals are posted here each day.

2011 Winter Nationals: Area swimmers reach Day One finals

Four local swimmers advanced to tonight’s finals at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta. Finals begin at 6 p.m.

Former SNOW swimmer McLean advanced to the “A” Final in the 400 freestyle in a time of 3 minutes 55.10 seconds, earning himself an outside lane as the tenth seed. Also seeded tenth, University of West Virginia’s Burnett advanced in the women’s 400 freestyle (4:15.13). The former Potomac Marlin set the AAA Virginia State record holder in the 500 freestyle (4:50.14) in 2009 while at Annandale High School.

Also making it back for tonight’s 400 free finals are University of South Carolina’s Flach. Flach finished 16th in this morning’s prelims (3:56.03) and will swim in the “B” Final tonight. Earlier this year, Flach decided to step away from NCAA competition and take an Olympic redshirt, providing him more time to focus on his long course race technique without worrying about the grind of a SEC swimming schedule.

Good Counsel senior Sarah Haase (Photo by Joe Cabigas).

Only one area high school swimmer advanced on day one. RMSC’s Haase earned a spot in the 200 individual medley finals (2:18.55). Seeded 49th in prelims, Haase moved up 26 spots to advance to tonight’s “C” Final in the 200 individual medley. Haase will also be a threat to advance in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events on Friday and Saturday.

McLean is a graduate of the University of Virginia and currently trains with FAST swim team in Fullerton, California. He swam for Potomac Falls High School. Flach was a member of FISH swim club and O’Connell High School swim team. Haase was last year’s All-Met Swimmer of the Year. She is a senior at Good Counsel High School.

To view the complete results from this morning’s prelims, click here.

With 2012 Olympic trials just seven months away, swimmers are taking advantage of every opportunity to compete in long course meters as they hone their race skills and try to make Olympic trials cuts making Winter Nationals  one of the fastest meets between now and June 25, the first day of trials.

Winter Nationals will be broadcast, Sunday, 12/4, on NBC, 2:00 – 3:00 pm, and will be broadcast live on the USA Swimming website here, Friday through Saturday.

Former SNOW swimmer and University of Virginia graduate, Matt McLean is looking to defend his first place finish in the 400 free and improve upon his second place finish in the 200 free at the 2011 National Championships last August. He is seeded fifth in both the 400 free and 200 free. McLean swam for Potomac Falls High School in Sterling.

Final of the men's 200 freestyle in the FINA World Championships in Shanghai last July (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

McLean will likely see competition in the Friday’s 400 free from South Carolina swimmer, Michael Flach, formerly of FISH and Bishop O’Connell High School. Flach is seeded ninth. He is also scheduled to compete in the 200 butterfly and is hoping to make another “A” Final in the event after placing ninth at nationals in August.

Kate Ziegler, shown here after winning the women's 400-meter freestyle U.S. Nationals in 2007. (Darron Cummings, Associated Press)

On the women’s side, former FISH and O’Connell standout Kate Ziegler is seeded first in the 800 freestyle and second in the 400 freestyle. She is hoping to keep building momentum towards a second Olympic berth.

Ziegler holds the world record in the 1500 freestyle.

Also competing this weekend will be two-time Olympian, Ryan Lochte, who is is scheduled for six individual events. Lochte is the top seed in the 200 freestyle, 400 individual medley, and 200 individual medley, in which he holds the world record, set last July in Shanghai at the 2011 World Championships. It was the first world record broken since the ban on technical suits.

Other Potomac Valley swimmers hoping to make it back for a night session are Jack Conger, seeded 10th in the 200 backstroke, and 14th in the 100 back; Sarah Haase, seeded 19th in the 100 breaststroke; and Janet Hu, seeded 19th in the 200 butterfly.

One of the youngest swimmers in the meet, SNOW’s Carrie Lee, 14, is seeded 117th in the 100 backstroke. She is the only Potomac Valley participant who is still in middle school.

UPDATE: Curl-Burke’s Katie Ledecky is scratching from the meet due to illness. Ledecky was seeded fifth in the 800 freestyle and tenth in 400 freestyle. Ledecky recently broke the National Age Group record in the 500 free (4 minutes 35.14 seconds) and 1,000 free (9:29.81). In her first high school meet last month, she achieved an Automatic All-American time standard in the 200 freestyle (1:49.67).

Complete list of Potomac Valley swimmers competing:

Ellen Anderson, RMSC (Gaithersburg)

Jack Conger, RMSC (Good Counsel)

Ian Decker, Curl-Burke (Bishop O’Connell)

Ashleigh Ferguson, RMSC (Holy Cross)

Sarah Haase, RMSC (Good Counsel)

Cyrus Hashemi, Curl-Burke (Marshall)

Alli Haufler, Machine Aquatic (Briar Woods)

Janet Hu, Curl-Burke (Oakton)

Carrie Lee, SNOW (14)

Claire McIlmail, RMSC (Urbana)

Abi Speers, Machine Aquatic (Langley)

Curl-Burke will also be represented by non-high school swimmers Hilary Fritz (21) from UNC-Wilmington, Zach Hayden (23), Chuck Katis (18) from Harvard, David Kiss (21) from George Mason, Anna Macedonia (22) from Marymount University, Joe Pascale (28), Mark Sarman (18) from Georgia Tech, Suzanne Schwee (22) from University of Alabama, and Kyle Tyrrell (18). Matt Haupt (31) and Matt Fedderly (25), will also be competing for SNOW. Former SDS swimmer Ashely Danner (21) will be competing for George Mason University.

For the 2011 Winter National Championship psych sheet , click here.