Ohio State Grand Prix

Our trip began on Thursday afternoon, April 3, as the team members congregated at the BWI airport. While some had a little more trouble arriving on time than others, the team hastily boarded their flight to Columbus, scattering about the aircraft in attempts to find an open seat, only to be forced to sit in the dreaded 'middle seat'.

After some relatively brief airtime, we arrived at our destination, and drove to the pool for a pre-meet warm-up. The pool, in sharp contrast to the weather throughout most of the trip, was truly magnificent. It was here, where we had our first sighting of one of the many world famous athletes in attendance: Brendan Hansen. While many of the veteran FISH Grand Prix swimmers admirably noted his presence, the travel meet rookies, Charlie Badawy and Alec Contag, stood in awe as the world record holding breast stroker greeted Kate.

Later that night, upon our departure from the pool, we were met with an interesting set back. While the goal was to eat quickly and arrive at the hotel asap, it turned out that the directions at hand were incorrect. As we traveled across Columbus for nearly an hour and a half, the team not only got a good feel for the city, but experienced a full range of reactions and emotions, from annoyance and frustration, to unbelievable laughter and hilarity, on the little detour that would epitomize the entire trip....

After a unique first night, we returned to the pool for our first shot at best times. The swims, including time trials, unfortunately left a little more to be desired. While best times were achieved, we already began to feel somewhat exhausted and were still in the process of acquainting ourselves with the environment, and for some, the level of competition. That night, we were able to see Finals from the massive stands at the pavilion; a true spectacle for all to witness. The feeling of excitement that radiated from the scene was amazing, and the experience, extraordinary.

Day two, unlike our first day, was arguably the most exciting day of the meet, as it brought more best times, and a hair wrenchingly close race in which Matt Benecki missed his Olympic trials cut by mere tenths of a second. In Finals, among the brilliance of many fellow world class swimmers like Gary Hall jr., Michael Phelps, Erik Vendt, Brendan Hansen, Katie Hoff, and the guys favorite, Cesar Cielo, Kate took the crown for the 400 m Free, and Matt, unbeknownst to us until a few hours later, managed to capture his first Olympic Trials cut. The night was rightfully celebrated at a nearby restaurant where we dinned almost lavishly, while both expressing the joy of the day's achievements, and sneaking a couple peeks at the Basketball semi-finals.

On our final day of the meet, best times seemed to elude many of us once again. Adam Pennington and Matt, however, still managed to pull off some quality swims. Both 'beasts' managed to drop considerable time in both of their events, but after donning his LZR suit for a second time, Matt once again exploded into action and not only achieved a second Olympic trials cut, but also snagged third place over all. And so, with a few personal bests and a new Olympic Trials qualifier in our ranks our competition drew to a close.