Wagner Finishes Eighth In 200 Backstroke At Olympic Trials

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July 12, 2004

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Luke Wagner (Englewood, Colo./Regis Jesuit), a 2004 UVa graduate, finished eighth in the finals of the 200-meter backstroke Monday evening (July 12) at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials at the Charter All Digital Aquatic Centre in Long Beach, Calif. Fourth-year Michael Raab (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) tied for 11th in the semifinals of the 100-meter butterfly, but did not advance to the finals.

Wagner was eighth in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:01.36. He moved into Monday evening’s final of the 200 back by finishing eighth in Sunday’s semifinals with an identical time of 2:01.36. Wagner was ninth in the preliminaries with a time of 2:01.95.

Raab, who finished third in the 200-meter butterfly earlier in the Trials, tied with Nicholas Walkotten for 11th in the 100-meter fly with a time of 54.42. Raab was 10th in the prelims of the 100 fly with a time of 54.14 to advance to the semifinals. Adam Kerpelman (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s School) was 48th in the prelims of the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 58.20.

Fourth-year Luke Anderson (Charlottesville, Va./Bolles School) tied for 18th in the prelims of the 50-meter freestyle with Matthew Campbell with a time of 23.35. Anderson then won the swim-off with a time of 23.17 and was the second alternate for the 50 free semifinals, but did not get the chance to compete in the semis.

A trio of Cavaliers competed in the 800-meter freestyle with third-year Rachael Burke (Bethesda, Md./Good Counsel) leading the way with a 15th-place finish in a time of 8:45.70. Second-year Rory Schmidt (Phoenix, Ariz./Arcadia) was two places behind Burke in 17th with a time of 8:46.09. Second-year Kimi Kelly (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Ursuline School) finished 30th in a time of 8:57.40.

In the 200-meter backstroke, third-year Katie Gordon (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) finished 24th with a time of 2:18.54, while third-year Corey Berg (Hyde Park, N.Y./F.D. Roosevelt) was 37th in 2:20.81.

The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials continue Tuesday with four Cavaliers competing in the 1500-meter freestyle. Third-year Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa./Germantown Academy) and second-year John Millen (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) represent current Cavaliers in the event, while UVa graduates Dan DeMarco (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South) and Jamie Grimes (Olney, Md./Sherwood) will also compete.