TSC Power Picks: Phelps, Schmitt and Chandler To Take Home First Place Finished

In talking with Bob Bowman, Allison Schmitt and Michael Phelps are coming off of an intense training camp at altitude. Coming down from that altitude and still maintaining intense training (though not as much) could be great news for Schmitt. Samantha Cheverton was able to pull out a 1:58.46 at the Missouri Grand Prix in February and she'll like be able to replicate that if not push for a faster touch. That said, Dwelley hasn't broken the 2:00.00 mark in the recent past, this is the time to start putting solid races together and it's with that that she will out-touch the two Hungarian national team members (Mutina and Verraszto).

Our dark horse pick of the 200 free has to be Chelsea Nauta. Nauta has been hovering around a solid 2:00 for this season and has reached a 1:59.82 at Winter Nationals. It wouldn't surprise me to see her wrangle in a third place finish behind Schmitt and Dwelley or Schmitt and Cheverton.

Similar to Schmitt, Phelps hit the same training schedule and (most likely) experiencing somewhat of a rested feeling from the intensity. With that in mind, I would be shocked if he didn't touch in first. Touching in second will be Jean Basson who has steadily been a 1:48 mid (except his last meet in February where he came in at a 1:52). Coming in third will be Darian Townsend who has ranged from 1:50 – 1:47 this season but is coming off of a 1:49.06 at the Missouri Grand Prix. We could see him going as fast as a 1:48 mid, but I wouldn't expect anything higher than that. In fourth will be Dimitri Colupaev who will be able to hold his speed coming out of conference championships. And, finishing in fifth will be Adam Ritter who has been a consistent 1:50 in this event and we should see a great performance from him.

Our dark horse pick is Club Wolverine's Adam DeJong who is seeded at 14 with a 1:51.22. However, Adam started the season out at a 1:53 and has consistently been dropping time and truly proving that he is still has gas left in the tank at 24 years old.

When looking through the psych sheet and then looking through the previous times and recent history for each of the top 10 swimmers, I can't see any spectacular come-from-behind swims that will remove the newly engaged Annie Chandler from a first place finish. Along those same lines, each of the top 5 swimmers appear to have their positions locked down.

In what will be one of the most exciting races for day 1 of the Columbus Grand Prix, Kitajima and Alexandrov will (in all likelihood) go neck and neck into and out of the turn. However, I think Alexandrov will prove that he can be the answer to the men's 100 breaststroke. Following Alexandrov, Kitajima will touch in a very close second while Barry Murphy drops out of top seeding and Versfeld holds on for a third place finish. In place of Murphy, look for Chris Burckle to step up and swim a 1:01 low. Coming in fifth will be Damir Dugonjic who has consistently been at a 1:01 mid this entire season.

Our dark horse pick is Elliot Keefer who hasn't had great swims this year, but is seeded at a 1:02.26. He has a chance to pick things back up and prove himself against some great competition.

Magnuson has been consistently getting faster throughout this season and is going to be stiff competition against the prolific Coughlin. However, Magnuson has 59.85 to a 58.85 throughout the past four months while Coughlin was at a 59.22 in January. Is it conceivable that Coughlin will out-touch Magnuson…absolutely, but if Magnuson continues her season track record, it's going to be extremely tough.

Our dark horse for this event is Madison Wright. With only swimming this event once this season, I wouldn't be surprised to see her pull in a strong performance and touch at a 1:00 low.

53′s and 54′s has been the steady story for Tim Phillips this season. We may see something a bit faster than a 53 low, but as everyone is training through the meet, I would say it is more reasonable to expect a 53 high. Chris Brady is another swimmer that is coming off of the altitude training with Phelps and Schmitt. According to Coach Bowman, we could see some good swims from him.

However, from the previous performances and consistency of Masayuki Kishida, nobody will out-touch him for first.

As much as I want to say that Matt Grevers is our dark horse pick, I have to disappoint and go with Licoln Fahrbach who has not swam this event this season but has a pretty decent history with 54 mids. While I don't see him going all the way up to a top 3, I can see a potential fourth or fifth place finish (with Grevers right behind him).

With the Hungarian National Team member, Jakabos, as the veteran and most likely to place in first, the remaining field is extraordinarily young and led by Flickinger. With Flickinger's recent times around 4:48′s, I'm curious to see if she is able to push and hit around a 4:46 or under. If she's able to do that, she's a lock for second. But, with Kropp and Li hitting a 4:47 in December, it will make for a great sprint to the finish.

Our dark horse pick is Kendall Surhoff who is seeded at a 4:59.55 which was a time from last season. She hasn't competed in the 400IM this season and I could see a great performance coming from her and the other young North Baltimore swimmers.

With Bill Cregar and Curtis Ogren not hitting under a 4:28 this season, I can't image that he'll go anywhere close to his seed time of 4:21 and they'll most likely drop out of top 5 contention. However, Dave Verraszto (another Hungarian National Team Member) and Chase Kalisz will battle for first place.

Our dark horse pick is Kevin Stang who has only swam the 400 IM once this season but has shown promise in previous seasons. He could upset Bill Cregar and Curtis Ogren, but the chances of Stang placing in the top 5 are minimal.