Harrison, Isleta try to qualify for Olympic Trials in a three-day meet

Coming off of a strong performance at the Phill Hansill invitation on Nov. 21, the Oregon State swimming team now has its sights set for the US Winter Nationals. Junior Czsarina Isleta and senior Sammy Harrison will be the OSU representatives for the event. 

The three-day meet will be held in Federal Way, Wash. from today to Saturday and will provide an opportunity for both Isleta and Harrison to qualify for the Olympic Trials in June.

“Sammy and Cszarina are both going there to try to qualify for the US Olympic Trials, the expectation is to try to get faster and then do a great race at that meet,” said head coach Larry Liebowitz.

Harrison was an All-American last year and currently holds the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:56:01. With only 12 days of layover since the last meet, Harrison has been working overtime in an effort to break her own record again. 

“We’re coming off of our big fall meet as a team that we all travel to,” Harrison said. “It’s been intense training for the last week and a half. Now we’re bringing it back down a little bit, so hopefully we can go fast again like we did in Texas.”

Isleta, who recently placed herself at No. 6 on the OSU all-time list in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke, has attributed her recent success to getting a good night sleep in addition to the extra training.

“I’ve been training really hard and I’ve been dieting. I’ve also been pushing it at weights and I’ve been sleeping more,” Isleta said.

The competition will be held in a 50-yard long course pool at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, but the OSU swimming team only has access to 25-yard pools. According to Liebowitz, the difference should not make for an issue. 

“They have to get timed in a long course pool, which isn’t the usual way for college purposes,” Liebowitz said. “They both have swam the long course before, so they know what it’s all about.”

After the US Winter Nationals, OSU swimming will be off until Jan. 6 when they host Utah for a dual meet. In the mean time, Liebowitz expects the team to stay active.  

“We have finals next week, so that’s kind of a week where they will work as much as they need to,” Liebowitz said. “After that, we have training camp here for about nine days before they go home for break. We will work as hard as we’ve worked this entire year during those nine days.”

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