Arena Pro Swim Series at Mesa

April 13-15, 2017
Skyline Aquatic Center
Mesa, Arizona
PSYCH SHEET & MEET INFO

​The third stop of the arena Pro Swim Series kicks off Thursday, April 13, in Mesa Arizona. As we inch closer to the 2017 World Championships, many swimmers have started to zone in their focus and are looking to use the next three days as a launching point into the summer season. Here are three major things to keep an eye on this week in Mesa.​

1.) NCAA swimmers shift focus to long course

College swimming was rife with fast times in the short course pool this season, but now it is time to see where many of the NCAA's best stand in their first long course competition of the year. Names such as ​Simone Manuel​, ​Katie Ledecky​, Leah Smith, Chase Kalisz, ​​Dylan Carter, ​and ​Michael Chadwick ​are littered all over the psych sheet.

Who took a break after NCAAs? Who went right back into training? It's no secret that the best NCAA swimmers train long course throughout the year, so don't expect there to be ​too many​ cobwebs. But there is definitely a difference between training LCM and competing LCM.​

2.) Katie Ledecky in the IM events

You are probably asking yourself, "Wait... isn't Ledecky part of the NCAA swimmers shifting their focus to LC?" Yes, you are right. But anytime Ledecky is competing she deserves her own mention.​

Based on the psych sheet, Ledecky will be a busy bee in Mesa -- entered in the 100m/200m/400m/800m freestyles ​and​ the 200m/400m IM events.​

Will Ledecky make a serious push to compete in the 400 IM on the international level? Or is this just a good training opportunity? While the short course 400 IM and long course 400 IM are two entirely different beasts, Ledecky did break the American record in the SC 400 IM at the Pac-12 Championships (her Stanford teammate ​Ella Eastin​ would then go on to re-break it at NCAAs with Ledecky absent from the field). Stay tuned...
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3.) Conor Dwyer returns to competition

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Two-time Olympian ​Conor Dwyer​ will return to the competition pool for the first time since the Rio Olympics this past summer. Dwyer had a solid showing in Rio, picking up a gold medal as a member of Team USA's 4x200 freestyle relay. He also picked up his first individual medal with a bronze in the 200m freestyle (1:45.23) and finished just off the podium in the 400m freestyle with a fourth-place finish in 3:44.01.

In Mesa, Dwyer is entered in the 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, and 200m IM.​ With Phelps gone and Lochte serving a suspension, it will be interesting to see if Dwyer will make a push in the 200 IM this summer. Dwyer has the fastest time of anyone in the U.S. still competing (excluding Lochte), and that is certainly an event with plenty of opportunity domestically.