Missy Franklin is scheduled to make her presence felt at the Northwestern Sectionals (a.k.a. the Western Zone Speedo Championship Series). Leading off the meet with the 100m freestyle, Missy is seeded at a 53.61 where the meet record is currently at a 54.01. However, it's not all about the 100 free so let's take a look at some of the better swims that will come out of this next weekend's sectional meet.
Women's 100 Free
As mentioned above, Missy Franklin will have a run at the meet record, but the veteran, Kara Lyn Joyce, is directly behind her in the seeding. While I don't think Joyce has a strong chance to overcome the young sensation, it will be interesting to see who else steps up in this event as there are quite a few 15 year old swimmers in the mix.
Schoeman vs The Youngsters
With Roland Schoeman seeded as the confident (and fast) veteran, he will be facing off against athletes nearly half his age. In fact, only 2 of the top 20 (not including Schoeman) are under 20 years old. However, Schoeman is seeded with a meet record time and the experience will surely give him the edge in this event.
Men's 200 Breaststroke
Even though Dwyer is seeded second on the psych sheets for this event, I am under the impression that he will be able to take over the top placement.
Women's 200 Backstroke
Shatter is an understatement if Missy Franklin can touch at the wall anywhere near her seed time of 2:05.10; the meet record is 2:15.15. However, the true story for this event is the utter talent that is surrounding Franklin as 19 of the top 20 are under 20 years old and the second seed is Bonnie Brandon which will make for a decent competition for first and second with the other battles truly for third and fourth.
Pebley to Break Record
With the men's 200 back looking to be dominated by Jacob Pebley, it is very likely that we will see a new meet record set (his current seed time is 1:58.30 with the current meet record at 2:03.01). Aside from Pebley, however, it will be a battle for second, third and fourth.
Frankin Faces Off Against Shannahan
One of the more interesting races (at least for me) will be Missy Franklin taking on Kathleen Shannahan who is a year younger than Franklin. Shannahan is seeded at a 1:54.04 where Franklin is at a 1:55.06. The bottom line here is that the meet record (2:02.49) is going to be demolished and we'll see some great racing techniques by both swimmers.
Brandon vs Franklin Round 2
In the 100 backstroke, I would be shocked to see Brandon out-touch Franklin, but crazier things have happened. With that said, there is a significantly tight field with regard to seed time directly behind the two young stars; between third and ninth there is only a .44 difference which will create some great excitement for the race.
Aside from these races, you can count on a third dual between Brandon and Franklin as well as a second great swim from Dwyer. Overall, though, the true story is the young stars. We'll keep you posted as the meet progresses.