Benko Continues Superb Swimming
June 21, 1999 | Women's Swimming & Diving
April 2, 1999
LOS ANGELES - USC senior Lindsay Benko completed a superb showing at the 1999 U.S. Spring Nationals with another strong effort, posting a fourth-place finish in the 200m IM to close out the championships at the Nassau County Aquatics Center in Long Island, N.Y., on Thursday (April 1).
Benko swam a 2:18.13 in the 200m IM, posting her fourth finals appearance of the meet. She won the 200m freestyle and took second in the 100m and 400m free. She finished with 69 points, one short of top-point scorer Kaitlin Sandeno.
Senior teammate Karen Campbell made her second finals appearance, taking fourth in the 50m free in 26.15, a USC school record. Campbell, who previously had taken second in the 100m fly, broke her own record of 26.25, which she posted in prelims. The prelim swim topped Allison Bock's mark of 26.46 set at the 1996 Olympic Trials.
Campbell and Benko later went on to join freshman Kristin MacGregor and sophomore Alexis Lyon in the 400m medley relay, which the group won in 4:14.30, good for another school record. The previous best was 4:16.31, a mark set against Stanford in 1996. The men's 400m medley relay of freshman Joe Curreri, sophomore Slawek Richter, junior Bret Awbrey and senior Bela Szabados was fifth in 3:53.19.
Lenny Krayzelburg, a year out of USC but still training with USC Coach Mark Schubert and the Trojan Swim Club, won the Phillips Performance Award for his American record-breaking performance in the 200m backstroke on Monday. He swam a 1:56.95, the second-fastest time ever. This is the third time he has won the Performance Award for a new record in the 200m back.
Krayzelburg also won the 100m back, giving him his fourth sweep of the specialties at U.S. Nationals. In the modern era, only two men have swept more: former Trojan John Naber, the 1976 Olympic champion in both events, swept seven times and Rick Carey, the 1984 Olympic champion in both events, did it six times.
USC freshman Mark Warkentin finalled in his second event of the competition, taking fourth in the 1500m free in 15:43.94. Freshman Joel Everman was 19th in the event (16:06.04). On the women's side, freshman Heather Boylan was 40th in the event (17:43.93).
On Wednesday night, the USC unit of Awbrey, Warkentin, Curreri and Szabados won the 800m free relay in 7:32.25. The women's team of Lyon, Campbell, MacGregor and Benko took second in the same event in 8:25.03.
Overall, USC won one individual event (Benko in the 200m free) and posted three relay titles (men's 800m free, women's 400m medley and 400m free). USC swimmers appeared in a combined 13 finals (seven women's, six men's) and broke a combined eight school records (Szabados in the 100m and 200m free, Benko in the 100m, 200m and 400m free, Campbell in the 50m free and the 100m fly and the women's 400m medley relay).
The USC women finished second in overall team scoring with 244.50 points, behind the Irvine Novas. The men's squad was 51st.
