"There isn't a cloud in the sky," Coughlin said. "There is nothing to judge the side of the lane by. I am very, very happy with how I swam. Coming in, I was a little broken down and my expectations were pretty low. To be this close to my best times is great."
Lauren Rogers and Leona Jennings (Des Moines, Wash.) took second and third with times of 1:02.74 and 1:03.14, respectively.
Keller destroyed the field in the men's 200m free by more than three seconds when he touched in at 1:46.56 to lower the pool record for the second time in one day. "This race is highly contested because they take six swimmers at Olympic Trials," Keller said. "Everyone wants to swim it, so it is competitive. I am just happy I am swimming fast again." Stanford's Andy Grant (Livermore, Calif.) swam a time of 1:49.86. Shaun Phillips (Spring Hill, Tenn.) came in third with 1:52.10.
In one of the closest races of the evening, Kim Vandenberg (Moraga, Calif.) emerged the title-winner in the 200m free in a time of 2:00.37. Close behind, Kate Dwelley (Brentwood, Calif.) hit the wall at 2:00.79 followed by Karlee Bispo (Modesto, Calif.) with 2:01.37.
Having competed in the women's 2008 NCAA Championships two weeks ago didn't seem to bother Olympian Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), as collected her first gold medal of the meet when she hit the wall in pool record time of 58.59 in the 100m butterfly. Stanford's Elaine Breeden (Lexington, Ky.) also swam a sub-minute race with the silver-medal time of 59.64. Olympian Dana Kirk (Bremerton, Wash.) rounded out the top three in 1:00.14.
Hongzhe Sun (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) posted the winning time of 55.13 in the men's 100m back. Teammates David Russell (Wellesley, Mass.) and Eugene Godsoe (Greensboro, N.C.) hit the wall next. Russell swam the event in 55.87, while Godsoe finished in 56.32.
Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) opened up a sizeable lead over her competition in the breaststroke portion of the women's 400m I.M. to bring it home four seconds ahead of the field. Her time of 4:40.50 lowered the pool record by five seconds. Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) was the runner-up in 4:44.35. Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) completed the medal positions in 4:47.48.
Additional winners for the night included Brazil's Fernando Silva in the men's 100m fly. He recorded a time of 54.81. Patrick Simpkins (Woodland Hills, Calif.) finished next in 55.20 and Trojan Swim Club's Jan Tichy (Westminster, Calif.) took home the bronze in 55.89. Italy's Vanni Mangoni earned the final individual title of the evening when he swam the 400 I.M. in 4:26.03. Josh Aker-Charnin posted the second-fastest time of 4:27.73, while Scott Weltz (San Jose, Calif.) grabbed the bronze in 4:33.90.
