"I had a goal after this morning felt so easy to go for the American record," Torres said. "To stand up and race against all these young girls is a lot of fun. I'm having as much fun at 40 as I was when I was 14. Even before I started swimming fast at meets I had been having so much fun with my teammates and training with my team."
The only athlete to swim under 25 seconds in the final, Torres' time of 24.53 ties as the second-fastest time posted this year. Lara Jackson (El Paso, Texas), who is 20 years Torres' junior, finished second in 25.27, while Lacey Nymeyer (Tucson, Ariz.) was third in 25.28.
Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) earned his second national title of the week cruising to a win the men's 200m IM. Lochte, who won the men's 400m IM on Wednesday, won gold in 1:56.95, finishing more than two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), placed second in 1:59.56, and Nate Cass (Columbus, Ohio) was third in 2:02.09.
In the women's 1500m free, Club Wolverine's Emily Brunemann (Crescent Springs, Ky.) won the race in 16.23.77 to earn her first national title. Ashley Evans (Madison, N.J.) was second in 16:31.74 and Kristen Groome (Baltimore, Md.) was third in 16.33.36.
Hoff earned her third national title of the week with a win in the women's 200m IM Hoff, who led the field throughout the race, was less than second off her American record time. She finished in 2:10.62 to earn gold. Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.), who won the women's 400m IM earlier in the week, was second in 2:12.32 and Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.), the 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist, finished third in 2:12.99.
Ben Wildman-Tobriner (San Francisco) won his first national title in the men's 50m free. The 2007 World Champion swam a best time to finish in 21.80, just .04 shy of the American record. Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.) finished just two-hundredths back to earn silver in 21.82, and Nick Brunelli (Tempe, Ariz.) took home the bronze in 22.05.
"Obviously, it feels great," Wildman-Tobriner said. "The field was extremely fast. With Cullen, Roland and Nick out there, I knew someone was going to go fast, and I was hoping to be one of those people. I also knew this pool could lend itself to some good times, and I was really excited to race."
In the final individual event of the night, Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.) won gold in the men's 800m free. Vendt set a new U.S. Open record in 7:49.75. Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) finished four second behind his Club Wolverine teammate to earn silver in 7:53.93. Trojan Swim Club's Larsen Jensen (Bakersfield, Calif.) was third in 7:57.79.
Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) and Kate Hoff (Towson, Md.) took home the men's and women's Kiphuth High Point Award at the 2007 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships. Phelps, a 36-time National champion, was also awarded the 2007 ConocoPhillips Performance of the Meet for his gold-medal swim in the 200m back.
In the men's team standings, Club Wolverine totaled 510 points to finish the meet as the first-place team. Longhorn Aquatics finished second with 356 points and Trojan Swim Club finished third with 147 points. Tucson Ford Dealers scored 242 points to finish as the women's first-place team. Club Wolverine finished second with 184 points and Trojan Swim Club finished third with 169 points.
In the combined team scores, Club Wolverine was again the top team with 694 points. Longhorn Aquatics followed with 516 points, while Trojan Swim Club completed the Top 3 team standings with 316 points.
About USA Swimming: As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit USA Swimming on-line.
