Lily Moldenhauer, a junior at Churchill High School, competed for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team in five events: the 100 meter Butterfly, 100 meter Freestyle, 200 meter Freestyle and 100 meter Backstroke. Moldenhauer placed 15th overall in the 200 meter Butterfly and was recognized as the fastest 16-year-old swimmer in the event. While Moldenhauer did not earn a spot on the Olympic Team, she has qualified to represent the U.S. at the FINA World Youth swimming Championships July 8 – 13 in Monterrey, Mexico.

San Antonio sent 10 area swimmers to Omaha, Nebraska to compete for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team; eight of those 10 athletes were either current NEISD students or graduates. More than 1,250 swimmers nation-wide competed at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha.

"There are more than 200,000 competitive swimmers in the U.S.," said Assistant Aquatics Coordinator Mark Jedow. "Those competing at the trials represent the top .5 percent of all swimmers in the country."

In addition to Moldenhauer, Churchill graduates Jimmy Feigen (50 meter Freestyle and 100 meter Freestyle), Marissa Jasek (50 meter Freestyle), Annie Chandler (100 meter Breaststroke and 200 meter Breaststroke) and Josh Davis (50 meter Freestyle) also competed. Lee High School graduate Craig Chapman competed in the 100 meter Backstroke and 200 meter Backstroke. Reagan High School graduates Brett Denham and Scott Trompeter and also competed. Denham will swim the 100 meter Butterfly while Trompeter will swim the 100 meter Backstroke and the 200 meter Backstroke.

In order for a swimmer to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials, they must first meet a qualifying time standard for an event at trials set by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The time standards are based upon races in 50 meter competition pools.

When asked what type of swimmer Moldenhauer is, Jedow said "A very fast one! Lily is one of the best swimmers in Texas." Moldenhauer competed in five events at the U.S. Olympic Trials, which is above the average for most swimmers at the meet. No other swimmer from San Antonio competed in that many events at the trials.

"The vast majority of swimmers at the trials are college swimmers," said Jedow. "So when a high school student qualifies for the trials, it is a very special honor." Moldenhauer is a member of the USA National Junior Team this year and has competed in a meet in Australia representing the U.S. last January. She also competed at the U.S. National, Junior National and U.S. Open Championships.

Swimmers at the U.S. Olympic Trials compete for about one out of 88 spots on the team. There are 26 individual events (13 female, 13 male) and six relay events (3 female, 3 male) at the Olympic Games. Each country is limited to having no more than two swimmers entered in each individual event and one relay group comprised of six - eight swimmers.

Not only did the U.S. Olympic Trials serve to select the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team for this summer, it was also used to select the squad for the World Youth Swimming Championships. The two fastest swimmers in the 18 and under age group for each event not selected to the U.S. Olympic Team were selected for the World Youth Championship Team.

In April, Reagan junior Donnie Walker competed at Mexico's Olympic Trials, but missed making the team. Walker, however, qualified to represent Mexico at the World Youth Championships. Kim Pavlin, a junior at Churchill, will compete July 9 - 13 at the Croatian National Championships in attempt to quality for their Olympic Team.