Last weekend's Santa Clara International Invitational, which featured U.S. Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, was her first big meet of the summer.

"For my first meet, I think I did pretty well, I was right off the national cut," she said. "It was an international meet, so it was a pretty big meet."

Swart finished eighth in the 400 individual medley (4:58.49), 12th in the 200 breaststroke (2:39.10), 13th in the 200 individual medley (2:22.28) and 18th in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.71).

"This is the first summer since my freshman year I'm actually training pretty hard, I usually go home and just swim with a team," she said.

Swart, who was named her conference's co-Swimmer of the Year as a freshman, said she has been training for about a month with North Coast Aquatics of San Diego, practicing twice a day and training on weekends.

"There are some girls who are really good," she said. "(It's) good to train with people who are faster than you, people are pushing you."

Swart said this is the first summer she remained on the Mainland. Training in the summer helps with the college season, "to have your base back up," she said.

"A lot of people take time off, and it takes them to halfway in the season to get back in shape."

She had her own struggles with getting into shape and maintaining it after a bout with bronchitis in November sidelined her until mid-January.

"When I first found out, I was really bummed because I tried so hard in the beginning of the year, and I wanted to do well," said Swart, who earned NCAA All-America honorable mention honors in 2003.

"There was a couple of times I would go into the water, but the water was getting into my lungs and it was causing me to get sicker," she said. "It was dangerous for me. They didn't want me to get pneumonia.

"I had never gotten sick like that, I mean, I had a cold a day or two ... "

She returned in time for the Western Athletic Conference championships, Feb. 23 to 26, but with only a month and a half of training.

"I did pretty well at the meet, I was surprised," she said. "I ended up doing some of my best times."

She had three top-5 finishes, placing second in the 400 individual medley (4:19.11), third in the 200 individual medley (2:02.86) and fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.36).

"I really just enjoyed being at the WAC meet, it's a better conference for us," Swart said. "We were in a conference (the 12-school Pacific Collegiate Swimming/Diving Conference) with a lot of Division II teams. I'd rather get second or third, but have that competition and still get good times, than be in a slower championships where I can't get anything out of it."

Swart said she will continue swimming for a couple of years after graduating but will give up competitive swimming to start a teaching career, either in kindergarten or first grade.

"I'm still thinking about swimming for the Olympics, but it's a lot of juggling," she said. "I still want to be there for my team this year. I want to go back to NCAAs this year and make it to the top eight."

More Swimming

• At the Santa Clara International Invitational, Iolani graduate Hongzhe Sun, who will be a junior at Stanford in the fall, finished fourth in the 200 backstroke (2:03.90), sixth in the 200 butterfly (2:04.80), sixth in the 100 backstroke (56.86) and 24th in the 100 freestyle (53.06).

Football

• Tennessee senior defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona (Kealakehe '01 of Kailua, Kona) was one of 50 players named to the Bronco Nagurski Trophy preseason "Watch List" by the Football Writers Association of America.

The Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the best defensive player in college football and is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club, which has held the annual awards banquet since 1995.

COMMITMENTS

• Three local prep soccer players have signed with the University of Northern Colorado to play on the women's team in the fall.

Mililani's Erin Kikumoto, Kamehameha's Jordan Weeks and Iolani's Patricia Wong have all signed with the Division I program, which also includes 2004 Mililani graduate Nicky Harris.