Miller Ends Successful Summer in Irvine

IRVINE, Calif. – Kansas All-American Chelsie Miller closed her summer with strong swims in four different events at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, Calif. over the weekend.
 
The junior from Houston, Texas became KU’s first Big 12 Champion in February before returning home over the summer to train and compete for Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club (FLEET) and coach Jack Madden. Miller qualified for the national meet in four events – the 200-meter butterfly, 200- and 400-meter individual medley, and the 800-meter freestyle.
 
Miller opened the national meet at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Complex on Wednesday morning, finishing the 200-meter butterfly in a time of 2:14.75 and placed 36th overall. Later that morning, she swam the 800-meter freestyle clocking in at 8:42.47 and swimming to a 23rd place finish.
 
“This is probably one of the best summers she’s had,” Kansas assistant coach Jen Fox said. “Between her 200 butterfly and 800 freestyle, it was a great way to start off the meet.”
 
After a day of rest on Thursday, Miller returned for her specialty event, the 400-meter individual medley, on Friday morning. In the preliminary heats, she posted a personal-best time of 4:45.64 and placed 11th overall, giving her a chance to swim again in the consolation heat at finals that night. Returning for the evening, Miller dropped more than a second off her time, bringing her personal-best time down to 4:44.12 and securing a 10th-place finish.
 
“Her 400 IM has big potential,” Fox said of the Friday performance. “She did a great job of doing what she needed to do in the morning, which put her in great position for the evening. She came back a little bit more relaxed and was able to perform well.”
 
Finishing up the meet on Sunday, Miller swam the 200-meter individual medley in a time of 2:18.73, placing her in 37th overall.
 
“She’s had a great summer of training and racing, and we’re really excited about what she’s capable of doing this season,” Fox said.
 
Miller will return to Lawrence with the Jayhawk swimmers and divers to begin training for the 2014-15 season. Kansas, coming off its highest ever Big 12 finish, opens the season on the road against Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 13, but will swim seven times at Robinson Natatorium in a home-heavy schedule.
 
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