Individual Medley

ATLANTA -- The pressure rolled off Tom Dolan like the cool water that carried him to the United States' first gold medal of the XXVI Olympiad. He punched the air that has been both friend and enemy during his spectacular swimming career and bathed in the light of 14,000 smiles."

For the past eight years, the major competitive storyline at every meaningful swimming championship has arisen from Michael Phelps' international and historic dominance. How many medals will he win? How many records will he break? How dramatically will he increase his own legend? So it's rather strange to watch Phelps, of Fells Point, settling into Shanghai for the 2011 world swimming championships this weekend trailed by more curiosity than awe. At the moment, he doesn't appear to be the best swimmer in his own country, let alone in the world.

Swimming* Central Maryland Swim League -- Despite multiple wins by nine team members, the North St. John's Swans dropped a 264-216 decision to the Rollingwood Seals on Sunday.Standouts for the Swans included Jessica Burkins, in the girls 15-18 division, who took first place in the individual medley, freestyle, backstroke and swam the first leg on the winning free relay team.Katie Nordhoff won the 11-12 individual medley, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.Kensey Morris also swept for the girls, winning the 9-10 individual medley, freestyle, backstroke and swimming a leg on the free relay team.

The Stoneleigh Sharks scored a 286-173 victory over the Pine Ridge Piranhas in a Freestate Swim League contest July 6. The victory helps the Sharks stay tied atop the Red Division of the FSL with the Hampton Hammerheads. Both teams have one loss on the season, although Stoneleigh prevailed in the dual meet between them. York Manor, which topped Stoneleigh a couple of weeks ago, fell to Campus Cabana and is now one game off the lead. The top-three individual Stoneleigh finishers against Pine Ridge were: GIRLS Cristiani Salvatori-1st, 15-18 100-meter freestyle; 1st, 100 individual medley Marley Swisher-2nd, 15-18 100 free; 2nd 100 IM Margaret McElroy, 1st, 13-14 100 free; 1st, 100 IM Emma Jablow, 3rd, 3-14 100 free; 2nd, 100 IM Marsi Salvatori-1st, 11-12 50 free; 1st, 50 breaststroke Lindsay Wiglesworth-2nd, 11-12 50 free Siena Twiss-3rd, 9-10 50 free Laney Cornelius-1st, 7-8 25 free; 2nd, 25 breast Madeline Till-2nd, 7-8 25 free Amelia Rhea-1st, 6&U 25 free; 2nd 25 backstroke Samantha Briggs-1st, 15-18 50 breast Anna Sillars-1st, 13-14 50 breast Alexandra Roseborough-2nd, 13-14 50 breast Lindsey Dowdy-2nd, 11-12 50 breast Elizabeth Swift-1st, 9-10 25 breast Beri Pinkett-3rd, 7-8 25 breast Natalie Marx-2nd, 11-12 100 IM Genevieve Schwenke-3rd, 11-12 100 IM; 3rd, 50 back Hannah Rhea-2nd, 9-10 100 IM Molly Farrugia-1st, 15-18 50 back; 1st, 50 fly ...

Dan Van Hemert of the Retrievers Aquatic Club set a national age-group swimming record of 1:48.27 in the 200-yard butterfly at the National Junior Olympics in Buffalo. The 16-year-old from Ellicott City also won the 500 and 1,000 freestyles and the 200 individual medley.The Retrievers' other winner was Elysia Moreland, 14, in the 400 individual medley. The times by Moreland and Van Hemert in their winning races qualified them for the Phillips 66/U.S. Swimming Spring Nationals this week in Seattle.

Two Harford County club soccer teams won separate divisions of the Holiday Tournament at the Maryland Sports arena in Edgewood sponsored by the Baltimore Spirit.The Harford Kicks defeated the Linthicum Sidekicks, 8-4, to win the under-12 championship match, and the Baltimore Football Club beat William Soccer Club of Overlea, 8-0, to claim the under-10 championship.Harford Kicks players Matt Buecker and Nate Weigl each scored once and assisted John Mundth and Mike Sedlak.In the tournament opener, the Kicks edged the Sidekicks, 8-6, and shut out the Canton-Highlandtown Indoor Soccer Club, 14-0, and the Young Guns of Baltimore, 6-0.Against those two teams, goals were scored by Sedlak (three)

How hot it will beTemperature: High 95, low 73Forecast: Rain expected, with high humidityMain eventThe first swimming finals are tonight, in the women's 100-meter freestyle and 400 individual medley and the men's 100 breaststroke and 200 freestyle. U.S. hopes will ride mostly on Jenny Thompson, the former world-record holder in the 100 freestyle; breaststroker Kurt Grote, a two-time NCAA champion; and Josh Davis, the sixth-fastest American ever in the 200 free.Best of the restDream Team III makes its debut against Argentina at 10 p.m. with a host of questions to answer, all created by the phenomenal success of Dream Team I at Barcelona.

Softball* Class B and C men -- There was little for local fans to cheer about at this weekend's Amateur Softball Association's men's Class B and C state tournaments at the Carroll County Sports Complex.Lehigh, the only Carroll B team, was 0-2.Wheeler Chrysler-Plymouth, which plays in the Carroll County Men's Softball League, finished third in the C tournament.It won its first three games before losing to Bill's Towing, of Howard County, which placed second.Angle Inn, of Dundalk in Baltimore County, then eliminated Wheeler and went on to win the tournament.

Dan Van Hemert and Elysia Moreland claimed six first-place finishes apiece at the State Swimming Championships at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County over the weekend.The two swimmers, who are members of the Retriever Aquatic Club, joined three of their teammates -- Patrick McGonigal, Laurie Felker and Cheryl White -- in earning high-point honors in their respective age groups.The Retriever Aquatic Club, which practices at UMBC, finished first out of a 32-team field with 1,130.5 points.

The rain and snow of recent weeks is wreaking havoc with the Western Maryland spring schedule.The men's lacrosse team (0-1) was scheduled to play host to St. Mary's this afternoon, but neither Bair Stadium nor the team's practice field was suitable for use. Instead, the two teams will meet in St. Mary's City today.The baseball team was scheduled to open with a doubleheader at Dickinson, but that was postponed. It will head to Cocoa, Fla., for seven games during spring break, starting Sunday against Nichols College.

Atholton The Atholton Swim Club Barracudas lost their first dual meet of the 2011 season to the Summer Hill Stingrays, 245-234. Barracuda swimmers recorded 88 best times. Ally VanNetta (11-12) and Timmy VanNetta (9-10) each won all four of their individual events. Taylor Myers (11-12) and Ryan Murphy (7-8) each won all three of their individual events and swam for winning relay teams. Winning two individual events and swimming for a winning relay team were Will Essl (13-14)

Olympians Michael Phelps of Fells Point and Katie Hoff of Towson won 400-yard individual medleys on Sunday night at the Southern California Grand Prix. Phelps finished in 3 minutes, 38.42 seconds, about a second behind his preliminary time but well ahead of second-place finisher Hidemasa Sano, who touched in 3:39.63. Todd Patrick was third in 3:45.54 at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool. Phelps won the 500-yard freestyle on Saturday as he continues getting back in competition shape.

Following are athletes with Maryland ties competing in the Beijing Games. We tried to compile the most comprehensive list possible, but if you know of an athlete or coach we left out, please e-mail us at sports@baltsun.com. Michael Phelps Rodgers Forge Age 23 Event: Swimming Bio: Widely considered the best swimmer in the world and a candidate for best ever, Phelps will swim eight events in Beijing and attempt to match or exceed Mark Spitz's total of seven gold medals at one Games. Beijing will be his third Olympics.

OMAHA, Neb. -- In roughly 30 minutes last night at the Qwest Center, Ryan Lochte swam the second-fastest 200-meter backstroke ever and the third-fastest 200-meter individual medley ever. And neither time was good enough to win. That's because Aaron Peirsol and Michael Phelps both produced world-record times in those events, highlighting what was by far the most exciting night to date at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Dara Torres - a 41-year-old with asthma who came out of retirement after the birth of her daughter, Tessa, two years ago - made her fifth Olympic team by winning the women's 100-meter freestyle.

BARCELONA, Spain - Michael Phelps' fan club almost didn't make it to the swimming world championships. The six-person entourage left Baltimore on Friday and didn't arrive in Barcelona until Sunday, a day later than planned. A wildcat strike by British Airways workers at London's Heathrow Airport canceled their connecting flight and led to a 15-hour delay, which could have been longer if not for some quick talking onto an Air France flight. "We were standing in a boarding line when our flight, and all British Airways flights, were canceled," said Debbie Phelps, Michael's mother.

CLOVIS, Calif. - Towson teen phenom Michael Phelps took a second giant step toward achieving his goal of representing the United States in four events at the 2004 Olympic Games. The 16-year-old blew away a tough, veteran field to win the 200-meter individual medley last night at the USA Swimming National Championships. His time, 2:00.86, would have placed him third at last month's World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The win came exactly 24 hours after he won the 100-meter butterfly in 53.15 seconds.

Don't look now, but the spring season is upon us. The Western Maryland men's lacrosse, golf and tennis teams begin their seasons in the coming week.But before we get into the spring stuff, we have a little winter business to wrap up.Alexander makes wavesFreshman Karen Alexander came home from the Middle Atlantic Conference championships last weekend with a first-place finish and two runner-up spots.She became the first Green Terrors woman in seven years to win a MAC title, taking first in the 200-yard backstroke (2 minutes, 12.69 seconds)

ATLANTA -- Ireland's Michelle Smith has been under an international microscope since she arrived at the XXVI Olympiad. Her age and her incredible improvement over the past couple of years have left her under an umbrella of steroid-related suspicion, and a recent International Olympic Committee ruling that stretched the entry requirements for one of her events only added to the cloud of controversy.Through it all, she has made herself the winningest athlete so far of the 1996 Atlanta Games, shaking off a slight shoulder injury to win last night's 200-meter individual medley and her third gold medal.

At 6 feet 4, 190 pounds, Mike Wheeler's physical stature has been the source of several nicknames from friends. "Gigantor" is one. "Sasquatch" and "Bigfoot," both references to his size-14 shoes, are others.But those same attributes are Wheeler's strength in the water, where the powerfully constructed swimmer has earned accolades locally and nationally."Being big helps because my long arms and big feet help to pull me through the water. My size gives me an advantage over those who are smaller," said Wheeler, a 17-year-old junior who also sings in the school choir, is a few steps from achieving Eagle Scout honors and is a regular on McDonogh's honor roll.

ATLANTA -- Ireland's Michelle Smith has been under an international microscope since she arrived at the XXVI Olympiad. Her age and her incredible improvement over the past couple of years have left her under an umbrella of steroid-related suspicion, and a recent International Olympic Committee ruling that stretched the entry requirements for one of her events only added to the cloud of controversy.Through it all, she has made herself the winningest athlete so far of the 1996 Atlanta Games, shaking off a slight shoulder injury to win last night's 200-meter individual medley and her third gold medal.