KNOXVILLE - University of Florida swimming sensation Caeleb Dressel executed a near-flawless “next step” in his preparations for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Swim Trials (June 26) in Omaha with a personal best time in two events; the 100 and 200 freestyle events at Saturday’s finals of the Tennessee Aquatics June Invitational at the University of Tennessee. Swimmers around the country are jockeying for last meets and final swims in preparation for the June 26-July 2 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha.

Two other area swimmers who have Olympic Trials qualifying swims are Ashley Neidigh, 20, an Orange Park resident that went to Bolles and is now at Auburn University, who will be in Omaha for the 200 and 400 individual medley races and Kaitlyn Dressel, who graduated from Florida State University and has recently been hired as the head swim coach at Tallahassee Maclay High School, who is qualified in the 50 free. One former Bolles swimmer, Ashley Neidigh’s older sister Lauren, who swam at University of Arizona, will be at the Olympic Trials as a writer for SwimSwam.com, an online swim magazine.

One former swim partner with Dressel, Kyle Casias, now a top swim coach in north Florida with Stroke Doctor International, and sports psychotherapist Joni Neidigh, of Orange Park, both addressed the preparations thus far for Dressel. Casias, second in the 100 butterfly at the 2010 Florida Class 3A championships with Fleming Island High School, was part of a strong swim group in Clay County that included the likes of Dressel, the Dressel siblings; Kaitlyn and Sherridon (Both multiple state champs at Clay); the Zander siblings of Orange Park High School; Katherine (50 free 3A champion 2008, 2009 Third in 50 free 3A 2010, 2009; 4th in 100 fly 2010), David (100 fly ninth place 3A 2010) and Jena (Second 50 free 2A 2011, 8th 100 fly 2011) and even area master’s champion Mark Nieuwenhuis, a great sprint swimmer at the University of Alabama and also the University of Nebraska.

“Caeleb’s doing a great job and I know he is right on track with doing with what he wants to do,” said Casias. “He’s such a student of the sport and has been competing internationally for the last five years. He knows the game.”

The 19 year old Dressel, the record setting freestyle sprint swimmer from Clay High, has been steadily inching into the Olympic realm of sub-50 second 100 freestyle splits. Dressel, who had a record-setting college sophomore year with national records for the 50 and 100 freestyle events that brought him Southeastern Conference and NCAA titles, had yet to consistently break the elusive long-course 100 free splits that he will inevitably need to supplant Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian as America’s top sprint swimmer.

“I’m really surprised at how fast Nathan Adrian is swimming at this point of the pre-Trials preparation,” said Casias. “He’s had some time maybe to back off, swim fast, then recharge for a final run to the Trials.”

Note: The Olympic swim qualifying standard for the 100 free is 50.6 in a 50 meter pool. The world record is 46.91 by Cesar Cielo of Brazil in 2009 and the American record is 47.33 by David Waters, set in 2009.

At Tennessee, Dressel, with a seed time of just 50.26 compared to 49.00 by Roland Schoeman, a 35 year old pro, and Andrew Marsh, a 21 year old swimmer out of West Virginia, cruised into the final with the fastest time of the day of 50.71 with Schoeman second at 50.85 and Marsh third at a pedestrian 51.21.

In the final, though, with Dressel again targeting a two-week peak that would have him be at his fastest and most rested near the end of June, the wily “racer” blasted the field with a best-ever 48.74 winning time over Marsh’s 50.25 and Schoeman’s 51.03. Dressel also set a best-ever time for the 200 freestyle with a winning 1:48.39 split after posting a third-fastest 1:54.34 qualifying time. Dressel won the 200 free by more than three seconds. Dressel has been non-commital in his Olympic Trials events beyond the 50 and 100 freestyle events, but has numerous Trials’ qualifying times for other events.

“What we know now about mental preparation in sports now is so much more powerful than years ago,” said Casias. “When I swam, I was so new at it that I just went and swam with little expectation. Now the athletes have a process of mindset preparation that uses visualization techniques and identification procedures that focus on the process of the sport, say swimming. It gets down to feeling the pressure on your feet when you kick, the feel of the start, the feel of flip turn, lots of small pieces of the process so that they are implanted and the athlete is able to see success into existence. Caeleb had his 50 free record implanted on his brain to the exact time and then executed it.”

In Santa Clara, at a USA Swimming Pro Arena event, Adrian and Conor Dwyer, of Illinois, both prepped for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials with strong finishes, for Adrian, in the men’s 50-meter free in meet record fashion with his fastest time of 2016 in 21.68 seconds. Adrian was closely followed by 2000 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Ervin, of California, in 21.98 and Australia’s James Magnussen who touched third in 22.19. Adrian and Dwyer both scratched out of the 100 free despite Adrian posting a 48.17 preliminary time. Adrian beat Magnussen in the 2012 London Olympics 100 free by .01.

“It was a great swim,” said Adrian, in the post-meet press conference. “I take a lot of power in the fact that my Cal teammates are doing well. Josh (Prenot) and (Ryan) Murphy just set meet records so that’s exciting for us. We’re doing something right so I’m excited for (U.S. Olympic Team Swimming) Trials.”

Also in preparation mode for the Trials, Dressel’s achievement in Tennessee is not only a message to the Olympic stalwarts, but a mental boost of getting back to sub-50 second status and, with that obstacle cleared, the next race, theoretically, the Trials qualifiers, will put Dressel near the top of a list of very fast company.

“Caeleb’s preparation to race the best Olympians in the world, of which many are right here in the United States, is not contingent on what the other guys are doing,” said Casias. “Caeleb has his own intrinsic motivations; a strong family unit is part of that, and he shows up more prepared than any athlete I’ve known.”

Neidigh, parent to the Neidigh sisters, who is a licensed mental health counselor with experience with elite athletes in their preparations for major events, has observed Dressel and other athletes as they channel through the build up of major competitions with strong mental exercises on top of the pool yardage totals.

“Fortunately, today’s athletes recognize the need for mental preparation in order to achieve their highest goals,” said Neidigh, who has an office on Kingsley Avenue. “Athletes like Caeleb develop mental championship race plans instead of leaving things to chance. He has had experience at top-level meets that allow him to document, prepare and rehearse his mental races. This is key to handling pre-race anxiety and not draining his energy by focusing on what he can’t control.”

In Orlando’s Arena Pro Series 100 free, in March, Dressel swam a 49.20 Olympic qualifying time that was the second fastest split of the day with Adrian fourth in 49.50. The top 13 swimmers in Orlando broke the 50 second barrier. Dressel left before the Sunday final to return to Gainesville to prepare for the NCAA championships.

In Meza, AZ, April 14-15, Adrian

blasted a 48.00 to win with just four swimmers under 50 seconds. That 48 second time is the top time as of June 6. London 50 free silver medalist Cullen Jones finished 13th in 50.69. Adrian was fastest qualifier at 48.06. Adrian also won the 50 free in 21.89.

“Does Adrian have an advantage because he swims 24/7 while Caeleb has college, studying and more outside interactions?” asked Casias. “I don’t think so. Caeleb knows how to race. He has a great grasp on the big picture of his swimming and that making the Olympic team is the prize. And don’t forget all of the other great swimmers that will be there. Anyone can have the great day.”

In May, in Charlotte, Canadian swimmer Santo Condorelli, a swim partner with Dressel at Bolles, won the 100 free in 48.41 with five swimmers under 50 seconds. Adrian did not swim, but U.S. Olympian Ryan Lochte finished sixth in 50.01 and Jones took eighth in 51.29.

In Santa Clara, on Sat., June 5, Adrian won the 50 free in 21.68 and had the fastest 100 free in qualifying in 48.17.

Whether swimmers, including Dressel, compete from now until the Trials is kept very secret to media or personnel outside of the swimmer’s inner circle, but the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle finals in Omaha could very well be some of the closest races of all time as the athletes and their coaches try to decide which event to maximize effort and winning capability.

“The energy output and muscle movements of the 200 free and 100 butterfly are very similar and Caeleb is a great multi-event swimmer,” said Casias. “The scheduling of the prelims, semifinals and finals all have to be looked at and measured to see if an athlete can swim, rest, recover and return to the pool with enough energy to compete at a higher level. That is a lot of mental energy.”