YOUNGHOUSE ENTERS WORLD CLASS WATERS

Jon Younghouse's swimming career is getting so good, sometimes he says he almost has to pinch himself to make sure it's all real.

The 1996 Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate, who first burst on to the national swimming scene last summer, continues to climb the charts and the performance he had last week was a real eye-opener.

Competing in the United States Summer Nationals in Clovis, Calif. -- a meet featuring America's premier swimmers -- Younghouse finished second, third and sixth in three events to qualify for the prestigious 1999 Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney, Australia.

Younghouse topped his previous personal bests by quite a bit in all three events as he placed second in the 400-meter freestyle (3:52.00), third in the 1500-meter freestyle (15:25.79) and sixth in the 200-meter freestyle (1:50.50).

And as an added bonus: Younghouse's time in the 400 freestyle -- which bettered his previous career best by 4 1/2 seconds -- is the 10th-fastest time in the world this year.

"I really can't even believe what I've been doing," said a laughing Younghouse, who has qualified for the 2000 Olympic Trials in all three events. "Everything has just fallen into place for me. I've tried to train right and really take care of myself, but honestly, I just never thought I would be this good."

Those thoughts are understandable, because Cape Girardeau is not exactly looked upon as a training ground for world-class swimmers.

But Younghouse made a decision on where to attend college that he says has helped him break through. After a standout swimming career at both Central High and in age-group competitions, Younghouse signed with the University of Texas, one of the nation's premier collegiate swimming programs.

Younghouse, who will be entering his junior year at Texas, has had two solid seasons with the Longhorns, last year finishing sixth in the 500 and 14th in the 200 at the NCAA Championships.

And just as important as the college seasons have been the summer training he has done with his Longhorn teammates in Austin.

"I never really thought I would get to this level and I owe it to my coaches at Texas," Younghouse said. "They've brought me this far. Just growing up in a small town, you never think you'll be able to do this."

Younghouse made big strides during his freshman season at Texas but his major breakthrough came during last year's U.S. Summer Nationals when he finished sixth.

"That was really my first major accomplishment on the national level," he said. "Then I had a real good sophomore year (at Texas). And ever since, things have been going great."

Qualifying for next year's Pan Pacific Championships in Australia is something that Younghouse has had his eyes on for some time. That event is the biggest meet in the world during a non-Olympic year and it will be held in the same pool as the 2000 Olympics, which will also be in Sydney.

"It has actually been a lifelong goal of mine to make it on the national team," he said. "I've never made an international trip before. This is like making the Olympics in an off year. It's the biggest meet of 1999."

Younghouse said he was hopeful of a strong showing at last week's U.S. Nationals but he surprised even himself.

"Deep down, I thought I could make the Pan Pacific meet, but I just wasn't sure if I could do it this year," he said. "Everything just clicked. It was perfect. I've just had a wonderful summer training and I went into nationals feeling real good about myself."

And it showed by his performance in the pool.