YOUNGHOUSE SWIMS INTO ELITE WATERS AT NATIONAL MEET

Jonathan Younghouse doesn't know if he'll ever be good enough to compete in the Olympic Games.

But the Cape Girardeau athlete does already own the distinction of being the finest swimmer that this area has ever produced.

Younghouse made that official last week when he excelled during the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships held in Nashville, Tenn., becoming the only local swimmer to ever place in the prestigious event that features a host of Olympians and collegiate standouts.

Younghouse, who competed in four events in Nashville, placed sixth in the 400-meter freestyle with a sizzling time of 3:56.54 that set a personal best by five seconds. He was also 14th in the 200-meter freestyle while finishing in the top 30 in both the 1,500 freestyle and 400 individual medley.

"It was really exciting," said Younghouse of his first experience at the National Championships. "Going into the meet, I was ranked 15th in the 400, which is my best event. To finish sixth in my first nationals, I was really happy."

In addition to his placements at the national meet, Younghouse's times in the 400 and 200 will probably qualify him for the next Olympic Trials.

"Times can change, but my times met the Olympic Trial standards for 1996, so there's a good chance they'll qualify for the 2000 trials," he said. "That would be as good as it gets in this country short of qualifying for the Olympics."

Younghouse, a 1996 Central High graduate, won state titles in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle events as a junior. He did not compete on the high school team as a senior in order to concentrate on the junior nationals.

Younghouse earned a swimming scholarship to NCAA powerhouse Texas, where this year as a freshman he placed fourth twice and fifth once as the Longhorns won the inaugural Big 12 Conference title. He narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA meet, in which Texas placed fourth.

In addition to his swimming accomplishments as a Texas freshman, Younghouse also compiled a 3.875 grade-point average. He plans to major in economics.

"Things went really well my first year at Texas," Younghouse said. "Between swimming and studying, it tied up a lot of time, but I really had a good year."

Younghouse's big goal for his sophomore season at Texas is to qualify for the NCAA meet. Based on what he did in Nashville last week, he probably has a pretty good chance.

"What I did (during the national meet in Nashville) is by far my biggest step in swimming so far," he said. "It's really gotten me excited. Now I just have to keep working hard and trying to improve."

Younghouse would be lying if he said he didn't have an ultimate goal of making the Olympics but he knows that will be so difficult to achieve.

"It's a big goal, but it's something that's even hard to think about because I would have to get so much better," he said.

* Another local swimmer, Erin Vogt, also competed in four events during last week's national meet, taking part in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly.

Although Vogt, who will be entering her senior year of high school, failed to make the finals in any event, she was still satisfied with the experience.

"I was just too nervous. There were so many people there," she said. "But it was a good experience for me and I look forward to hopefully competing (in nationals) again."

Vogt won state titles in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM during her freshman year at Central High. She did not compete for the Lady Tigers as a sophomore and junior, choosing instead to concentrate on the junior nationals.

Younghouse file

* 1996 graduate of Cape Central

* In high school, won Missouri 200- and 500-meter state championships as a junior

* On swimming scholarship at Texas University

* Finished sixth in the 400 freestyle at National Swimming Championships in Nashville, Tenn.

* On pace to qualify for U.S. Olympic Trials for 2000 Olympics