CLOVIS, Calif. - Last year after the Olympics, Gabrielle Rose had initially retired from swimming.
But realizing she still had a lot to accomplish, she returned to the pool last February and committed herself to the sport with all her heart and everything she had.
That commitment really paid off at the Phillips 66 National Championships this week, where Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tenn., earned the women's Kiphuth Award for high points on day five Saturday.
Earlier this week, Rose finished first in the women's 100m free and was third in the 200m free and fourth in the 100m breaststroke. On Saturday, she capped the meet in an emphatic style by winning the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.78.
Her time was just .68 seconds off the meet record set by Summer Sanders in 1992.
"I had my best times in all my events," Rose said. "I far exceeded my expectations. This was by far my best national meet.
"My goal coming in was to qualify for Goodwill Games, and I did that in my first event by winning the 100 free. At that point, my coach just said have fun. I was really into going for it in all my events."
Rose credited Irvine Novaquatics coach Dave Salo for her success this week. "He gave me a lot of energy and enthusiasm and really motivated me to do my best," she said. "I just enacted what we've been accomplishing daily in practice, and that gave me a lot of confidence."
The men's Kiphuth Award winner, Michael Phelps, 16, of Baltimore, Md., won his second national title of the week in the 200m IM. His time of 2:00.86 was a 15-16 national age group record and was the world's third-fastest time of the year in that event.
"That was the best swim I've ever had," Phelps said. "I had all the legs there, and that's the best I've ever split. I've never really had all the 50s where I wanted them to be (before this race), and that was perfect how I split that and how I swam that."
In the women's 1500m free, up-and-comer Lauren Costella, 16, of the Carson Tiger Sharks won with a time of 16:26.13. Carson was fourth in the 800 earlier this week and was fifth in the 1500 at the Spring National Championships.
"I was shaved, tapered, really excited and ready to go under 16:30," Costella said. "I had a really good feeling about that race and went out there ready to win, and I was really happy I did that.
"It's just so exciting - all the people and the hype and being on TV for the first time and making a name for myself. It's just really exciting. It's a good feeling."
Tammie Stone, 25, of Saginaw, Mich., won her third national title in the women's 50m free with a time of 25.43. Stone will be competing in the Goodwill Games later this month in Brisbane, Australia.
"I was really happy with the win," Stone said. "It wasn't exactly the time I was looking for, but it's a good stepping stone toward the Goodwill Games. "I was just trying to put the whole thing together tonight. The more I swim the more I learn. After this morning's swim, I picked a couple things to work on this evening, like my start, body positioning and finish."
Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall, 26, of Phoenix, Ariz., came away with his fourth national title in this event, his sixth overall. His time was 22.15. "Yeah, you gotta be happy with a win," Hall said. "The time's good. This is my first season back since the Olympics, and it's a good way to come back. "I wanted to come back and win it, maybe go on to Goodwill Games, maybe not."
In the men's 1500m free, Olympic bronze medalist Chris Thompson, of Roseburg, Ore., won with a time of 15:16.23.
"After the 800, I realized I was not really prepared for this meet, so I had to re-evaluate my goals," Thompson said. "I didn't have enough time between meets (the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan and nationals) to get all the training I needed to get done.
"So my main priority after (then 800) was to try to get a "W" in the 1500. It was a solid race, and I got the victory. Hopefully the times will come next summer."
In other meet news, Meghan Sackett, 14, of North Baltimore was named female rookie of the meet after finishing third in the women's 1500m free, and Josh Wegrzyn, 21, of Circle C was named male rookie of the meet after finishing seventh in the 100m back.
Olympian Josh Davis won the Phillips 66 Performance of the Meet award after setting the U.S. Open Record in the 200m free (1:47.13) Thursday.
Winning the overall team title was Circle C with 520.5 points. Circle C also won in the men's team scoring with 446.5 points, while Irvine Novaquatics won the women's team scoring with 236 points. Dynamo Swim Club won the 18-and-under scoring with 356 points.
