As the calendar gets ready to flip to March, a long season of preparation comes to a conclusion for the Clarkson University Swimming team at the annual UNYSCSA meet, held once again in Ithaca, NY. While the Golden Knights had some outstanding performances in 2013, the expectations are even higher this year with the release of the psych sheets.

The annual event will begin on Wednesday with nine events, opening with the 500 freestyle races and then moving on to the 200 individual medleys, 50 freestyles, and 200 medley relays, as well as the men's 3-meter diving competition. The preliminaries will begin at 10:00 am on Wednesday and the finals will start at 6:00 pm.

The men's 500 freestyle will have four potential participants from Clarkson in Sam Zwierzchowski (East Amherst, NY), Ray Bailey (Galway, NY), Travis Derr (Lakeville, CT) and Paul Kreppel (Clarence, NY), with Zwierzchowski owning the top spot among entrants as the 38th time listed. For the women, Kelly Mulvehill (Penfield, NY) and Katrina Smith (Ballston Spa, NY) are near the tail-end of the entrants. Following the second-longest event of the meet, sophomores Nick Short (Endwell, NY) and Jon Ketcham (East Aurora, NY) and junior Tyler Nichols (Spencerport, NY) may jump into the pool for the 200 individual medley, as all three are listed in the first 40 names, with Short headlining the group in 29th. Chris Plummer (Spencerport, NY) and Evan Pendleton (Beacon, NY) are also potential 200 IM swimmers. For the women, Smith is listed once again, as is Sarah Halstead (Milford, NH), who will be participating in her first UNYSCSA meet.

As usual, the lengthiest listing of names comes for the 50 freestyle and numerous heats will be filled with members of the Golden Knights. Kyle Hancock (Essex, VT) will be counted on later in the meet, but he is one of 12 swimmers from Clarkson listed on the psych sheet for the quickest event of the meet. Hancock is the top name from Clarkson in 30th, but he is also followed closely by sophomore Sam Zagrobelny (East Aurora, NY) as well as Chris Bay (Greene, NY), Liam Sharkey (Spring, TX), Jon Ketcham, Paul Kreppel, Alex Trass (Greene, NY), Kyle Atkinson (Baldwinsville, NY), John Cain (Rochester, NY), Duncan Gentner (Voorheesville, NY), Andrew Zielinski (Hilton, NY), and Bakari Smith (Rochester, NY). The Golden Knights' women have only eight swimmers on the roster, so their lineup doesn't have the same kind of depth in the 50 freestyle as the men, but Kelly Ludeke (Burnt Hills, NY), Abby Luber (Camillus, NY), Deonna Coleman (Derby, NY) and Molly Kelso (Exeter, NH) will look to break through with solid times in the 50 freestyle.

Since Clarkson won't be participating in the diving events, the conclusion of the day for the Knights will be the 200 medley relay races where both the men and women will likely have two participating foursomes.

Thursday will have 11 events, again beginning at 10:00 am with the preliminaries and concluding with the finals at 6:00 pm, highlighted by four relay races. This time the day will start with the 200 freestyle relays where again Clarkson will probably have two entries in each race. Following those team events, Nick Short and Tyler Nichols will take their best shots at getting into the finals for the 400 individual medley, with Short being listed 29th with a seed time of 4:39.69 and Nichols listed with a seed time of 4:42.07 in 31st. Chris Plummer will also look to pick up points for the Knights in the 400 IM. No Clarkson women are listed for the 400 individual medley.

Clarkson's top scoring chance so far, according to seed times, will come in the 100 butterfly as sophomore Sam Zagrobelny is listed 23rd with a time of 55.65. In such a short race, anything can happen and milliseconds can separate one from scoring or just missing. Backing up Zagrobelny in the event is Nick Short (30th), as well as Sam Zwierzchowski, Nate Menapace (Baldwinsville, NY), Liam Sharkey, Chris Plummer, and Bakari Smith. Appearing on the psych sheet for the women for the first time in the 100 butterfly is junior Jacklyn Yeaton (Merrimack, NH), who is listed 50th, and is followed by Katrina Smith.

With limits on how many races any specific swimmer can compete in, it isn't a guarantee that Al Catano (Ronkonkoma, NY) will compete in the 200 freestyle, but it is also quite likely since he is has the ninth-best seed time (1:46.05) and could just into the "A" finals with a good preliminary showing. Joining Catano in the 200 freestyle are Sam Zwierzchowski, Chris Bay, Paul Kreppel, Ray Bailey, Alex Trass, Liam Sharkey, Travis Derr, and Andrew Zielinski. The women's 200 freestyle again won't be quite as populated with Clarkson swimmers, but Kelly Ludeke, Deonna Coleman and Jaclyn Yeaton will give their best in an event that has 88 swimmers listed on the psych sheet. Clarkson will close out the day with the 400 medley relay races, and once again two teams could be entered to pick up points.

Halfway through the event, Friday's festivities will begin at 10:00 am for the preliminaries and again conclude at 6:00 pm in the finals, but the third day of the meet will have just nine total events, including one dive. The 200 butterfly will begin the events for the day and Nick Short, Sam Zwierzchowski, and Nate Menapace all have a chance to score as there are only 34 names listed on the psych sheet with some likely to drop out. Short is the top name in 24th with a seed time of 2:07.80. The women's 200 butterfly is just three names longer, but includes only one Clarkson swimmer in Jaclyn Yeaton, who is seeded 33rd with a time of 2:37.59.

Seven names are listed on the 100 backstroke for the men's event, and once again it is likely that Al Catano will be leaned on heavily for points in this event as he is ranked seventh on the psych with a seed time of 53.67 seconds. Tyler Nichols (34th) could sneak into the top 24 with a good showing as well, while Kyle Atkinson, Liam Sharkey, Evan Pendleton, Duncan Gentner, and John Cain round out the potential participants for Clarkson. Sarah Halstead is the leading competitor in the women's 100 backstroke, listed 36th with a seed time of 1:05.86. She is joined by Abby Luber, Molly Kelso and Katrina Smith.

The 100 breaststroke could be Clarkson's biggest scoring event even with only four swimmers listed on the psych sheet. Kyle Hancock has the fourth-best seed time as the last competitor that has finished the race in less than a minute this year. Jon Ketcham is no slouch in this race either, having seeded himself with a time of 1:01.99, good enough for 16th. Chris Plummer and Aaron Parysek (Spencerport, NY) are listed as well, and with good performances could slide into the back end of the scoring. Kelly Ludeke and Kelly Mulvehill are potential participants in the 100 breaststroke for the women, with Ludeke having the 36th time listed. The third day will be finished for Clarkson with the completion of the two 800 freestyle relays.

Saturday is a return to the second day's format of 11 events, but this time there will only be a single relay due to the opening event. The 1650 freestyle is an arduous task and only two Clarkson swimmers are listed to endure the grueling effort, with Travis Derr competing in the men's race and Kelly Mulvehill slated to compete in the women's.

Fourteen Clarkson swimmers may compete in the 100 freestyle, but it is likely it won't go quite that deep into the roster. Sam Zagrobelny is the top name in 47th among 89 possible swimmers and he could be joined by Chris Bay, Sam Zwierzchowski, Ray Bailey, Liam Sharkey, Paul Kreppel, Alex Trass, Aaron Parysek, John Cain, Evan Pendleton, Andrew Zielinski and Bakari Smith. Travis Derr is again listed as well, but after potentially swimming in the 1650, he may sit on the sidelines for the 100 freestyle. Most of the women's roster is listed as well, led by Kelly Ludeke and Sarah Halstead, while Abby Luber, Deonna Coleman, Molly Kelso and Jaclyn Yeaton are also possible competitors.

It will be a tough task to surpass the top seed in the 200 backstroke, but Al Catano is listed as the third-best seed time in the event (1:55.54) and there is no question he will be diving in for this race. Tyler Nichols has spent three years as a top swimmer in the 200 backstroke as well and he will, too, challenge for points in the finals. Kyle Atkinson, Evan Pendleton, and Duncan Gentner are listed at the tail end of the psych sheet as well. Halstead is listed on the 100 freestyle, but she is again listed in the 200 backstroke, the very next event for the women.

Another top 10 seed time comes in Event-36, the 200 breaststroke for the men. Kyle Hancock is seventh overall with a seed time of 2:15.76 and looks to earn plenty of points in the finals of the race. Jon Ketcham is 13th (2:19.26) and could slide into "A" finals if he has an outstanding preliminary race. Aaron Parysek and Chris Plummer, too, could jump into the points race with impressive first efforts. The same could be said for the women's competitors, as Kelly Ludeke (2:44.30) and Kelly Mulvehill (2:44.69) may have a shot at the finals.

After a lengthy four days, Clarkson's run will end with the 400 freestyle relays, and once again, two teams should be competing for the Golden Knights in each race.