Though none of the half dozen local swimmers who competed in the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials earlier this month are going to the Beijing Olympics, the trip to Omaha, Neb., was more than worthwhile.

“It was probably one of the best national meets I’ve had at that level,” said Marlins of Raleigh coach Paul Silver, whose club had 10 swimmers at the meet. “The kids were very relaxed and confident. It’s really easy to do that when you’ve worked as hard as they have.”

Kirsten Smith, who swims with MOR, had one of the best showings of the local group at the Qwest Center. In the 200-meter individual medley preliminaries, Smith finished 16th in 2:15.68 to advance to the semifinals. According to Silver, it’s the fastest 200 IM ever by a North Carolina Swimmer.

“I was really surprised with myself,” said Smith, who last month graduated from Athens Drive and will swim next year at the University of Florida. “I knew I could go faster. Usually, I get really nervous before my races, but I didn’t expect anything. I tried to have fun. That really helped.”

In the semifinals, Smith finished 15th overall, with a time of 2:16.71.

In her other races, Smith finished 24th in the 400 IM prelmis in 4:49.51, 38th in the 100 backstroke prelims in 2:16.07 and 94th in the 100 back in 1:04.56.

Kelsy Smith, Kirsten’s older sister and also a MOR swimmer, was 47th in the 200 backstroke prelims in 2:16.52 and 77th in the 100 backstroke prelims in 1:04.10.

Will Dove, a Cary High grad and rising junior at Auburn, fared well in his three events. He was 26th in the 200 butterfly prelims in 2:01.25, 32nd in the 400 freestyle prelims in 3:57.03 and 39th in the 200 freestyle prelims in 1:51.18.

Melanie Roberts, a rising sophomore at Auburn and a Cardinal Gibbons grad, swam in five events. She was 19th in the 100 breaststroke prelims in 1:10.16, less than half a second from qualifying for the semifinals. She was 51st in the 100 butterfly prelims in 1:01.10, 51st in the 200 IM prelims in 2:19.16, 41st in the 200 butterfly prelims in 2:15.12 and 73rd in the 200 breaststroke in 2:38.57.

Jon Roberts, also a Cardinal Gibbons grad and a rising senior at the University of Minnesota, swam two events and made it to the semifinals in both. He placed eighth in the 100 breaststroke prelims in 1:01.44. He swam a 1:01.88 in the semifinals, missing the final by .74 seconds. In the 200 breaststroke prelims, he was 15th in 2:15.68. He placed 12th in the semifinals in 2:14.19.

Kassia Shishkoff, a rising junior at Northwestern, swam four events. She was 48th in the 800 freestyle prelims in 8:59.96, 65th in the 400 IM prelims in 4:57.10, 79th in the 200 IM prelims in 2:20.70 and 81st in the 200 free prelims in 2:03.88.

Torrey Bussey, a rising junior at Cary High who swims with Raleigh Swimming Association, finished 100th in the 100 breaststroke prelmis in 1:14.00.

Stephanie Glover, an Athens Drive and University of Virginia alum, finished 130th in the 100 butterfly prelims in 1:03.71.