SWIMMING U.S. SPRING NATIONALS : Evans Comes Back to Beat Quance at Her Own Game in 400 Medley

Janet Evans, winner of three gold medals in the Seoul Olympics three years ago, staged a furious sprint to catch high school swimmer Kristine Quance in the final 15 meters and win the 400-meter individual medley in 4 minutes 44.07 seconds in the U.S. Spring Nationals.

Quance, who led by three meters going into the final leg of the four-stroke race, was second in 4:44.86.

Quance, who turned 16 Monday, is a sophomore at Granada Hills High.

Evans’ victory ended a string of four defeats against younger opponents in the 400 individual medley, an event she won at Seoul in an American-record 4:37.76. It was her 26th national title and second of this meet. She won the 800 freestyle Wednesday.

Romanian Noemi Lung, silver medalist in the 400 individual medley at Seoul, finished last in the consolation race in 5:03.96. She is a freshman at Florida-Atlantic.

In the men’s 400 individual medley, former world record-holder Dave Wharton of USC beat American record-holder Eric Namesnik going away in 4:16.90. Namesnik, 20, of Pittsburgh, was second in 4:19.50.

Wharton, who also held the world record in the 200 individual medley, was the silver medalist in the 400 individual medley at Seoul. It was his 10th national championship.

Joe Hudepohl, a 17-year-old high school junior from Cincinnati, won the men’s 200 freestyle in 1:49.71.

Hudepohl passed pace-setter Eric Diehl early in the final lap and then held off Jon Olsen and Melvin Stewart to win his first national title.

Olsen, an Alabama senior, was runner-up in 1:49.93. Stewart, world record-holder in the 200 butterfly, was third in 1:50.10.