SWIMMING : Namesnik Has Touch for Second Win of Meet

Eric Namesnik swam 4,300 meters in the Chrysler Swim Meet of Champions, but none were more gutsy than the last 15 meters of the 200 individual medley Sunday at Mission Viejo.

In the freestyle leg, Namesnik inched closer and closer to leader Ron Karnaugh, who was closing fast on the wall.

Though it appeared Namesnik ran out of room, he surged just in time, touching in 2 minutes 4.80 seconds to Karnaugh’s 2:05.07.

It was the comeback of the meet, considering Namesnik trailed Karnaugh by a full second after the third leg, the breaststroke.

“I felt he was within reach when I turned onto freestyle,” Namesnik, 20, said, “but I thought it would be pretty tough. I was breathing on his side so I could see that I was moving up. I just tried to kick it in, and it ended up that I was lucky enough to do it.”

As the only meet record-setter of the four-day event, in the 400 individual medley on Friday, Namesnik, of Team Wolverine of Ann Arbor, Mich., was named performer of the meet. He also earned the high-point award for his marathon performances, including a runner-up finish in the 1,500 freestyle, two third-places, in the 400 freestyle and the 200 butterfly, and a sixth in the 200 breaststroke. He swam preliminary heats in all but the 1,500 freestyle.

The performance of the meet among women went to Northridge’s Kristine Quance of CLASS Aquatics for her 400 individual medley, a 4:48.36 that bettered the field by 14.5 seconds and ranks eighth in the world in 1991.

The women’s high-point winner was Silvia Poll of Costa Rica, winner of three events.

Mission Viejo won the overall championship with 936.5 points to 551.5 for Stanford. Dynamo of Atlanta was third with 402, followed by Team Wolverine with 400.

Despite tendinitis in her right shoulder, Summer Sanders of California Capitol won the women’s 200 individual medley. Sanders led from the opening butterfly leg for a 2:21.86, a second faster than Stanford’s Karen Kraemes.

Two of Sunday’s event winners turned in personal bests.

Mission Viejo’s Lisa Jacob knocked three-tenths of a second off her best 200 freestyle clocking with a 2:02.23, edging Sarah D. Anderson of Golden Bear by four-tenths of a second.

Mike Mason, 17, who swims unattached, lowered his best time by two seconds in the 100 breaststroke. Mason, a Canadian who lives in Santa Maria, won at the touch in 1:05.46 to Alex Marcek of San Ramon’s 1:05.51.