Haddonfield’s Manion qualifies for Trials

Will Manion tried and tried again.

He tried more than 10 times.

Finally, the Haddonfield senior swimmer achieved his goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials.

Manion swam a personal-best time of 57.47 seconds in the 100 backstroke at an invitational meet last weekend at Purdue University to earn a trip to the trials, which will begin June 25 in Omaha, Neb.

"It was awesome," said Manion, two-time individual state champion during his career at Haddonfield.

Manion said he has been trying for months to get his time below Olympic Trials qualifying time of 57.59 seconds. He made multiple attempts.

His previous best was 57.76 seconds.

"I probably tried over 10 times," Manion said. "Every time I was within a half-second, but I couldn't get it."

Manion said when he look at the scoreboard after his race at Purdue, he saw his time but wasn't ready to react.

"Then I looked over at my coach [Bobby DeSandre of the Penn Aquatics swimming and diving club], and he was jumping around like he hit the lottery," Manion said. "That's when I knew."

Manion, who has signed to attend William and Mary on a swimming scholarship, knows he is a long shot to make the U.S. Olympic team. But he's excited about the opportunity to compete in the trials.

"I want to enjoy it, swim as well as I can, and maybe drop my time into the mid-56s," Manion said.