COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Olympians Haley Anderson (Granite Bay, Calif./Trojan Swim Club) and Jordan Wilimovsky (Malibu, Calif./Team Santa Monica) and fellow 2017 FINA World Championships medalists Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif./Cavalier Swimming) and Ashley Twichell (Fayetteville, N.Y./TAC Titans) are expected to headline the USA Swimming Open Water National Championships and Open Water Junior National Championships opening Friday at Tempe (Ariz.) Town Lake.

Competing across 10-, 7.5- and 5-kilometer distances, the nation’s top open water swimmers and top juniors will aim for spots on U.S. rosters for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and FINA World Junior Open Water Championships, as well as positions on the 2018-19 Open Water National Team and Open Water National Junior Team.

The 10K will serve as the qualifier for this summer’s Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, while the FINA World Junior Open Water Championships roster will be determined across all three race distances.

More than 200 event entries are expected across the weekend. The races will be contested on a 2.5K-loop course in Tempe Town Lake, and admission is free for spectators to watch the action.

The full event schedule in Tempe is as follows (all times MST/PDT):

• Friday: 10K National Championships: women, 8 a.m.; men, 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday: 5K Junior National Championships (under 15): men, 8 a.m.; women, 8:05 a.m.
• Sunday: 5K National Championships: men, 8 a.m.; women, 8:05 a.m.
• Sunday: 7.5K Junior National Championships (ages 16-17): men, 11 a.m.; women, 11:05 a.m.

Twichell and Wilimovsky are the reigning 10K national champions, while Anderson and fellow National Team member David Heron (Mission Viejo, Calif./University of Tennessee) won the 5K titles year at Castaic Lake, California. Erica Sullivan (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Noah Brune (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo Nadadores) claiming the first-ever 5K junior titles in 2017.