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MANSFIELD - Representing the United States of America in the 50 and 100 freestyle swimming events, will it be Mansfield's Nick Brunelli?

Representing the US of A in the women's 200 meter breaststroke event, will it be recent Bishop Feehan High graduate Kristen Connors, also of Mansfield?

Representing the Red, White and Blue in the men's 200 meter breaststroke, will it be former Shamrock and recent University of Virginia graduate P.J. Sullivan?

The trio of local swimmers are headed to Omaha, Nebraska for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team trials beginning Sunday and running through July 6.

"I don't expect anything, but my hopes are to be in the top 16," said Sullivan, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and NCAA All-American, who is a solid contender in the 200 meter breaststroke, while also in the field of entrants for the 100 breaststroke. "I don't have anything too specific, but I hope to go and do my best times," said the Boston University-bound Connors, the reigning MIAA State Meet champion in the 100 breaststroke. "I made the cut, now I have to see what I have left."

Brunelli was a few tenths of a second away from becoming a member of the 2004 US Olympic Team, taking third in the 50 meter freestyle at the 2004 trials. He has qualified for the Nebraska trials in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events.

Both Sullivan and Connors are products of the Attleboro Bluefish Swim Club, while the 26-year-old Brunelli, an All-America swimmer at Arizona State University, will be representing the Sun Devil Aquatics Club.

Brunelli has seven World Championship medals as member of U.S. freestyle relay teams. He took sixth place in the 50 freestyle in the 2005 World Championship Meet and is currently ranked No. 7 in the world in the 50 freestyle and 15th in the 100 freestyle.

Brunelli has been training in Arizona under the guidance of Sun Devil Aquatic Club coaches Mike Chasson and Tylson Wellock, logging some 11,000 meters during three- to four-hour daily workouts, six days a week. Brunelli's parents, John, the well-known former Postmaster for the town of Mansfield and Cynthia Brunelli, the director of Special Education for the town of Foxboro School System, depart Saturday for Omaha.

Another Mansfield resident, Connors, has been doing her laps at Attleboro High's Dentch Natatorium for three-hour morning and three-hour afternoon sessions (including dry land) seven days a week. "I've come down in my yardage to get more energy," said Connors, who departs today for the US Trials.

Connors qualified for the Olympic Trials by having clocked a time of 2:34.68 at the Santa Clara (California) Grand Prix in May. Prior to that, Connors trained in April at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

"That was very different, because of the altitude," said Connors. "That was a pretty intense week, the University of Florida was training out there at the same time."

Connors missed out on qualifying for the Olympic Trials in the 100 breaststroke by two one-hundredths of a second.

The top two (time-wise) finishers in each of the events at the trials will be named to the U.S. Olympic Team. There will be approximately 10 heats with eight swimmers in each heat. From those "time" trials, the top 16 will then advance to the semifinal round of competition. "I've been working on my pullouts, that's been kind of a weakness for me," said Connors, who won the MIAA South Sectional Meet titles in both the 100 breaststroke (1:06.5) and 200 individual medley (2:18.8). "Getting ready for this, you don't want to change too much."

The breaststroke has always been Connors' best stroke, "since I was little," she added. In fact, this past weekend, at the USA Swimming-sponsored University of Connecticut Invitational, she won the women's open 100 breaststroke event.

Connors' competition is not scheduled until Thursday, July 3, "which will give me time to get familiarized with the pool and hopefully, not let the atmosphere overwhelm me. Just to get to the Olympic Trials is such an accomplishment. To be with the best swimmers in America can only help me in my career."

Since graduating from the University of Virginia during the second week of May, Sullivan has remained in Charlottesville to train with Cavalier teammate Ryan Hurley, another contender in the 200 breaststroke and nearly 30 UVA-affiliated swimmers also heading to the Olympic Trials.

"Having access to long course (50-meter pool at UVA) training definitely helps out with racing, said Sullivan. "With the new strength and conditioning coach that we have, it's been much more of a benefit. The workouts have been intense."

Sullivan has been doing double three-hour sessions in the pool on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and single two-hour sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sullivan was a few scant half-seconds away from qualifying for the Olympic Trials four years ago.

He has routinely made the 200 breaststroke cut in each of the past three years and has a personal best time of 2:17.9. He made the cut in the 100 breaststroke in Seattle, having a personal-best time of 1:03.4. At the moment, the Franklin resident is seeded 27th in the 200 breaststroke and 31st in the 100 breaststroke. Hurley, his teammate, is seeded sixth in the 200 breaststroke.

Sullivan underwent two shoulder surgeries after his junior year. First it was arthroscopic and diagnostic surgery on his left shoulder, revealing a small tear in his rotator cuff, bursitis and chronic tendinitis. "Then my right shoulder started acting up, giving me the same problems, so they went in again," said Sullivan.

He is coming off of a spectacular senior season in which he won the Atlantic Coast Conference 200 breaststroke title and was a member of the Cavaliers' championship 200 and 400 meter medley relay teams. At the NCAA Division I Championship Meet, Sullivan finished 12th.

"I took last summer off and fell behind a bit," said Sullivan of his recovery and rehabilitation. Some 70-80 swimmers have qualified in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, but only 50-60 will actually compete. "You kind of know what to expect, you can project what it will take to get to the finals," he added.

"For me, my goal is to get into the top 16 in the 100 breaststroke, to get to the top eight, the final heat for the 200 breaststroke. If I don't get into at least one of the top 16 I'd be upset. Anything can happen at these meets."

And wouldn't it be a gold medal day to have three area Olympians?