A lot has changed in Brennan Morris' life since what he calls "a nerve-wracking" Olympic Trials two summers ago.
 
He graduated from high school, made his first international team and started and completed his first year of college -- all within the past year.
 
Now, with the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and a shot at another international team quickly approaching, Morris knows the disappointment he experienced in Omaha in 2008 continues to fuel his passion for continued success in 2010 and beyond.
 
And despite swimming in what he hopes will be his first of many World Championships last summer in Rome, Morris doesn't anticipate feeling any cause for anxiety or concern over his fast, recent success.
 
"I wouldn't say I feel more pressure now; I just have higher expectations for myself," said Morris, who started swimming at age 4 and remembers racing the older men at his local YMCA as a five- and six-year-old. "It's doesn't matter what level of swimming I was at, but I would always have the same desire to continue to excel and get better. My goal will always be to better myself and compete at the international level and represent the United States to the best of my ability."
 
Morris' road to a 15-place finish in the 1,500 freestyle at the 2009 World Championships didn't come without its share of challenges along the way.
 
Months before Olympic Trials, a back injury he suffered two years earlier resurfaced -- putting his first Trials experience, not to mention his dreams of making his first Olympic team, in jeopardy.
 
"I first hurt my back when I was about 15, and in the beginning of 2008, I had a flare-up of the same injury," Morris said. "I had X-rays and MRIs and found out I had a stress fracture on each side of my back. It greatly affected my training that year because there was a stretch where I had to take a couple of weeks off at a time to rest my back."
 
The combination of his back injury and time out of the water resulted in disappointing results at Trials -- 25th in the 400 individual medley and 56th in his signature 1,500 freestyle -- but the improvement in his swimming between 2008 and 2009 proved to be startling.
 
Even without longtime distance stalwarts Peter Vanderkaay (didn't swim the event), Larsen Jensen (retired) and Erik Vendt (retired) in the event, Morris blew everyone's mind -- including his own -- en route to a second-place finish in the 1,500 free at U.S. Nationals.
 
He shaved an amazing 45 seconds off of his Trials time to earn his first spot on the U.S. World Championship Team as an 18-year-old -- becoming the youngest member of the U.S. team. He also finished 10th in the 400 IM.
 
"I was feeling very confident heading into World Championship Trials," said Morris, who relocated to Baltimore from Pennsylvania with mom, Kathleen, and sister, Camryne, when he was 15 so he could train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC). His father, William, stayed behind for his work, and older sister, Kailey, was away at college, where she is also a swimmer.
 
"I wasn't necessarily thinking about making the team, but I was training at my best for a long time, so I was interested to see how well I would do. The 1,500 was a very young event in 2009 without Peter, Larsen and Erik, and I qualified fourth for finals. That was when I first started thinking I had a pretty good chance to at least compete for a World Championship spot."
 
With his freshman year at Loyola University (Md.) completed – having chosen the school for its academic reputation as well as proximity to home and NBAC -- Morris is more focused than ever to duplicate his 2009 Nationals success. His goal is to make another international team – gunning for a spot on the Pan Pacific contingent that will compete in Irvine, Calif., this August.
           
Since the end of the 2009-10 NCAA season, he has competed well in both the Columbus (Ohio) Grand Prix (third in the 400 IM) and Charlotte UltraSwim (fourth in the 1,500 free), but he knows he still has some progress to make to be the force he knows he can be at Nationals.
 
"Both meets went fairly well, but nothing great," said Morris, who has become a big Baltimore Orioles fan and attends as many home games as he can. "I am very excited at this point as we get closer to Nationals."