OMAHA, Neb. - Josh Prenot had one final chance to punch his ticket to Rio. Nathan Adrian wanted to earn his trip with the first chance he had. Anthony Ervin had designs on showing he has plenty left to offer for Team USA.

All three hit their mark on a thrilling day five at the U.S. Olympic Trials and each were rewarded with exactly what they came to CenturyLink Center to get - the title of U.S. Olympian.

Prenot got in the pool first for the 200-meter breaststroke and figured to be locked in a battle from start to finish with Kevin Cordes, who earned a spot in Rio with a win in the 100 breast, and Will Licon of Texas. That came to fruition, with Cordes jumping out to the lead and keeping it over the first 150 meters. 

That's when Prenot, who recently finished his senior season, made his move. He covered the final 50 in 32.98 seconds and stopped the clock in 2:07.17, breaking Eric Shanteau's American record of 2:07.42 to win the race and qualify for the Olympics.

"It feels amazing," Prenot said. "Before tonight, that was probably the most nervous I've even been for a race, so staying calm was a bit of a challenge. It ended up working out."

The 100 freestyle featured three more Golden Bears and a pair emerged by the end of another fast swim. Ervin jumped out to the lead at the 50-meter mark but Adrian hauled in the field over the last 50, taking the win with a time of 47.72. Ervin placed fourth in 48.54, earning a relay spot in Rio and his third trip to the Olympics. Will Copeland just missed his own trip to Rio, placing seventh, but he'll join Adrian and Ervin again in the 50 free beginning Friday.

"We're excited," Adrian said. "We say it over and over and sound like a broken record but Trials is about racing and getting your hand on the wall. Now, we can focus a little more on performance, I think."

Cal swimming wasn't nearly done. Early in the evening, the women took their turn with the semifinals of the 100 freestyle and, with five Golden Bears among the 16, the odds were definitely in favor of success. 
Incoming freshman Abbey Weitzel turned in one of the more electric swims of the evening and earned the No. 1 seed for Friday's final with a time of 53.57. Dana Vollmer ranked fourth at 53.74 while Madison Kennedy placed ninth, just missing the final but perhaps setting the stage for the 50 freestyle yet to come. 

Katie McLaughlin punctuated the night for the Cal women with a sixth-place finish in the finals of the 200 butterfly, and again demonstrated how bright the future is for the Bears.

"We were saying that we have the future of the program, the current program and people that have been in the program for a long time," said head coach Teri McKeever. "It's really exciting to see so many people at so many different stages of life competing and doing well."

The Cal men also ensured they'd be back in the finals on Friday night thanks to a duel between Ryan Murphy and Jacob Pebley in the 200 backstroke semis. Pebley set the top time in the morning session but Murphy countered with the top mark in the evening and they'll both be in the middle of the pool on Friday as the top two seeds. And, incoming sophomore Andrew Seliskar put the cap on an impressive day with a finals berth of his own, qualifying eighth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:59.86.

The calendar turns to July on Friday with another full day of racing in Omaha. The morning session will feature prelims for the men's 50 free, women's 800 free, men's 100 fly and women's 200 back. The evening session kicks off with the men's 50 free semifinal and continues with the women's 200  breast final, men's 200 back final, women's 200 back semifinal, men's 200 IM final, women's 100 free final and men's 100 fly semifinal.

Complete Results
 
Evening Session –
Men's 200-meter breaststroke final – 1. Josh Prenot 2:017.17
Women's 100-meter freestyle semifinals - 1. Abbey Weitzeil 53.57; 4. Dana Vollmer 53.74; 9. Madison Kennedy 54.18; 11. Missy Franklin 54.24; 14. Natalie Coughlin 54.87
Men's 200-meter backstroke semifinals - 1. Ryan Murphy 1:55.04; 2. Jacob Pebley 1:55.18
Women's 200-meter butterfly final - 6. Katie McLaughlin 2:10.87
Men's 100-meter freestyle final - 1. Nathan Adrian 47.72; 4. Anthony Ervin 48.54; 7. Will Copeland 49.12
Men's 200-meter individual medley semifinals - 8. Andrew Seliskar 1:59.86

Prelims –
Women's 100-meter freestyle - 1. Abbey Weitzel 53.58; 3. Dana Vollmer 53.80; 8. Madison Kennedy 54.24; 9. Missy Franklin 54.41; 11. Natalie Coughlin 54.73; 37. Rachel Bootsma 56.20; 69 Rachael Acker 56.96; 73. Kristen Vredeveld 57.05; 73. Elizabeth Pelton 57.05
Men's 200-meter backstroke - 1. Jacob Pebley 1:56.29; 3. Ryan Murphy 1:57.35; 24. Mike Thomas 2:01.81; 105. Jesse Ryckman 2:08.17
Women's 200-meter breaststroke - 57. Maija Roses 2:34.09
Men's 200-meter individual medley - 4. Andrew Seliskar 1:59.89; 14. Adam Hinshaw 2:01.72; 68. 'Aukai Lileikis 2:06.76