Jon Younghouse used to idolize some of the nation's top collegiate swimmers.

Now he's among them.

Such is the growing stature of the 1996 Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate, who has established himself as one of the top distance swimmers in the nation this year during his sophomore season at the University of Texas.

Younghouse has qualified for the NCAA Championships in three events and he will be a key factor as the Longhorns shoot for the national title when competition is held March 26-28 at Auburn, Ala.

Texas has won six national titles since 1979 under renowned coach Eddie Reese and the Longhorns have finished no worse than fifth in the nation every year since 1980. They were second last season and are ranked second entering this year's national meet.

"It's all been pretty unbelievable," said Younghouse during a recent telephone interview from Austin, Texas. "I've always looked up to these kinds of swimmers. Now I'm swimming with them and beating some of them.

"I've always dreamed of going to a program like this. I feel like it's a great privilege to be here."

The personable Younghouse is actually being a bit too modest because he has certainly proven -- particularly over the past year -- that he belongs among the nation's elite swimmers.

For Younghouse, who won two state titles and was named co-MVP of the 1995 Missouri Championships while competing for Cape Central, his breakthrough came during the 1997 Summer Nationals.

Younghouse's sixth-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle last summer proved to himself that he could compete against the nation's top swimmers.

"That was probably my breakthrough, as they say," said Younghouse with a laugh. "When I got sixth in the nation, that showed I could compete with the best. Some of the guys I beat there were some of the top collegiate swimmers in the nation so that gave me a lot of confidence.

"Eddie (Reese) says I wasn't known nationally until that point. So that kind of got my name out there."

Another key in his marked improvement, according to Younghouse, was the fact he stayed in Austin over the summer to train with his teammates.

"Probably about 90 percent (of the Texas swimmers) stay down here and we all train together," he said. "The coaches feel like that has made a big difference for me."

Younghouse had a solid freshman season last year, finishing fourth in the Big 12 Conference meet in two events, but he failed to qualify for the NCAAs.

But this year, buoyed by that strong showing last summer, Younghouse has thrived. He has posted career-best times of 4:24.20 in the 500-yard freestyle and 15:20.22 in the 1,650-yard freestyle to qualify for the NCAAs in both events.

Younghouse, who finished second in the Big 12 meets, ranks 16th nationally in the 1,650 and 19th nationally in the 500. And by virtue of his qualifying in the 500, he also qualified for the 400 individual medley at the NCAAs.

And making those performances all the more impressive is the fact Younghouse has not yet shaved. High-level swimmers shave their bodies prior to the biggest meet of the season in order to lessen resistance in the water.

"I'm really excited because I've been swimming really well this year and I haven't shaved yet," he said. "You basically just want to have one taper, as they call it, for the biggest meet at the end. Shaving makes a real noticeable difference so I hope to swim my fastest times at the NCAAs."

Qualifying for the NCAA Championships this season was Younghouse's major goal.

"Last year I just missed it by a couple of places. For the past 11 months, that's all I've been concentrating on," he said. "The season has just really gone well, probably even gone better than I expected. I've already gotten my personal best times unshaved. I've just really improved a lot."

And if Younghouse, who also excels in the classroom -- the sports management major landed a spot on the most recent Big 12 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll by registering a 3.0 or better grade-point average -- continues to improve over the next couple of years, he could even climb into the picture for the 2,000 Olympics.

"That's always something you think about," he said. "Based on my times last summer, those are already good enough to make it to the Olympic Trials in 2,000, so I'd love to do that.

"But we'll just have to see how it all goes. I've been fortunate enough to steadily improve since I've been at Texas. My goals are pretty much to just get better all the time."