Silly Question - Qualifying Times

Hello, I'm brand new to the site and to Masters Swimming. I was wondering about the qualifying times for nationals. I've read the rules about how many events you can enter and how many cuts you need to get. But I was only planning on entering the Michigan Masters State meet before nationals which is actually held March 23-25 this year. So my events would be after the registration deadline for nationals on the 23rd. Since I won't be able to use these state times can I use time trial times from practice? This seems like a ridiculous question to me but since so many other things about Masters are more relaxed than USA Swimming I thought it would be worth asking. There is another meet I could enter earlier in March but it is listed as 'recognized' as opposed to 'sanctioned'. I'm not sure what this means. Would times there count towards qualifying? Thanks in advance for your advice. I'm excited to see you all in Greensboro!!! :-D