To see all of our 2016 Swammy Awards presented by TYR, click here
2016 Honorees: Leah Hayes and Jaeddan Gamilla
10 & Under Girls
Leah Hayes – USA Athletic Club Tidal Waves Swim Club, Aurora, Illinois
Hayes dominated the 10-and-under age group this year, finishing 2016 with a remarkable 13 #1 swims and four national age group records. In short course season she topped the charts in the 50/100/200/500y free, 50/100y breast, and 100/200y IM. Over the summer she finished #1 in long course meters in the 100/200m free, 50/100m breast, and 200m IM. Hayes was also the second-fastest 50m freestyler, the #5 50y flyer, and the #9 100m flyer.
Long Course NAG records:
100m free – 1:01.29 – 8/4/16
200m free –2:14.39 – 8/7/16
50m breast – 36.06 – 8/5/16
200m IM – 2:30.97 – 8/6/16
This fall she moved into the 11-12 age group and immediately stood out as one of the top 11-year-olds in the country. She wound up second in both the 200y free and 500y free, and received top-ten honors in the 50/100y free, 50/100y breast, and 100/200 IM.
Runner-Up
Kate Christian – Diablo Aquatics (California):
Christian showed all-around strength, notching a total of 14 top-ten swims in free, back, breast, fly, and IM. They included: #1 in the 50y fly; #2 in the 50m fly and 200y IM; #3 in the 400m free, 100m back, and 100y IM; #4 in the 50m back; #5 in the 50y back, 50y breast and 100y fly; #7 in the 200m IM; #8 in the 100m fly; #9 in the 50m breast; and #10 in the 100y breast. She also placed #5 in IMX rankings for short-course and #3 for long course.
Honorable Mention
In no particular order:
- Caitlin Horning – Delaware Swim Team (DE): Horning swam as a 10-year-old for 3/4 of 2016, during which time she established herself as one of the top all-around swimmers in the age group. She was #1 in the 100y back and 100y fly, and #2 in the 100m fly. Other top-ten swims included: 50/100y free, 50y back, 100m back, 50y fly, 50m fly, and 100/200y IM. Horning wrapped up the 2015-16 short course season ranked #2 in IMX for 9-year-old girls.
- Courtney Watts – The Fish (VA): In addition to clocking the #1 400m free time in the country for 10-year-old girls, Watts landed in the top ten 10 more times: 50/100/200m free, 50/100y back, 50/100m back, 100/200y IM, and 200m IM. She was #6 in IMX rankings for short course season, and #5 for long course.
10 & Under Boys
Jaeddan Gamilla – Maverick Swim Club, Naperville, Illinois
Gamilla emerged as the most polyvalent 10-and-under for the year, finishing in the top ten in 16 events. While he turned 11 in July, no other 10-year-old surpassed him in the 50y breast, 50y fly, 100m fly, and 100/200y IM during 2016. Gamilla finished the year ranked #1 in the IMX rankings for 10-year-old boys in both the short course yards season and the long course meters season. In addition, he turned in the second-fastest 100y back, 100y breast, and 100m breast; the third-fastest 50y back and 50m breast; the fourth 50m fly, 100y fly, and 200y IM; the sixth 100y free; and the 10th 50y free and 50m back.
After aging up in July, Gamilla established himself as one of the top 11-year-olds in the country this fall. He wrapped up 2016 with top-10 times in the 50y back, 50/100y breast, 100y fly, and 100/200y IM. He also finished in the top 20 in the 100/200/1000y free, 100/200y back, and 50 fly.
Runners-Up:
Cooper Lucas – Lakeside Aquatic Club (Texas)
Although he only spent half the year in the 10-and-under age category, Lucas nonetheless remained unbeaten in five events: 100m free, 200y free, 400m free, 500y free, and 50m fly. He was second-fastest in the 50m free, 100y free, 100y fly, 100m fly, 200y IM, and 200m IM. His other top-ten swims included: 50y free, 200m free, 50y fly, and 100y IM. Lucas was #2 10-year-old boy in IMX rankings for SCY and #3 for LCM.
As an 11-year-old he is the fastest 200y freestyler and 400y IMer in the country so far this swim season. He also turned in top-ten performances in the LCM 200/400m free, 200m fly, and 200m IM; as well as the SCY 50/100/500y free, 50/100/200y fly, and 200y IM.
Chase Swearingen – Ohio State Swim Club (Ohio)
Like Lucas, Swearingen wound down 2016 with 15 top-ten times in the 10-and-under age group. He was #1 in the 50m free, 50/100y back, and 100m back, #2 in the 100m free, 50m back, and 100y IM, and #3 in the 50y free and 200m IM. Other top-ten swims included: 100/200y free, 200m free, 50/100y breast, and 50m breast. He scored at the #3 spot for 10-year-olds in the IMX rankings for the 2015-16 swim year.
This fall, Swearingen has led the nation for 11-year-old boys in the 50y back and 100y back. He also notched top-ten times in the 50y free, and top-20 times in the 100y free, 50y breast, and 100/200y IM.
Honorable Mention
In no particular order:
- Kaii Winkler – Miami Swimming (FL): Winkler, who won’t be 11 until early next spring, landed in the top ten 12 times this year: in free, fly, and IM. He put up the second-fastest times in the 200/500y free; and was #3 in the 100/400m free and 100m fly, #4 in the 200y IM, #5 in the 100y IM and 200m IM, #6 in the 200m free, 50m fly and 100y fly, and #7 in the 100y free. Winkler was the #1 9-year-old in short course yards and the #2 10-year-old in long course meters in IMX rankings for the 2015-16 swim season.
- Michael Mullen – Nation’s Capital Swim Club (MD): Mullen, also a free/fly/IMer, ended the year with ten top-10 performances for 10-year-old boys. They included 50/200/400m free, 200/500y free, 50/100y fly, 50/100m fly, and 200m IM.
Here is the new 10&under 200 free NAG from last week:)
https://youtu.be/8ZYO3LBRYeE
Hi, this is indeed a very old and ongoing debate and other Nations indeed don’t start training 5+ sessions until swimmers have reached 14 years in Age, because of this same rational mentioned in one of the comments above. Now my son Kaii Winkler just broke the 10& under 200free NAG, he trains 3-6 days per week depending on if he is preparing for a meet or having a few easy weeks.
Most weeks it turns out to be 4 times, one must remember that speed even at an early age does not only come from practice, talent matters too as well as the swimmers technical skill level and confidence and let’s not forget that kids from different backgrounds… Read more »
Good job
Congrats Leah
I’m glad u get this opportunity
Luv u Leah I’m glad u get this opportunity
Very admirable for swimmers to experience such success at a young age. I just question whether it is developmentally appropriate to be ranking at age 10. http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=2208&itemid=4306&mid=11880
Seriously, what is wrong with a Swimmer of the Year Award for any age? Anyone against this baffles me. Keep it in context, folks. This is positive stuff…
great comment skeptic. i also don’t understand the negativity. these kids are talented swimmers who work very hard. shouldn’t matter what age they are. the chance of any swimmer reaching the highest level is very small. that’s not the point here. even if they don’t reach the highest level, at least they can say they were one of the best 10 yr olds at one point in their swimming lives. sure is something neither i nor any of these critics can say about themselves or their own kids.
Leah Hayes also broke the 50 free NAG record in 28.33 but she has been briefly the record holder as Adele Zyniewicz swam 28.14 a few days later. She owns 4 NAG records in long course.