2020 Swammy Awards: Age Group Swimmer of the Year – 11-12

To see all of our 2020 Swammy Awards, click here.

2020 Honorees: Kayla Han

11-12 Girls

Kayla Han – La Mirada Armada (La Mirada, CA)

In the few racing opportunities she had this year, Han was consistently at the top of the girls 11-12 age group. She finished the year with 16 top-ten times; in all but one event she was ranked either 1st or 2nd. In SCY, Han was the top performer in the age group in the 200 free, 1000 free, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM, and she was #2 in the 500 free and 100 fly. She qualified for USA Swimming Futures in each of those events.

In LCM, she finished the year 1st in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM, 2nd in the 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, and 100 fly, and 6th in the 100 breast. Three of her LCM bests (100 free, 800 free, and 100 breast) date from January when she was still 11. Han was the youngest competitor at the 2020 U.S. Open in Irvine in November, where she picked up her first qualification time for Winter Juniors with a 4:58.36 in the 400m IM. She is one of only three girls in the age group with a Winter Juniors standard.

Han ranks 1st among 12-year-old girls in IMX scores for the 2020-21 SCY season, to date.

With another couple of months left before she ages into the 13-14s, Han has 14 swims on the all-time top-100 lists: SCY 200 free (27th), 500 free (20th), 1000 free (15th), 100 fly (70th), 200 fly (12th), 200 IM (24th), and 400 IM (8th); and LCM 200 free (26th), 400 free (15th), 800 free (33rd), 100 fly (100th), 200 fly (10th), 200 IM (12th), and 400 IM (3rd).

Runner-Up

Claire Weinstein – Westchester Aquatic Club (New Rochelle, NY)

Weinstein was one of the two other 11-12 girls to score Winter Juniors cuts before turning 13 (the third was Alexis Mesina, who punched her ticket in the 200y breast). She earned her invitations in the 400m free (4:21.82) and 1500m free (17:16.07).

She was a top-ten performer 12 times during 2020. She ranked #1 for the year in the SCY 500 free and 1650 free and the LCM 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, and 1500 free. She was the 2nd-fastest swimmer in the 200y free, 400y IM, and 400m IM; 3rd in the 100m back and 200m IM; and 5th in the 200y back.

Weinstein left the 11-12s with all-time SCY rankings in the 100 free (99th), 200 free (20th), 500 free (8th), 1000 free (4th), 1650 free (3rd), and 400 IM (34th); and LCM rankings in the 100 free (48th), 200 free (18th), 400 free (5th), 800 free (11th), 1500 free (6th), 200 back (34th), and 400 IM (23rd).

After aging up, she dropped 10 seconds in the 500 free and 16 seconds in the 1000 free to finish the year ranked #1 in the girls 13-14 age category in both events. She was also 3rd in the 200y free and 200m free, 7th in the 400m free, and 9th in the 1500m free. She qualified for Winter U.S. Open in the 200y free and 400m free, Summer Nationals in the 1000y free, Summer Juniors in the 500y free and 200m free, and Winter Juniors in the 1500m free.

Honorable Mention

• Zuri Ferguson – Bluefish Swim Club-NE: Ferguson was only in the age group for the first two months of the year but she remained unsurpassed in four events. She finished 2020 with the #1 times in the SCY 50/100 back and LCM 100/200 back. She was also #2 in the 50m free; #3 in the 200y back and 100m free; #4 in the 100y IM; #5 in the 50y free; and #8 in the 1000y free. Ferguson aged out of the 11-12s with all-time top performances in the SCY 50 back (6th), 100 back (17th), and 200 back and the LCM 50 free (79th), 100 free (37th), 50 back (32nd), 100 back (13th), and 200 back (27th).

• Haley Johnson – Waukesha Express Swim Team-WI: Johnson was the top IMX points winner for 12-year-old girls in the 2019-20 SCY season and she is #2 behind Han in the 2020-21 SCY season. At the end of the year she ranked #2 in the 100y breast and 200y IM; #3 in the 50y breast and 200y fly; #4 in the 1000y free, 100y fly, and 400y IM; #7 in the 500y free; and #9 in the 1650 free. She owns 5 times on the all-time lists for the age group: 50y breast (29th), 100y breast (53rd), 200y breast (60th), 200y IM (46th), and 50m breast (66th).

• Devon Silberman – Saddleback El Toro Aquatics-CA: Silberman logged nine top-10 times for the year, all in LCM, and all in the first two months of the year. She was the #1 performer in the LCM 100 breast and 200 breast; #2 in the 50 breast; #4 in the 200 fly; #6 in the 400 IM; #7 in the 50 fly; #8 in the 50 free and 100 fly; and #10 in the 100 free.

11-12 Boys

Sam Marsteiner – New Wave Swim Team (Raleigh, NC)

Marsteiner topped the boys 11-12 age group with 15 top-ten swims for the year; he ranked 1st or 2nd in all but two of them. In LCM he posted the #1 times in all his events: 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free, and 200 back. In SCY, he was 1st in the 1650 free; 2nd in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, and 200 back; 5th in the 100 fly; and 10th in the 200 IM.

He aged into the 13-14 age group in November and promptly dropped 16 seconds in the 1000 free, 3.5 in the 500 free, 1.1 in the 200 free, and 1 in the 100 free, among others.

Marsteiner appears 13 times on the all-time top-100 lists for 11-12 boys. In SCY, he ranks 44th in the 100 free, 13th in the 200 free, 18th in the 500 free, 24th in the 1000 free, 12th in the 1650 free, 16th in the 200 back, and 65th in the 100 fly. His LCM bests include 100 free (100th), 200 free (31st), 400 free (63rd), 800 free (9th), 1500 free (8th), and 200 back (15th).

Runner-Up

Thomas Heilman – Piedmont Family YMCA/CYAC (Charlottesville, VA)

Heilman spent only 2 months in the age group but it was enough to take down another National Age Group Record in the 100 fly. In fact, he lowered his own NAG mark, set in November 2019, by .59 with 50.82. When he moved into the 13-14s in February, he was the owner of SCY NAGs in the 50/100/200 free and 50/100/200 fly.

In addition to the 100y fly, Heilman notched the top times for the year in the SCY 50 free, 200 free, 500 free, 50 back, 200 fly, 100 IM, and 200 IM. He was #2 in the SCY 100 back and 50 breast, #4 in the SCY 100 breast and 200 breast, and #5 in the SCY 200 back.

He left the age group with all-time top-100 performances in the SCY 50/100/200/500 free, 50/100/200 back, 50/100 breast, 50/100/200 fly, and 100/200/400 IM and in the LCM 50/100/200 free and 50/100/200 fly.

Honorable Mention

• John-Paul Brostowitz – Schroeder YMCA Swim Team-WI: Brostowitz logged a total of ten top-ten times during 2020, including the age group’s fastest 50m back and 100m back. He also ranked 2nd in the 200m back, 3rd in the 50y back, 100y back and 50m free, 4th in the 200y IM, 5th in the 200y breast, and 8th in the 100y IM and 400y IM. Brostowitz has made the all-time top-100 lists for the age category seven times: SCY 50 back (66th), 100 back (90th), 200 breast (97th), and 200 IM (63rd); and LCM 50 back (77th), 100 back (34th), and 200 back (49th).

• Bogdan Zverev – Sarasota Sharks-FL: Zverev put up ten top-ten times during 2020. In IMX rankings, he placed 3rd for 11-year-olds in the 2019-20 SCY season and is 2nd, so far, for 12-year-olds in the 2020-21 SCY season. He wrapped up 2020 with the #1 time for the year in the 200m fly; #2 in the 200m free and 100m fly; #3 in the 100m back; #4 in the 200m back; #5 in the 400m free and 200m IM; #6 in the 100y fly; #7 in the 100y IM; and #10 in the 200y fly.

• Jason Sugihara – Gold Medal Swim Club-AZ: Sugihara ended 2020 ranked #2 in IMX points for 11-year-olds in the SCY 2019-20 season, and #3 for 12-year-olds in the SCY 2020-21 season, to date. He notched ten top-10 swims, including the #2 50y fly and 100y IM; #5 100y breast; #6 50y free; #7 50y breast and 400y IM; #8 100y free; #9 100y fly; and #10 200y free. Seven of his swims made the all-time top-100 lists: SCY 50 free (98th), 50 breast (90th), 100 breast (89th), 200 breast (98th), 50 fly (57th), 100 IM (26th), and 400 IM (68th).

Past Winners