2020 Swammy Awards: Age Group Swimmer of the Year – 13-14

2020 Honorees: Erika Pelaez and Thomas Heilman

13-14 Girls

Erika Pelaez, Eagle Aquatics (Miami, FL)

In a year where no National Age Group Records were broken, Pelaez stood out for her consistency and versatility throughout 2020. As the year wound down, she found herself with 16 top-six times and the #2 IMX score for 14-year-old girls in the 2020-21 SCY season thus far.

She finished the year ranked #1 in the 13-14 age group in the SCY 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, and 50 breast and the LCM 100 free and 50 back. She was also 2nd in the 100y fly and 100m back; 3rd in the 200y back, 50m free, and 200m back; 5th in the 200y free, 50y back, 100y IM, and 200m free; and 6th in the 100m fly.

In February, when she was still 13, Pelaez became the youngest 2020 Olympic Trials qualifier at Plantation Sectionals with swims of 56.03 in the 100m free and 1:02.65m in the 100 back. Her 100 free time was the fastest ever recorded by a 13-year-old, undercutting Missy Franklin’s 56.14 from the 2008 Olympic Trials.

Not even a high schooler yet, she won Florida High School Class 1A state titles in the 50 free and 100 free, as a 7th grader and an 8th grader, at the 2019 and 2020 FHSAA State Championships.

In SCY, she ranks #7 all-time in the 50 free, #12 in the 100 free, #79 in the 200 free, #7 (tied) in the 50 back, #35 in the 200 back, and #19 in the 100 fly. In LCM, she is 20th in the 50 free, 7th in the 100 free, 74th in the 200 free, 31st in the 100 back, 62nd in the 200 back, and 73rd in the 100 fly.

Runners-Up

Teammates Bella Sims and Katie Grimes from Sandpipers of Nevada each had outstanding years and share the Runner-Up designation for 2020.

Bella Sims, Sandpipers of Nevada (Las Vegas, NV)

Sims aged out of the 13-14s in the spring but before she left, she posted the year’s top times in the SCY 200 back and 100 fly and LCM 200 free and 200 fly, was #2 in the LCM 1500 free and 400 IM, #3 in the SCY 500 free, #4 in the LCM 400 free, 100 fly, and 200 IM, and #5 in the SCY 50 free. She earned the seven LCM PBs at PSS Knoxville, including 2020 Olympic Trials cuts in the 1500m free, 200m fly, and 400m IM. She was the top-ranking IMX point-winner among 14-year-old girls in the SCY 2019-20 season.

Since moving into the 15-16s, Sims has added Trials cuts in the 100m free, 200m free, 400m free, 800m free, and 200m IM. She left the 13-14s with all-time top-100 rankings in the SCY 50 free (#73), 100 free (#56), 200 free (#62), 500 free (#23), 1000 free (#2), 100 back (#85), 200 back (#27), 100 fly (#5), 200 fly (#7), 200 IM (#9), and 400 IM (#36), as well as the LCM 100 free (#29), 200 free (#18), 400 free (#7), 800 free (#9), 1500 free (#32), 100 fly (#65), 200 fly (#30), 200 IM (#18), and 400 IM (#37).

Katie Grimes, Sandpipers of Nevada (Las Vegas, NV)

Grimes, too, notched three Olympic Trials time standards in 2020, qualifying in the 400m free, 800m free, and 400m IM. She had also qualified in the 1500m free in December 2019. She finished the year ranked #1 in the 13-14s in all three events. She was 2nd in the SCY 1000 free, 200 back, and 400 IM and the LCM 200 back; 6th in the LCM 200 IM; and 10th in the LCM 200 free.

She had the #1 IMX score for 13-year-old girls in the SCY 2019-20 season and holds the #1 score for 14-year-old girls in the SCY 2020-21 season, to date.

Grimes is leaving the age group with all-time SCY rankings of #77 in the 200 free, #19 in the 500 free, #9 in the 1000 free, #8 in the 1650 free, #18 in the 200 back, and #3 in the 400 IM. In LCM, she is ranked #62 in the 200 free, #6 in the 400 free, #13 in the 800 free, #11 in the 1500 free, #32 in the 200 back, #100 in the 200 IM, and #11 in the 400 IM.

Honorable Mention

• Teagan O’Dell, Irvine Novaquatics-CA: O’Dell, who moved from Chino Hills Aquatics to Irvine NOVA during the year, logged 15 top-ten swims in 2020. She displayed her versatility with end-of-year rankings of 1st in the 400y IM; 2nd in the 200y IM; 3rd in the 200y breast and 200m IM; 4th in the 400m IM; 5th in the 100y breast and 100m back; 6th in the 200y free, 200y back, and 200m back; 7th in the 100y back; 8th in the 200m breast; 9th in the 500y free and 100m breast; and 10th in the 100y free.
  O’Dell’s all-time top-100 rankings include SCY 200 free (#84), 100 back (#56), 200 back (#32), 100 breast (#57), 200 breast (#43), 200 IM (#14), and 400 IM (#15); and LCM 200 IM (#59) and 400 IM (#99).

• Levenia Sim, TNT Swimming-SE: Sim led the age group in four events, one of which, the 200y fly, she swam while still 13. She ranked 1st in the 50y back, 50y fly, 200y fly, and 100m back; #2 in the 100y back and 50m fly; #5 in the 100y fly; #7 in the 200y back; and #9 in the 50y breast. Her 100m back time, which she achieved in time trials at U.S. Open-Huntsville, is a 2020 Olympic Trials cut.
  Sim still has a few months left in the age group but already ranks 13th all-time in the 100y back, 86th in the 200y back, 33rd in the 100y fly, 26th in the 200y fly, and 16th in the 100m back.

13-14 Boys

Thomas Heilman, Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA (Charlottesville, VA)

No sooner had he aged up into the 13-14s, Heilman began to make his mark on the age group. In November, he destroyed a pair of National Age Group Records in the LCM 100 free and 100 fly at the 2020 U.S. Open in Richmond. He began with a 50m free of 23.36 that was the second-fastest ever for 13-14 boys, a mere .17 away from Michael Andrew’s NAG of 23.19. After that near-miss, he cracked a 54.45 in the 100 fly to take down Andrew’s NAG of 54.59 from 2014. The next day he unleashed a 51.20 in the 100 free, surpassing Andrew’s 2014 mark of 51.30.

In addition to the LCM 50m free, 100m free, and 100m fly, Heilman had the fastest SCY 100 fly time for 13-14 boys. He finished the year 2nd in the SCY 50 free, 100 free, and 200 fly; 3rd in the SCY 200 free; 5th in the SCY 100 IM and 400 IM; and 6th in the SCY 200 IM.

Heilman is .17 away from a 2020 Olympic Trials cut in the 50m free. He needs to drop .26 in the 100m fly and .71 in the 100m free to qualify in those events.

With another year and a quarter to go in the age group, Heilman already has three all-time top-100 rankings in LCM (1st in the 100 free and 100 fly; 2nd in the 50 free) and seven in SCY: 50 free (tied for 6th), 100 free (6th), 200 free (7th), 100 fly (3rd), 200 fly (tied for 3rd), 200 IM (54th), and 400 IM (35th).

Runner-Up

Daniel Diehl, Cumberland YMCA (Cumberland, MD)

Diehl was the only other NAG record-breaker in the boys 13-14 age category this year. Just before aging up in October, he notched a pair of records in the 200y free and 100y back. First, he competed at an Eagle Swim Team intrasquad meet with the express purpose of taking a shot at the 200 free mark. After having gone 1:40.01 at the Maryland Short Course State Meet in March, he swam a blazing 1:36.75, annihilating Destin Lasco’s 2016 mark of 1:38.24. A week later at the KA Fall Closed Invite, he added a 100 back NAG with 47.44, eclipsing Michael Andrew’s 2014 record by .39 and fell just short of breaking a third NAG, going 44.00 in the 100 free (Andrew’s 43.90 has stood since 2014).

In November, the newly-turned 15-year-old Diehl earned his first 2020 Olympic Trials cut in the 100m back (55.46) at U.S. Open in Richmond. He hopes to qualify in three more events: 100m free (off by .79), 200m free (2.07), and 200m IM (6.69).

Diehl left the 13-14 age group with all-time top-100 rankings in the SCY 50 free (5th), 100 free (2nd), 200 free (1st), 100 back (1st), 200 back (46th), 100 fly (7th), 200 fly (55th), 200 IM (11th), and 400 IM (11th); and in the LCM 100 back (26th), 200 back (65th), and 200 IM (2:10.78).

Honorable Mention

• Cooper Lucas, Lakeside Aquatic Club-NT: Lucas aged up halfway through the year but remained unsurpassed among 13-14 boys in ten events: SCY 500 free, 1000 free, 200 fly, and 400 IM and LCM 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free, 200 fly, and 400 IM. He ranked 2nd in the 200y free, 3rd in the 1650y free, 4th in the 200y IM, 6th in the 100y fly, and 9th in the 100y free. Lucas had the #1 IMX ranking among 14-year-old boys for the SCY 2019-20 season.
  Lucas left the 13-14 age group with all-time rankings of #91 in the 100y free, #5 in the 200y free, #2 in the 500y free, #2 in the 1000y free, #3 in the 1650y free, #78 in the 100y fly, #2 in the 200y fly, #24 in the 200y IM, #5 in the 400y IM, #12 in the 200m free, #17 in the 400m free, #5 in the 800m free, #17 in the 1500m free, #14 in the 200m fly, #33 in the 200m IM, and #5 in the 400m IM.

• Humberto Najera, Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA: Although he aged up before the summer, Najera wrapped up 2020 with 12 top-ten rankings for 13-14 boys. He posted the fastest time in the 200m back; was #2 in the 200y back, 200m free, 400m free, 800m free, and 100m back; #3 in the 200m IM and 400m IM; #4 in the 200y fly; #7 in the 100m free; and #8 in the 400y IM and 100m fly.
  All-time, he made top-100 in the 200y back (17th), 200y fly (55th), 400y IM (28th), 200m free (58th), 400m free (52nd), 800m free (20th), 200m back (18th), 200m IM (43rd), and 400m IM (12th).

Past Winners