To see all of our 2022 Swammy Awards, click here.
2022 Honorees: Drue Rogers & Ayden Tan
Editor’s note: because of ongoing challenges with the USA Swimming results database, identifying all of the top candidates for this year’s age group awards in an objective way has been challenging. We’ve done our best to find them, but it’s possible that we missed someone obvious. If that’s the case, please let us know in the comments!
There were no individual 10 & under National Age Group Records this year, which leaves a wide-open competition for this year’s age group honors.
Girls Award: Drue Rogers, Lakeside Aquatic Club (TX)
Three swimmers from the girls’ 10 & under group stood out in 2022, but one stood out even above that group Drue Rogers from the Lakeside Aquatic Club in Texas.
Last year’s award winner Delaney O’Toole aged up before she raced in 2022, leaving room for some of the later-in-the-year birthday swimmers to step into the vacuum in the spring of 2022.
Rogers won all 7 individual events she entered at the North Texas age group championships in March, and also had the fastest time in prelims of each of those events.
Rogers’ Best Times, 9-10, SCY:
- 50 free – 27.13
- 100 free – 56.20
- 200 free – 2:01.26
- 500 free – 5:31.25
- 100 back – 1:04.31
- 100 fly – 1:01.16
- 200 IM – 2:17.38
Girls’ Honorable Mentions:
- Lauren Lonsdale, Sacramento Aquatics Club – Lonsdale has been the dominant performer of the current group who will turn the year over still at 10-years old, leading the current long course and short course IMX and IMR rankings. At the 2022 Far Western Championships in April in yards, she won a whopping 7 individual events.
- 50y free – 26.32
- 100y free – 56.98
- 200y free – 2:02.44
- 500y free – 5:25.40
- 100y back – 1:04.66
- 100y breast – 1:09.75
- 100y fly – 1:07.05
- 100y IM – 1:04.61
- 200y IM – 2:18.60
- Penelope Lopez-Casula, Eagle Aquatics – Lopez-Casula aged-up early in the year, but not before she did some damage in the 10 & under age group. She won six races at the Florida Gold Coast Short Course Junior Olympics in March, with the only blemish being a 2nd-place finish in the 50 fly. After aging up, she had four runner-up finishes in the long course edition of that meet in July, even being barely-11 and racing in the 11-12 age group.
- 50y free – 25.44
- 100y free – 56.27
- 200y free – 2:00.12
- 500y free – 5:28.21
- 100y back – 1:06.60
Boys Award: Ayden Tan, DART Swimming
Ayden Tan started his run in the 10 & under age group last season, where even as a 9-year-old he had impressive national rankings in the 10 & under age group. That includes the country’s fastest 10 & under 100 IM and tied-for-fastest 10 & under 50 free.
Now, even with about nine months left still in the age group, he has risen to a new level this season, already ranking #1 nationally in 7 events.
- 100 free – 55.32 (#2)
- 200 free – 2:00.29 (#2)
- 500 free – 5:21.73 (#1)
- 100 back – 1:01.76 (#1)
- 100 breast – 1:10.98 (#1)
- 100 fly – 1:01.51 (#1)
- 100 IM – 1:03.19 (#1) – also led last season
- 200 IM – 2:13.20 (#1)
In all of the events besides the 50 free, 200 free, and 500 free, his time is faster than any 10 & under has been this season or last season.
At Far Westerns in long course meters over the summer, he won the 100 free (1:03.61), 100 back (1:12.88), 50 breast (38.22), 50 fly (32.47), 100 fly (1:11.35), and 200 IM (2:32.88). Punctuating his high versatility, he won that 200 IM by more than 16 seconds.
At the spring LSC Championships in yards, swimming against mostly-older swimmers in the 10 & under age group, he won six events as well.
Boys’ Honorable Mentions:
- Joaquin Seay, Alamo Area Aquatic Association – Seay’s 25.57 in the 50 free two weeks ago at a San Antonio-hosted meet was the fastest 50 yard free we’ve seen by a 10 & under since before the pandemic hit in early 2020. He won the 50 and 100 free at the summer long course TAGS Championships.
- Aiden Nguyen, Mansfield Aquatics – Nguyen went ham at last week’s COR Classic to stake his claim on an honorable mention award, winning 8 events and crushing his best times almost across-the-board. He’s the only swimmer nationally who has been faster than Tan in the 100 (55.09) and 200 (1:58.14) free this year, including by almost two seconds in the 200. He also swam 1:03.61 in the 100-yard back, 1:01.87 in the 100-yard fly, and 2:15.38 in the 200-yard IM. Nguyen also won 4 long course titles over the summer in long course TAGS.
PAST WINNERS
| YEAR | 10-U GIRL | 10-U BOY |
| 2021 | Drue Rogers | Ayden Tan |
| 2021 | Delaney O’Toole | Reef McMeeking |
| 2020 | Lexi Sereno | Spencer Belbot |
| 2019 | Kayla Han | Joey Campagnola |
| 2018 | Alexis Mesina | Timothy Lee |
| 2017 | Erika Pelaez | Kaii Winkler |
| 2016 | Leah Hayes | Jaeddan Gamilla |
| 2015 | Miriam Sheehan | Ronald Dalmacio |
| 2014 | Meghan Lynch | Andrew Rogers |
| 2013 | Lillie Nordmann | Winn Aung |
| 2012 | Regan Smith | Destin Lasco |
i know a girl, when she was 9 years old, didn’t even appear in a tech swimsuit once at any competition, including Tags’ senior competition. But her imx total score ranked first in the southern zone 9-10 age group with the highest score. Even 9- year-old her, 50fly has eased into 29 seconds. 100fly is also in 1:08. She has no technical suit at all, and her performance is very natural. I think she’s the one you guys call “the obvious one.”
What is the percentage of NON-top 10U swimmers that are top swimmers at 17-18?…..probably less than 1%.
Haha, I like this stat.
Some random & perplexing facts about 10U.
USA Swimming only maintains records for the Top 100 All Time for 12O. Only the NAG’s are recognized in 10U.
Tech suits are not allowed in 12U.
Per USA Swimming, the percent of top swimmers in 10U that are still top swimmers at 17-18 is only 11%.
If you look up the current national rankings for most the 10U NAG holders, their current rankings are now triple digit.
Participation in swimming rises until 10 then falls sharply at 11 yo, and again at every age after that.
I’d say 11% is high……what is the percentage of non-top 10U that are top 17-18? I don’t know the answer, just something to think about. The percentage is probably super low.
And the award for who grew first goes to:…
I hope the kids that worked hard and got on this list don’t read your comment and feel like their hard work doesn’t matter, just their size.
10 and Under Swimmer of the Year? This shouldn’t even be a thing.
So no awards for any kids in anything? Academically as well? What’s your philosophy here?
You’re just making kids feel bad about themselves
Interesting that in this small sample size, being a standout 10 and under girl is a better predictor for future success than being a standout 10 and under boy
Probably because females often reach their peak at a younger age ( 20 years of age instead of 23 for males – I kind of made those figures up but you get the idea. Of course there are always exceptions).