24 Olympic Trials Cuts Go on the Board at 18 & Under Spring Cups

There were 24 Olympic Trials standards hit across three meets at the recent USA Swimming 18 & Under Spring Cups. That brings some value to the existence of the new program designed to give the country’s top juniors a big long course meet to race at ahead of the Olympic Trials.

Of the 24 Olympic Trials cuts from the meets, 21 were done by girls. The location in Elkhart, Indiana was the most fruitful, with 15 Olympic Trials standards being hit. 8 were swum in Florida, while just 1 came from the Mesa, Arizona site (owed in part to the state of California being in the middle of high school championship season).

For some swimmers, this meet was a huge breakthrough. Jacob Pins of the Iowa Flyers, a high school senior and Arizona State commit, swam 3:53.51 in the 400 free in Elkhart, for example. In his first long course race of the calendar year, that knocked 4.4 seconds off his best time and flew under the Olympic Trials cut of 3:55.59.

He had a big drop in the 800 as well, going from a previous best of 8:10.92 to 8:05.53 – another 4.4 second improvement and again well-under the Olympic Trials cut.

He was the Iowa High School State Champion in the 200 free and 500 free.

In Ft. Lauderdale, Kayden Hedrick swam a big best time in the boys’ 200 fly, landing at 2:00.38. That slashed his best time of 2:02.09 from NCSAs in July 2023 and snuck under the Olympic Trials cut by .11 seconds.

In other cases, like Leah Hayes, Erika Pelaez, Piper Enge, and Maggie Wanezek, who were already qualified, it was an opportunity for confidence-building swims against good fields.

Wanezek, for example, is best-known as a backstroker, but she took nine-tenths of a second off her best time in the 50 free to go 25.59.

Pelaez, a National Age Group Record holder and member of the 2023 World Juniors team, entered the Spring Cup as a longshot to make the US Olympic Team, but her 54.56 in the 100 free was her first best time since July 2022 (54.65).

Her 200 free time of 2:00.51 knocked .77 seconds off her best time in that race from last summer and gave her another option for Trials – adding to prior cuts in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM.

Olympic Trials Cuts Swum at the 18 & Under Spring Cups