arena Swim of the Week: 16-Year-Old Alyssa Sagle Rips 28.51 50 Back At AP Race International

Swim of the Week is brought to you by arena, a SwimSwam partner.

Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.

The National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) sent a large all-star roster to compete in Adam Peaty’s AP Race International (LCM) meet in London last weekend, giving some of the top age groupers in the country critical experience on the global stage against some of the world’s best.

One of the top performers for the NCSA All-Star team was Alyssa Sagle, a 16-year-old out of the Nation’s Capital Swim Club who set a pair of sizeable best times in the women’s 50 backstroke to place 5th overall in the meet.

Sagle first clocked 28.72 in the prelims, taking a big chunk off her previous personal best of 29.44, and then got down to 28.51 in the final, marking one of the fastest swims we’ve ever seen among Americans in the girls’ 15-16 age group.

Since 2012, Sagle’s swim ranks her 8th in the 15-16 age group, with some lofty names ranked ahead of her, including Olympians Regan Smith, Phoebe Bacon and Alex Walsh.

U.S. Girls’ 15-16 50 Backstroke (LCM) Rankings Since 2012

1. Regan Smith (Riptide), 27.85 – 2018
2. Phoebe Bacon (Nation’s Capital Swim Club), 28.02 – 2019
3. Isabelle Stadden (Aquajets Swim Team), 28.13 – 2018
4. Alex Walsh (Nashville Aquatic Club), 28.25 – 2018
5. Erika Pelaez (Eagle Aquatics), 28.31 – 2022
6. Maggie Wanezek (Elmbrook Swim Club), 28.39 – 2022
7. Rylee Erisman (Laker Swim), 28.42 – 2025
8. Alyssa Sagle (Nation’s Capital Swim Club), 28.51 – 2025
9. Teagan O’Dell (Mission Viejo Nadadores), 28.52 – 2023
10. Charlotte Wilson (Univ of Denver Hilltoppers), 28.56 – 2022

Sagle also set a personal best time in the 200 back (2:12.83) in London, ranking her 70th all-time in the girls’ 15-16 age group, and she also clocked a season-best in the 100 back (1:01.56) and added PBs in the 50 free (26.76) and 200 IM (2:23.17).

The Virginia commit will race at the U.S. National Championships next week in Irvine, seeded 25th in the 200 back (with her former best time of 2:13.11) while also holding entries in the 50 and 100 back. Her swim in the 50 back from the AP Race International ranks 11th in the nation this season.

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