Baylor Stanton (#5), Yi Zheng (#3) Climb Up Respective Age Group Rankings In the 400 IM

2025 SPEEDO WINTER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – EAST

• December 10-13, 2025
• Indianapolis, Ind.
  • Prelims: 10 a.m. EST
    • Wednesday (1000 free): 1 p.m. EST
  • Finals: 5 p.m. EST
    • Wednesday (relays): 4 p.m. EST
• SCY (25 yards)
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  • Prelims: Day Two | Day Three
  • Finals: Day One | Day Two | Day Three

BOYS’ 400 IM – Finals

• Meet Record: 3:38.65, Carson Foster – 2019
• 13-14 NAG Record: 3:47.91, Luka Mijatovic – 2024
• 15-16 NAG Record: 3:39.83, Maximus Williamson – 2022
• 17-18 NAG Record: 3:35.27, Carson Foster – 2020

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Baylor Stanton (GA) — 3:40.48
2. Yi Zheng (CSC) — 3:41.90
3. Ian Heysen (BD) — 3:43.23
4. Owen Ekk (ATAC) — 3:47.52
5. Wilson York (LAK) — 3:47.52
6. Matthew Wolfle (NOVA) — 3:49.24
7. Liam Smith (GKC) — 3:52.24
8. David Sammons (MAC) — 3:52.37

Baylor Stanton picked up his 3rd win and 3rd personal best time of the meet by defending his title in the 400 IM. With that time, he moves up from the #12 performer in the 17-18 age group to the #5. His previous best came from last year’s Winter Junior Championships, where he swam a 3:41.50 for 1st. Stanton, who is the #1 recruit in the class of 2026, is headed to Cal next fall.

Last night, Stanton swam an impressive double in the 500 free and 200 IM. In the latter event, he moved up to to 15th all-time in the 17-18 rankings and bettered his best by over a second with a time of 1:42.85. His event repertoire appears to be an excellent fit for Cal, which has seen sustained success from swimmers with similar profiles such as Hugo Gonzalez, Lucas Henveaux, and Andrew Seliskar.

All-Time Performers, Boys’ 17–18 400 IM (SCY)

1. Carson Foster, 3:35.27 – 2020
2. Andrew Seliskar, 3:37.52 – 2015
3. Chase Kalisz, 3:39.82 – 2013
4. Jason Louser, 3:40.44 – 2020
5. Baylor Stanton, 3:40.48 — 2025
6. Gunnar Bentz, 3:40.57 – 2014
7. Noah Cakir, 3:40.62 – 2025
8. Kieran Smith, 3:40.78 – 2019
9. Gio Linscheer, 3:40.90 – 2023
10. Gregg Enoch, 3:41.10 – 2025

His split comparison can be found below:

Though Stanton lead for the entirety of the race, Yi Zheng began shrinking the lead on the breaststroke leg. It was Stanton’s backstroke split (55.43) that really distanced him from the rest of the field.

Zheng had an impressive swim of his own, rocketing up to #3 in the 15-16 age group and shaving well over 3 seconds off his previous best. The junior from Carmel took 4th in this event at the World Junior Championships over the summer with a time of 4:18.16, and was USA’s sole finalist in the event. Zheng is committed to Stanford for fall of 2027 and was ranked the #19 recruit in his class in SwimSwam’s most recent rankings.

He has made huge strides this year, as his best time in this event heading into the season was 3:51.22—set at prelims of last year’s Winter Juniors. He lowered that mark to 3:45.67 on early last month at a home meet in Carmel, and has dropped nearly 10 this season alone.

Zheng has improved across all 4 strokes, though his closing speed is the most notable difference between his swim tonight and his previous two PBs.

All-Time Performers, Boys’ 15-16 400 IM (SCY)

1. Maximus Williamson, 3:39.83 – 2022
2. Luka Mijatovic, 3:41.76 –2025
3. Yi Zheng, 3:41.90 – 2025
4. Thomas Heilman, 3:43.63 – 2022
5. Matthew Fallon, 3:44.08 – 2019
6. Carson Foster, 3:44.16 – 2017
7. Sean Grieshop, 3:44.45 – 2015
8. Andrew Seliskar, 3:44.83 – 2013
9. Curtis Ogren, 3:44.87 – 2012
10. Jackson Hartzler, 3:45.02 – 2025

Ironically, with this swim, Zheng kicks Stanton’s 3:45.39 out of the top 10 in the 15-16 age group.

Zheng has the 200 breast and 200 fly on his schedule for tomorrow, while Stanton is entered to swim the 200 back, 200 breast, and 200 fly.