CIF Meet Record-holder Yury Kuzmenko Makes Verbal Commitment to Princeton for 2026-27

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Yury Kuzmenko, a junior at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California, has announced his verbal commitment to the admission process* at Princeton University for the 2026-27 school year.

“I am honored to announce my verbal commitment to the admissions process at Princeton University! This wouldn’t have been possible without the boundless support from my friends and family, or without the incredible guidance from Coach Kevin and Valley Splash, who have shaped the athlete that I am today. I am especially grateful to Coach Matt and Coach Zach for putting their faith in me and for offering such a life-changing opportunity. I can’t wait to be a part of such a fantastic team!”

Kuzmenko swims for Valley Christian High School and the club team Valley Splash. He won the sprint double at the 2025 California High School Swimming and Diving Championships, going 19.74 in the 50 and 43.43 in the 100. He broke the CIF Meet Record in the 50 in prelims with a PB of 19.55.

A year ago, at the 2024 CIF State Championships, he placed 12th in the 50 (20.63) and 14th in the 100 (45.28). Both were PBs at the time. In the last 12 months, then, he has dropped .89 in the 50 and 1.85 seconds in the 100 and broken into the cohort’s top 10 for both events. He wasn’t even a “Best of the Rest” nominee on our Way Too Early ranking of swimmers in the high school class of 2026.

Prior to the 2024-25 high school season (which takes place in the spring in California), Kuzmenko’s best short course times came from CA/NV Sectionals in December 2024. There, he won the 50, placed 3rd in the 100 free and 100 fly, and finished 4th in the 200 free and 12th in the 200IM. He earned lifetime best in every event he swam, including the 50 free (20.06), 100 free (44.61), 200 free (1:38.41), 100 fly (48.49), and 200 IM (1:52.30).

Last summer, he dropped .8 to win the LCM 50 free at Far Westerns with 23.45. He also won the 100 free (52.27), was runner-up in the 100 fly (57.34), and placed 3rd in the 100 breast (1:06.43) and 200 IM (2:12.14). Those were all PBs, as were his times from prelims in the 200 free (2:00.16) and 200 breast (2:35.27 ).

Kuzmenko will join fellow commits (and fellow 1:38 200 freestylers) Peter Vu (#12 recruit) and Michael Geh in Princeton’s class of 2030. Kuzmenko’s best 50/100 free times would have landed him in the “A” and “B” finals, respectively, and his flying start of 18.9 would have made him one of only five sub-19 second 50 freestylers in the men’s 200 free relay at the 2025 Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships.

Kuzmenko told SwimSwam that, when he’s not swimming or at school, “I spend my free time learning about whatever interests me, in areas like math, biology, and CS. I also enjoy hiking. I have two cats who share one brain cell, one of whom is particularly fond of chewing on my chlorinated hair after practice.”

Best SCY times:

• 50 free – 19.55
• 50 free relay split – 18.92
• 100 free – 43.34
• 200 free – 1:38.41
• 100 fly – 48.49
• 200 breast – 2:03.77
• 100 breast – 57.47

*Note: A verbal commitment between an Ivy League coach and a prospective student-athlete is not an offer of admission, as only the Admission Office has that authority. The coach can only commit his or her support in the admission process. Ivy League Admission Offices do not issue “Likely Letters” before October 1 of the prospective student-athlete’s senior year of high school. The Likely Letter, while issued after an initial read of the student’s application, is not an offer of admission to the university.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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