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Nicolas Aldana Huelga has announced his intent to swim and study at Johns Hopkins University, beginning next fall.
In an email to SwimSwam, Aldana Huelga said, “I am honored and excited to announce my commitment to the application process at Johns Hopkins University to continue my academic and athletic journey. I am incredibly grateful to my parents and sisters for their constant support, and to all my friends and coaches. A special thank you to Coach Scott and Coach Chris for this incredible opportunity. Go Blue Jays!”
Aldana Huelga hails from New Orleans, Louisiana, where he attends Benjamin Franklin High School and trains year-round with Nu Wave Swim Club. He’s a pure distance freestyle specialist, with his strongest events the 500 and 1650, followed by the 200 free.
He is a three-time Louisiana State Champion in distance freestyle and has qualified for Mexican International Team Trials, NCSA Junior Nationals, and Speedo Sectionals.
Aldana Huelga has improved throughout each season of his career, most recently dropping from 4:41.82 to 4:36.28 in the 500, 16:12.53 to 15:57.98 in the 1650, and 1:44.16 to 1:42.88 in the 200 free during the 2024-25 season.
Coach Ross Hedrick, Head Coach and Director of Nu Wave Swim Club, praised his commitment and leadership, saying, “Nico is a longtime Nu Wave swimmer. He understands commitment, loves this sport and loves competing for his team. Supporting Nico as he grew from a teammate to a team leader has been an honor and joy. Johns Hopkins is getting a phenomenal swimmer and an even more phenomenal human being.”
Outside of the pool, Aldana Huelga is currently working with the Tulane Economics department on a study about the effects of school vouchers, and has co-authored a paper on training algorithms for logistic regression through the MathWorks HSMC program. In his spare time, he also serves as a math camp counselor volunteer with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Johns Hopkins is a Division III school that will be joining the Centennial conference this fall, where they will swim their first conference meet since 2016.
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, Aldana Huelga would have ranked third in the 1650, fourth in the 500, and seventh in the 200. He will overlap two seasons with the team’s best distance swimmers, Josiah March, who led the 500 at 4:28.33, and Jack Cornish, who posted 15:36.51 in the 1650. He could also make an impact on the team’s 800 free relay down the line if he can inch closer to the lower 1:40 range.
Joining Aldana Huelga in Johns Hopkins’ class of 2030 are Matthew Ko (56.7/2:03.2 breaststroker), William Thurk (4:35.6/16:10.7 distance freestyler), and Alistair Guth (45.8/1:39.6 middle-distance freestyler).
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