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Sprinter Emily Claesson from Virginia Beach, Virginia, has announced her verbal commitment to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, aka Virginia Tech, for the 2022-23 school year. She will just miss overlapping with her brother, H2Okie swimmer Henry Claesson, who will have graduated from Virginia Tech in the spring of 2022, but she will spend a year with Hayden, who swam and played water polo in high school. She also has a twin sister, Sarah.
“I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to Virginia Tech to continue to swim and study. Thank you to all of my friends, coaches, teammates from both Virginia and Illinois and my family for offering endless support for me throughout my journey. Go Hokies!! 🦃♥️🧡 #talonsup #gokies”
Claesson is a high school junior. Her family moved to Virginia Beach from La Grange, Illinois before the start of the school year. She spent the first two years of high school at Lyons Township High School and swam club for Lyons Swim Club. She specializes mainly in the 50/100/200 free and is a Winter Juniors qualifier in the 50/100 free.
At the 2019 IHSA Girls State Championships, she finaled in the 50 free (6th) and 100 free (11th) as a sophomore. Her best 50 free time comes from earlier in the 2019-20 high school season and her 100/200 times date from January 2020 at the BBSC Circle City Classic where she placed 6th in the 50 free, 3rd in the 100 free, 3rd in the 200 free, 5th in the 100 fly, and 12th in the 200 IM. She competed at Illinois Swimming LSC Short Course Championships in March and placed 10th in the 50 free and 15th in the 500 free. Claesson has been with Tide Swim Team since fall 2020. Since September, she has notched PBs in the 1000/1650 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 400 IM.
Top SCY times:
- 50 free – 23.35
- 100 free – 50.51
- 200 free – 1:51.08
- 100 fly – 57.19
- 200 IM – 2:08.60
Claesson will join Carmen Weiler and Isabel Marstellar in the H2Okies’ class of 2026. Most of the current Virginia Tech sprint group will have graduated by the time she moves to Blacksburg, but she will overlap with sophomores Sarah Shackelford (22.87/49.14 last season and Julia Smith (23.66/52.01), and freshmen Emma Atkinson and Nadia Gonzalez De Oliveira.
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Yeah, Emily!