Here’s What You Missed at Club Meets Across the Country During the U.S. Olympic Trials

While the U.S. was selecting its Olympic swimming team at last week’s Trials, up-and-coming American talents were also climbing the all-time national age group (NAG) rankings at club meets across the country.

At last week’s Shark Open in Sarasota, Florida, Cobe Hehenberger broke into the top-10 NAG rankings with a huge lifetime best in the 800-meter freestyle. The Saint Petersburg Aquatics 14-year-old stopped the clock at 8:17.55, dropping more than 12 seconds to shoot up from 81st to 9th in the 13-14 boys’ NAG rankings.

In the process, Hehenberger also took down Matthew Hirschberger‘s Florida LSC record of 8:19.44 from 2013. His previous best stood at 8:29.74 from last month. Hirschberger also clocked lifetime bests in 100 free (55.30), 100 fly (1:02.91), 200 IM (2:13.94), and 400 IM (4:42.56).

13-14 Boys’ 800 Free Rankings

1. Luka Mijatovic – 7:59.64, 2023
2. Evan Pinion – 8:08.75, 2009
3. Lleyton Plattel – 8:09.74, 2017
4. Ellis Crisci – 8:15.30, 2023
5. Andrew Abruzzo – 8:15.84, 2014
6. Michael Phelps – 8:16.10, 2000
7. Cooper Lucas – 8:17.05, 2019
8. Josh Parent – 8:17.28, 2019
9. Cobe Hehenberger – 8:17.55, 2024

At the June Age Group Invite in Santa Clarita just a couple days before Olympic Trials began, Gabi Brito posted a personal-best 56.68 100 free to move up to 32nd in the 13-14 girls’ NAG rankings. The Beach Cities Swimming 13-year-old dipped under the 57-second barrier for the first time as her previous best stood at 57.32.

Brito clocked three more lifetime bests in the 50 back (31.27), 100 back (1:03.96), and 200 breast (2:38.63), becoming the 24th-fastest 13-year-old American girl in the 100 back. She dropped more than half a second off her previous-best 50 back from last month (31.84), more than a second off her previous-best 100 back from last month (1:05.58), and almost a second off her previous-best 200 breast from April (2:39.54).

Polish sprinter Kasia Wasick attended her final pre-Olympic tune-up at the Texas Senior Circuit meet in Dallas. The 32-year-old registered a 50 free time of 24.64, more than half a second off her season-best 23.95 that won her bronze at the 2024 World Championships in February. Wasick ranks 3rd in the world this season behind only Kate Douglass (23.91) and Sarah Sjostrom (23.69). Since Worlds, Wasick has been 24.20 at April’s Pro Swim Series stop in San Antonio and 24.28 at May’s Longhorn Elite meet.

Rockwall Aquatic Center of Excellence 13-year-old Elisabeth Chiu also impressed in Dallas with a personal-best 2:18.99 200 back, becoming the 51st-fastest 13-year-old American girl ever.

Rochester Swim Club 12-year-old Elliot Leasure showed off his backstroke talents with a few top-50 times ever for his age group at the Aquajet Summer Spectacular last week hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. He blasted personal bests in the 100 back (1:02.77) and 200 back (2:14.43), which rank 11th and 10th, respectively, in the 11-12 boys’ NAG rankings. Leasure dropped almost two seconds in the 100 back and almost 23 seconds in the 200 back.

Leasure also went 29.84 in the 50 back, knocking almost two seconds off his lifetime best to rocket up to 43rd in the 11-12 NAG rankings. He added three more best times in the 200 free (2:09.41, a 15-second drop), 200 fly (2:20.78, a 27-second drop), and 400 IM (5:05.00), a 34-second drop).

Another standout at the Aquajet Summer Spectacular was Sioux Falls Swim Team 14-year-old Rachel Ritter, who set lifetime bests in six events and hit Futures cuts in the 100 and 200 back. The 14-year-old jumped to 85th all-time in the 13-14 age group in the 200 back (and 8th this season), lowering her best time by two seconds in 2:16.30, and in the 100 back, she broke 1:04 for the first time in 1:03.95, good for 11th in the age group this season. In the 200 IM, her clocking of 2:22.19 ranks her 13th this season for 13-14 girls, improving on her previous best by more than four seconds.

At the TAC Triangle Classic two weeks ago, TAC Titans 14-year-old Reina Liu ripped a massive lifetime best in the 200 IM at 2:19.11, a six-second improvement from her previous-best 2:25.29 last August. She would rank 70th in the 13-14 NAG rankings if she didn’t already represent Canada internationally.

TAC Titans 15-year-old Davis Jackson tallied three best times in the 100 back (58.01), 200 back (2:05.08), and 400 IM (4:33.82). He dropped about half a second in the 100 back, one second in the 200 back, and two seconds in the 400 IM.

At last week’s OAPB LC Senior Open in Moraga, California, Crow Canyon Sharks 14-year-old Daniela Linares recorded three personal bests in the 200 free (2:07.67), 100 back (1:02.78), and 200 IM (2:30.32). She dropped almost two tenths in the 100 back off her previous-best 1:02.96, inching up to 45th in the 13-14 NAG rankings. Linares also took more than three seconds off both her best 200 free time (previously 2:10.92 from 2022) and best 200 IM time (previously 2:33.54 from last May).

Right before aging out of the 11-12 age group, Aya Gillis-Pade went five-for-five in best times at the OAPB LC Senior Open, highlighted by her swim in the 1500 free. The Santa Clara Swim Club product put up a time of 17:53.20 to rank 43rd all-time in the girls’ 11-12 age group, shaving five seconds off her previous best from March. She remains the only 11-12 female to have broken 18:00 this season. The now-13-year-old Gillis-Pade added a lifetime best in the 200 back (2:25.43, good for 98th all-time for 11-12s). Earlier in the month, she also clocked a 1:06.66 in the 100 back to tie for 49th all-time in her age group.

SwimMAC Carolina 14-year-old David Sammons delivered some fast performances at the 68th Annual Eastern Invitational hosted by North Carolina’s Greensboro Aquatic Center. He posted personal bests in the 50 free (24.83), 100 free (53.72), and 200 IM (2:08.14), the latter of which ranks 26th in the 13-14 NAG rankings. He dropped almost a second in the 200 IM and about half a second in both the 50 and 100 free.

At the RMDA June Age Group Championships right before U.S. Olympic Trials, Desert Storm Swimming 13-year-old Sullivan Benes knocked almost nine seconds off his best 400 free time to move up to 18th among 13-year-old American boys. He reached the wall in 4:10.43, crushing his previous-best 4:19.32 from April.

South Jersey Aquatic Club 13-year-old Shelby Hutchinson broke into the top-100 NAG rankings with her 1:03.69 100 back at last weekend’s Summer Solstice meet in Sewell, New Jersey. She shaved .05 seconds off her previous-best 1:03.74 from earlier this month, nudging up to 95th in the 13-14 age group.

At last weekend’s Lake Western Great Lakes Open, Madison Aquatic Club 14-year-old Max Garbacz fired off a pair of head-turning backstroke performances. He now ranks 47th in his age group in the 100 back (58.84) and 50th in the 200 back (2:07.31) after dropping more than a second in the 100 back and two seconds in the 200 back.

At the NOVA June Age Group Championships two weekends ago, Evolution Racing Club 13-year-old Matthew Lanskikh dropped almost four seconds in the 400 IM on his way to the win in 4:41.91. He ranks No. 22 all-time among 13-year-old American boys in the event.