Howard’s Miles Simon Becomes 2nd Olympic Trials Qualifier in School History

With the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials only approximately 2 months away, swimmers are still earning new cuts at high rate. In the past 3 weeks (3/17 – 4/6), while most of the sport in the United States was focused on the NCAA Championships and other collegiate championship meets, there were 66 new Trials cuts achieved. Of those 66 new cuts, 26 were in women’s events, and 40 in men’s.

One qualification was particularly historic. Howard University sophomore Miles Simon clocked a 23.11 in the 50 free to dip under the Wave I cut of 23.19. The swim marks Simon as only the 2nd Howard swimmer ever to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Notably, current Howard head coach Nicholas Askew is the only other Howard swimmer to have achieved a Trials cut.

As the head coach at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Askew has participated in webinars on the importance of diversity in swimming, and implementing aquatics programs at HBCUs. One such webinar can be found here.

Arizona State hosted an LCM intrasquad this weekend, where their swimmers picked up many new Trials cuts. Leading the charge among the Sun Devils was Jack Dolan, who picked up 3 new Wave II Trials cuts. Dolan entered the weekend with a personal best of 1:49.74, which was just 0.09 seconds off the Wave II cut of 1:49.65. He clipped his lifetime best with a 1:49.59, picking up the Wave II cut. Teammate Andrew Gray tied Dolan at 1:49.59, picking up the Wave II cut just a few weeks after achieving the Wave I cut.

Dolan then went on to swim a 54.84 in the 100 back, blowing away his best time, which had stood for 4 years. Dolan entered the weekend with a personal best of 55.94 from the 2017 NCSA Summer Championships. Similarly, Dolan blew away his 200 back best time. He swam a 2:00.41, picking up the Wave II cut and dipping 2 seconds under his previous best of 2:02.51, which was also from 2017.

NASA Wildcats 17-year-old Carly Novelline is one of the most prolific recent qualifiers, picking up a pair of new Wave II cuts at the Illinois Winter Open meet in March. Novelline tore to new best times of 25.46 in the 50 free, and 55.08 in the 100 free.

Zionsville Swim Club’s Will Modglin, 15, picked up 3 new Trials cuts in the past 3 weeks. Swimming at the Indy Sectionals meet back in March, Modglin swam to a Wave II cut in the 100 back (55.04), and Wave I cuts in the 200 back (2:02.28) and 200 IM (2:03.16). Raunak Khosla, a Princeton swimmer, picked up 3 new Trials cuts in the period as well. Swimming at the Illinois Open, Khosla posted a massive lifetime best (1:01.78) in the 100 breast for a Wave II cut, plus Wave I cuts in the 200 breast (2:16.55), and 100 fly (53.83). Khosla’s 100 fly wasn’t a lifetime best, but his personal best of 53.53 was swum before the start date of the qualifying period in 2018.

Lucy Malys, a 17-year-old out of Oakland Live Y’ers, picked up 3 Trials cuts as well. Malys was swimming at the Elkhart site of the Indy Sectionals meet, and she picked up Wave I cuts in the 400 free (4:16.22), 1500 free (16:47.56), and 200 fly (2:14.46).

Women’s Wave II Qualifiers:

Women’s Wave I Qualifiers:

Men’s Wave II Qualifers:

Men’s Wave I Qualifiers: