NISCA Announces 2022-2023 Swimming And Diving High School All-Americans

by Sidney Zacharias 46

July 05th, 2023 High School, News

The National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) has released the list of the 2022-2023 All-America Swimmers and Divers. 

  • View the complete list of recipients by each event and state statistics here.

Swimmers can automatically qualify by achieving an automatic All-America time standard. After those swimmers are listed, athletes with the consideration standard are added until there are 100 per event.

Only yards times that have been done in high school competition are counted, and schools are allowed to submit up to one relay. 

Among this year’s recipients are new National High School record holders Teagan O’Dell (200 IM), Scotty Buff (100 fly), Will Modglin (100 back), and Aaron Shackell (200 free). 

In addition to the individual National High School records this year, Carmel’s 200 medley relay and Santa Margarita’s 200 freestyle relay records were also recognized among the national champions.

Along with O’Dell, Erin Gemmell was the other athlete on the girls’ side to top the list in multiple events. Gemmell, who will head to Texas in the fall, hit best times of 48.19 and 1:43.45 in the 200 and 100 freestyle at the Metro Championship in February.

Maximus Williamson is the lone sophomore on the boys’ side to be crowned a national champion. Williamson’s high school best this year was 1:42.17 from the UIL State Championship, however, his overall season best stands at 1:42.07 from Winter Junior Nationals.

Absent from the list of recipients is Rex Maurer, who broke Grant Shoults‘ National High School record in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:12.70. Loyola High School’s nation-leading 400 freestyle time of 2:56.14 was also excluded from the list, as well as their #4-ranked 200 freestyle relay and #6-ranked 200 medley relay.

Loyola High School was a day-or-two late in submitting applications and NISCA chose not to make an exception.

California came in with the highest number of All-Americans on both the girls’ and boys’ side. For the boys, the state led with 119 recipients, while Texas took the 2nd spot at 99. Texas was also the next highest among girls, as they trailed California 78-127.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS:

Girls:

Event Time School State Swimmer(s)/Diver
50 free 21.84 Arrowhead High School WI Hailey Tierney (12)
100 free 48.19 Stone Ridge School MD Erin Gemmell (12)
200 free 1:43.45 Stone Ridge School MD Erin Gemmell (12)
500 free 4:39.82 Sacred Heart Academy NY Cavan Gormsen (12)
100 back 50.96 Santa Margarita Catholic High School CA Teagan O’Dell (10)
100 breast 58.89 Brookfield East High School WI Lucy Thomas (12)
100 fly 50.89 Carmel High School IN Alex Shackell (10)
200 IM 1:53.38 Santa Margarita Catholic High School CA Teagan O’Dell (10)
200 free relay 1:29.61 Santa Margarita Catholic High School CA Teia Salvino (11), Asia Kozan (12), Gracyn Aquino (10), Teagan O’Dell (10)
200 medley relay 1:36.98 Carmel High School IN Berit Berglund (12), Molly Sweeney (9), Alex Shackell (10), Meghan Christman (12)
400 free relay 3:16.84 Santa Margarita Catholic High School CA Asia Kozan (12), Gracyn Aquino (10), Teia Salvino (11), Teagan O’Dell (10)
1-meter Mater Dei High School CA Ella Roselli (12)

Boys:

Event Time School State Swimmer(s)/Diver
50 free 19.55 Olentangy Liberty High School OH Hudson Williams (12)
100 free 42.75 Keller High School OH Maximus Williamson (10)
200 free 1:32.85 Carmel High School IN Aaron Shackell (12)
500 free 4:15.35 Carmel High School IN Aaron Shackell (12)
100 back 45.08 Zionsville Community High School IN Will Modglin (12)
100 breast 52.38 The Bolles School FL William Heck (12)
100 fly 44.97 St. Francis de Sales High School OH Scotty Buff (12)
200 IM 1:42.17 Keller High School TX Maximus Williamson (10)
200 free relay 1:20.53 Zionsville Community High School IN Will Modglin (12), Walker Mattice (11), Gabe Berry (12), Will Raches(12)
200 medley relay 1:27.83 Carmel High School IN Sean Sullivan (12), Brandon Malicki (11), Aaron Shackell (12), Michael Gorey (10)
400 free relay 2:57.50 Saint Xavier High School KY Alex Thiesing (10), Thomas Mercer (10), Johnny Crush (11), Will Scholtz(12)
1-meter Rock Hill High School TX Luke Sitz (11)

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smithrc
9 months ago

When do 2025 recruit rankings come out?

Swim
9 months ago

Can you only input times that the student-athletes performed during their HS season?

Last edited 9 months ago by Swim
Admin
Reply to  Swim
9 months ago

Si.

Swim
Reply to  Braden Keith
9 months ago

Would this make it difficult for student-athletes who have HS season in the fall when going against other student-athletes who are 6+ months older that just finished in May to be able to place in the top 10?

Admin
Reply to  Swim
9 months ago

Any award has limitations. Different training and competition cycles, different birthdays, etc. etc. There’s tradeoffs of course – kids in California and Colorado have to wait much longer to get their HS tapers in, which can impact recruiting.

At the end of the day, it’s a high school award, and I don’t see any good reason to include club performances in that award.

Sometimes “it is what it is” is the best mindset for an award like this.

Swim
Reply to  Braden Keith
9 months ago

If you could change anything about this award what would it be?

Admin
Reply to  Swim
9 months ago

I would make it automatic somehow and eliminate the need for paperwork and deadlines.

I would also dramatically reduce the size of the lists.

swim
Reply to  Braden Keith
9 months ago

Yes!

What about an actual meet? I get that we have Jr. Nats and etc but it would be cool to see it actually live.

Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

Just so we are clear, the applications for All American are clear. They are due on June 15th. Max’s swim to break the National Record, which is being recognized as a record, that did qualify him for All-American, was set on May 5th. That is 41 days to fill out an online application. It is one of the easiest applications to fill out.

The process is outlined here – https://niscaonline.org/images/Documents/AllAmerica/Swimming/AASwimRules.pdf

This article is not a fair representation of the facts for why Max was left off the All-American list.

If four days late is acceptable, then is 10 days acceptable? What about 30 days late? Where is the line drawn?

In my… Read more »

Palsmra S'nedlohookam
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

And next thing you know, humans will be able to get married to animals! Seriously, you are basically compiling a list of swimming times and are on a major power trip. I get that a deadline is a deadline, but in this case, you are punishing swimmers because the submission was a day late. What is the point of that? Was anything significant affected by a day-late submission? This was not 30 days late. I hope you can sleep at night.

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  Palsmra S'nedlohookam
9 months ago

I sleep well every night. Thanks for asking

My apologies for the incorrect name. That is on me.

I guess I am confused on when late is late. The vast majority of all the other coaches across the country can do this.

Palsmra S’nedlohookam
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

But again, why must this be so punitive? Lists are published all the time where there are opportunities for corrections and to then issue an updated/final list. Our local LSC does this all the time with things like its scholar-athlete list. The deadline is artificial here: this is not like a meet entry deadline where it really has to be finished and closed at a certain point. This is a list of times. Why can’t there be an opportunity to get it right? Yes, some coaches missed deadlines. Why punish the kids? Is there any thought to issuing a non-public version of the list, say, a month before you issue it publicly, and give coaches the chance to get it… Read more »

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  Palsmra S’nedlohookam
9 months ago

Agree that no one is perfect.

And it does not really matter when the deadline is set, because someone will always miss it.

You make a valid point, and I am newer to the organization. I will bring it up at the next meeting.

swimapologist
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

In the interest of being productive, would there be a solution where submissions past the deadline include an extra fee to expedite their processing?

Then the point about deadlines has been made without excluding the kids? And NISCA staff can take themselves out to dinner in exchange for the extra effort it took?

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  swimapologist
9 months ago

There are different deadlines for different seasons. Some seasons are fall and they have a deadline and a penalty fee for missing it. Some seasons are winter and they have a deadline and a penalty fee for missing it. Spring season does have a deadline and no grace period.

Again I am new to the board and it is clear this should be discussed.

Former NM Coach
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

Kyle, who is allowed to submit the application? Is it only the coach, or can a parent/swimmer take care of it?

In our area (Friendswood TX) we had a girl on the list but 2 of her boy HS teammates were not on the list. One of them would’ve been 21st in the 100 Bk and 23rd in the 200IM. The other would’ve been 85th in the 50 and T80 in the 100 fly. Bummer for sure!!

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  Former NM Coach
9 months ago

Anyone can fill out the application. There is a different fee for non-members versus the fee for members. https://www.be.niscaonline.org/swimming/dOCUMENTS/AASwimRules.pdf

BaldingEagle
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

His name is Rex.

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  BaldingEagle
9 months ago

Apologies on the young man’s first name

BaldingEagle
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

The swimmer is being penalized. The swimmer swam the time, and that is not in dispute. Is it? Or does the time go away if it is submitted “late?”

Your rule and deadline is procedural. And every time a procedural rule is missed, the swimmers are penalized, unfairly, as would appear to be the case here.

Same Same
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

It’s not NISCA’s job to pursue coaches or swimmers to get their applications in. There’s probably a few swimmers left off some of these lists, but – I agree – that’s not NISCA’s fault.

Goldie Goldfish
Reply to  Same Same
4 months ago

Quick question: does NISCA still offer a second list for prep school swimmers? Or, is it all combined now?

H2Opinion
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

I have been reading for over 45 years. The article states, “A day-or-two late.” Not four. Not ten. Not thirty.

The article states that it is Rex Maurer, not, “Max.” Akin to when Kevin Phelps broke that 200 Fly World Record at sixteen. I wonder how many times you typed the incorrect name of your All-American swimmers.

As the, “President-Elect for NISCA,” you may not have the answers.

To date, you do not have the authority to do anything.

Give this young man, and his teammates their rightful accolades.

Same Same
Reply to  H2Opinion
9 months ago

But a deadline is a deadline? Some of the applications were “Consideration” times because they had to wait for the list to be compiled before they knew if they made it in or not. Maybe a kid who came 57th also got their application in 2 weeks late. Do we hold off for them too? Does NISCA have to go through every HS State meet result and somehow reach out to every swimmer? Or just special ones?

So congrats to the kid that got the #100 spot with his All American Consideration 500 fr time. (Because he got his application in.)

H2Opinion
Reply to  Same Same
9 months ago

Yes. The NISCA has to go through every meet result.

Or…just read Swimswam.

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  H2Opinion
9 months ago

I am also the National Records chair. If you only knew how many times I do read articles on Swim Swam and then google search the school and the coach and then send them the link to fill out the form for the national record.

Palsmra S’nedlohookam
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

You didn’t do this for Max though.

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  Palsmra S’nedlohookam
9 months ago

Incorrect. I did it for the National Record.

The application was incomplete and did not include meet results. Again the process is very clear. I did a search, found the meet, printed the results, and attached it to his application for the National Record. I processed it on the 4th of July and sent the certificates to his Coach, as is the procedure.

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  H2Opinion
9 months ago

I personally know it was 4 days.

Zthomas
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

Why do you think it is a good idea to come out swinging like this? Defensiveness is a signal of uncertainty, not confidence.

Kyle Bedalov
Reply to  Zthomas
9 months ago

I don’t view it as defensiveness.

I view it as people making claims and statements that are the people who know the process and are not doing the work. It is a little more of an education on how the process works. Everyone had answers, but very few know what is going on in the background to make it work.

The application and process are all online. The application takes a coach less than 10 minutes to complete.

Loyola HS Coach
Reply to  Kyle Bedalov
9 months ago

As the coach who emailed NISCA a few days after the deadline for Loyola I can say with 100% certainty it was an error on the coaching staff and I immediately addressed that. I can also say with 100% certainty that Loyola has never missed the deadline in all of my years of coaching (23) and to be turned away weeks before the lists were posted was extremely disappointing considering our history supporting NISCA. Punish me all you want and charge me a fee etc etc but to leave the kids off before the list was posted is something I’ll never understand and simply won’t agree with. The point of the list is to be an award for kids and… Read more »

Rice
9 months ago

I missed All American status by one place

Same Same
Reply to  Rice
9 months ago

Bummer, but it could’ve been worse. You could’ve broken the national high school record and been national champion…. and then forgot to send it in?

Old Swim Coach
9 months ago

Indiana flexing with 6 national champions!

anon
9 months ago

Is florida not included in this? Kaii Winkler was a 42.52 in the 100 free at his state and Erika Peleaz was 48.08 leadoff

Admin
Reply to  anon
9 months ago

Coaches have to submit to be included. Some choose not to, and some miss deadlines.

Loyola HS Coach
Reply to  Braden Keith
9 months ago

Haha. Fair 🙂

Winter Apple
9 months ago

Isn’t St X in Ohio?

Swammer
Reply to  Winter Apple
9 months ago

There are two of them. One in Louisville and one in Cincinnati. The traditional power that was home to Hudepohl and Grant House is the Cincinnati one.

Admin
Reply to  Swammer
9 months ago

I’m not sure that referring to the one in Cincinnati as the “traditional power” as a differentiator when the boys from Kentucky have won 34 consecutive state titles…

Goldie Goldfish
Reply to  Swammer
4 months ago

And the Rodenbaugh Olympian!

College coach
Reply to  Winter Apple
9 months ago

There is one in Cincinnati, but this is the St. X in Louisville.

Swimfish87!!
Reply to  College coach
9 months ago

Yeah, but the news Saint X in Ohio is nothing they don’t have a feeder program that Cincinnati Marlins is a bottom of the barrel team

Goldie Goldfish
Reply to  Swimfish87!!
4 months ago

They weren’t always that way. Decades ago they were sponsored by Pepsi and turning out All-Americans, senior national champions, and Olympians.

john henry
9 months ago

they robbed me