Olympic Contender Daniel Diehl Graduates High School Early, Enrolls at NC State

Daniel Diehl, one of the top junior-aged swimmers in the United States, has graduated from Allegany High School early and enrolled at NC State for the spring semester. He is not expected to compete for the varsity this season, but is training with the Wolfpack ahead of this summer’s Olympic Trials.

Diehl hails from Cumberland, Maryland, the center of a rural area of western Maryland where his coach Brian Dowling has done a marvelous job developing him with a small team that doesn’t have a lot of swimmer that can push him. Diehl has also been training out of the YMCA’s 6-lane, 25-yard pool, and the move will give him consistent access to long course water at the Casey Aquatic Center as he prepares for big national and international meets in the 50 meter pool.

“I decided shortly after world jrs that I wanted to get an early start at NC State,” Diehl said. “I knew the staff and team would push me to give my best performance in June.”

Last summer, Diehl won gold medals as part of three American relays (men’s 400 free, men’s 800 free, and men’s 400 free) at the World Junior Championships, as well as silver in the 200 back and 200 IM.

In 2022, when he was 16, he won four gold medals at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships.

At the recent US Open Swimming Championships, his best finishes were 6th place in the 100 back (54.57) and the 200 IM (1:59.79), though none of those were best times.

During the Olympic Trials qualifying period, which began November 30, 2022, Diehl is the third-fastest America in the 200 backstroke.

US rankings, Olympic Trials Qualifying Period, 200 LCM Backstroke:

1. Ryan Murphy, Cal – 1:54.83
2. Destin Lasco, Cal – 1:55.63
3. (TIE) Daniel Diehl, Cumberland YMCA/NC State – 1:56.04/Jack Aikins, SwimAtlanta – 1:56.04
5. Ian Grum, Georgia – 1:56.32
6. Hunter Tapp, NC State – 1:56.45
7. Keaton Jones, Swim Neptune – 1:56.93
8. Tommy Janton, Notre Dame – 1:56.94
9. Carson Foster, Texas – 1:56.97
10. Kieran Smith, Florida – 1:57.51

Among the names on that list, only Jones is 18-or-younger like Diehl.

Now Diehl will count among his backstroke training partners Hunter Tapp, who ranks 6th on the list above; Kacper Stokowski, who was last year’s NCAA runner-up in the 100 back and finished 6th in the 200 back; redshirt freshman JT Ewing, who has dropped a second-and-a-half in the 200 back already this season; and Katharine Berkoff, who won silver in the women’s 50 back and women’s 100 back at last summer’s World Championships.

Diehl is one of a number of swimmers nationally who have graduated high school early and enrolled in college in recent years, but this strategy has employed especially often at NC State. Current freshman Keelan Cotter did the same a year ago, as did current junior Arsenio Bustos.

Diehl swam his first races officially under the Wolfpack banner this weekend at the Pro Swim Series meet in Knoxville. He finished 35th in the 100 free (50.71), 2nd in the 200 back (1:59.16), and on Saturday was 10th in prelims of the 100 back (55.68). As of publishing, he was also entered to swim the 200 IM on Sunday.

Diehl turned 18 in October.