Sahiel Pai’s 1:09.76 100 Breaststroke Moves Him To Fourth In American Boys 11-12 Age Group

While some of California’s fastest high school swimmers won titles and broke records at the CIF State Championships last weekend, the young Sahiel Pai had a memorable weekend of his own in the long-course pool. Newly aged into the 11-12 age bracket, Pai climbed to fourth among American 11-12 boys in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Irvine Novaquatics Intrasquad last weekend.

Pai swam 1:09.76 to move up into the age group’s top 5. He’s now less than a second away from the 11-12 boys’ National Age Group record in the event, which Ethan Dang holds at 1:08.96. It’s an impressive feat, especially when considering how rarely we’ve seen this record move in the past 25 years.

Top 5 American 11-12 Boys, 100 Breaststroke (LCM)

1. Ethan Dang, Kings Aquatic Club – 1:08.96 (2014)
2. Peter Vu, Irvine Novaquatics – 1:09.24 (2021)
3. Maverick Smalley, The Woodlands Swim Team – 1:09.48 (2000)
4. Sahiel Pai, Irvine Novaquatics – 1:09.76 (2025)
5. Wilson York, Lakeside Swim Team – 1:09.81 (2022)

Maverick Smalley held this National Age Group record for 14 years after swimming a 1:09.48 in 2000. Michael Andrew got the closest to Smalley’s record in the intervening years, swimming 1:09.95 in 2012. Dang finally cracked Smalley’s time in 2014, swimming a 1:08.96 that brought the record under 1:09 for the first time. But still, only Dang and Peter Vu have been faster than Smalley, and now Dang’s record has stood for over 10 years.

Pai’s effort—which he swam in a timed final—was a significant lifetime best for him. The last time he swam the event was in July 2024, when he swam a lifetime best 1:14.55. The improvements he’s made in the ten months since that last swim helped him take 4.79 seconds off his lifetime best, as he split 33.10/36.66.

The 33.10 opening split was a 50-meter breaststroke lifetime best for Pai. It moves him up to a tie for 71^st in the age group after he swam a 33.15 for 79^th in April. He also swam bests in the 50 backstroke (32.45), 100 backstroke (1:09.75), 50 butterfly (29.55), 100 butterfly (1:05.89), and 200 IM (2:28.14).