Spectrum Aquatics Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming: 4/12/2025

Brought to you by Spectrum Aquatics, a SwimSwam partner, our Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming series celebrates swimmers of every age and experience level with age group profiles of some recent results.

Kennedi Southern, 14, Lakeside Aquatic Club (NT): Southern set personal best times across the board at last week’s Pro Swim Series (LCM) meet in Sacramento, highlighted by her cracking the ‘A’ final in the women’s 50 free and 50 back. In the 50 free, Southern brought her best time down from 26.18 to 25.82, ranking her 14th all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group. She also rocketed up the all-time rankings in the 100 free, dropping from 57.45 to 56.36 to rank 18th all-time in age group history. The 14-year-old also set best times in the 50 back (29.97) and 50 fly (28.09), which rank 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the U.S. this season for 13-14 girls.

Cullen Cashman, 14, South Shore YMCA Strypers (NE): Cashman fired off lifetime bests in five events at the Eastern Zone Age Group Championships (SCY) in Webster, N.Y., including moving up in the all-time rankings for 13-14 boys in both breaststroke races. Cullman dropped from 57.68 to 57.29 in the 100 breast, moving into 81st all-time in the 13-14 age group, and in the 200 breast, he improved on his week-old best time of 2:04.57 down to 2:04.22, ranking him 70th all-time in the age group. He also set best times in the 200 back (1:55.44), 100 fly (51.50) and 200 IM (1:53.45).

Hope Heumann, 10, Irvine Novaquatics (CA): Heumann set six lifetime best times at the Far Western Championships (SCY) last weekend in Pleasanton, including some top-ranked times in the 200 IM and 100 breast. In the 200 IM, Heumann clocked 2:14.94 to launch up to #3 all-time in the girls’ 10 & under age group and 1st this season, while in the 100 breast, her time of 1:12.38 ties for 60th all-time and is #2 this season. The 10-year-old also set best times in the 50 free (27.11), 500 free (5:32.37), 50 fly (29.28) and 100 IM (1:05.14), with the 500 free ranking her 78th all-time in the 10 & under age group and the 100 IM sitting 67th.

Albert Xiao, 9, Santa Clara Swim Club (PC): Competing at Far Westerns on the boys’ side, Xiao produced six personal bests racing in the boys’ 10 & under age group, earning five top-eight finishes as a nine-year-old. Xiao now ranks 4th among nine-year-old boys this season in the 50 back (31.45) and 200 IM (2:28.51), 5th in the 100 back (1:08.21), 6th in the 100 IM (1:09.59) and 10th in the 100 free (1:01.03). His biggest drop percentage-wise came in the 50 back, as he dropped nearly eight-tenths from his three-week-old PB of 32.23.

Ivy Zhang, 11, Pleasanton Seahawks (PC): Also racing at Far Westerns, Zhang set seven personal bests and picked up a win in the 200 fly racing as an 11-year-old in the girls’ 11-12 age group. Zhang placed 1st in the 200 fly, clocking a lifetime best of 2:12.63 to rank 4th this season among 11-year-old girls. Her best times in the 50 back (28.09) and 100 back (1:00.35) rank even higher, sitting 3rd in the country this season, while she also cracked the top 10 in the 200 back (2:12.04), 400 IM (4:49.99) and 100 fly (1:00.31).

Tyler Harris, 12, Mason Makos Swim Team (PV): Harris cracked the top 10 in the boys’ 11-12 age group this season in four events at last weekend’s ISCA East Coast Elite Showcase, picking up seven individual victories along the way. In the 100 free, Harris chipped two-tenths off his PB in 50.46 to rank 10th in the age group this season, while in the 100 fly, he dropped nearly three seconds in 55.60 to rank 8th among 11-12s this season. The Mason Makos product also showed off his ability in the stroke 50s, moving into 8th this season in the age group in the 50 fly (25.14) and 9th in the 50 back (26.06) while adding a PB in the 50 breast (31.77).

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