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Allen Cai from Irvine, California, will head to New York City in the fall to join Josh Corn, Beri Yang, Dylan Dettloff, Ryan Pak, Zach Vasser, Kevin Obochi, and Will Dietz in the Columbia University men’s swimming and diving class of 2027.
Cai is a senior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita. He swims year-round with Irvine Novaquatics and specializes in sprint free and fly. At the recent CIF-Southern Section Division I Championships, he placed 14th in the 50 free (21.29) and 14th in the 100 free (46.65) individually, and he split 20.88/45.72 in the 50/100 free on the two freestyle relays. At the California State Championship Meet, he clocked a 20.83 split on the second leg of the fourth-place 200 free relay and 45.53 on the second leg of the fifth-place 400 free relay.
Cai is a Winter Juniors qualifier in the 100 free and a Summer Juniors qualifier in the 50/200 free and 100 fly. He competed in all four events last year at 2022 Summer Junior National Championships and earned PBs in the LCM 50 free (23.93) and in the 100 back (1:00.52) leading off the NOVA medley relay. In December, he swam at Winter Juniors West and clocked a lifetime best in the SCY 200 free (1:38.47).
- 50 free – 20.95
- 100 free – 45.45
- 200 free – 1:38.47
- 100 fly – 49.69
Columbia men’s team finished fourth in the standings, behind Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, at the 2022 Ivy League Championships. Cai’s best 200 free time would have scored for Columbia in the C final at last year’s conference meet. It took 20.44 in the 50 free, 45.04 in the 100 free, and 48.57 in the 100 fly to earn a spot in finals.
Congratulations to Allen Cai '23 on committing to @Columbia 🏊♂️ @swimswamnews @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/XDSbYGdk7X
— SANTA MARGARITA Catholic High School (@SMCHSEagles) May 19, 2023
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