SwimMAC Carolina has earned the top spot in USA Swimming’s Club Excellence Rankings for the fourth year in a row, ranking 1st over Carmel Swim Club by a margin of 978 points.
The rankings, which were released on October 24th, are published annually to recognize the 200 highest-performing USA Swimming clubs in the development of 18 and under swimmers. Points are earned by the performance of swimmers on each team, and are tallied in order to award clubs Gold, Silver, or Bronze status.
SwimMAC totaled 66,831 points this year, a little over 20,000 points less than last season (88,076), when they won by a much larger margin. It is the 21st time the club has earned gold medal recognition.
Carmel Swim Club scored 65,853 points, taking home 2nd place and scoring a little over 1,000 more points than they did last year (64,531).
Lakeside Swim Team, who placed 4th last year, scored 55,787 points and elevated themselves to 3rd.
Top 10 Clubs
- SwimMAC Carolina – 66,831
- Carmel Swim Club – 65,853
- Lakeside Swim Team – 55,787
- Long Island Aquatic Club – 55,187
- Pleasanton Seahawks – 51,066
- Nation’s Capital Swim Club – 49,389
- TAC Titans – 40,088
- Irvine Novaquatics – 39,515
- Sarasota Sharks – 36,901
- Bolles School Sharks – 36,675
Points are earned when a swimmer hits a certain time standard, which are different for gold, silver, and bronze.
SwimMAC had four swimmers score over 4,000 points. They were led by David Sammons, who scored 4,667 and broke the boys’ 15-16 North Carolina State Record for the short course 200 fly and long course 400 IM.
Right behind Sammon was Elle Scott, who began her college swimming career with Cal this fall and competed for the U.S. in the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Romania this past summer. Scott scored 4,643 points, and was followed by Santi Alzate, who earned 4,267.5 points. Clarke Neace was SwimMAC’s final swimmer above 4,000, registering 4,190 points.
The Pleasanton Seahawks were the only team in the top 10 to place a swimmer, Luka Mijatovic, on the United States 2025 World Championships roster.
The Sandpipers of Nevada, which placed third last year but fell to 16th this year, put Claire Weinstein on the World Champs roster. Cavalier Aquatics was represented on the roster as well, courtesy of Thomas Heilmann.
Bend Swim Club saw Campbell McKean earn his way onto the World Championships roster after his breakout 100 breaststroke at this year’s U.S. National Championships. St Petersburg Aquatics also saw representation on the roster via Brinkleigh Hansen, who swam for the U.S. in the women’s 5K and 10K open water events.
By earning a spot on Team USA, these lap swimmers automatically qualified their club for gold status. Traditionally, open water swimmers are not included in this policy, however this year, USA Swimming has decided to grant St. Petersburg Aquatics gold medal status.
*This article previously stated that St. Petersburg Aquatics was given gold medal status due to Brinkleigh Hansen‘s participation in the open water World Championships, which was inaccurate at the time*
It is Bend Swim Club’s first time receiving gold medal status. Mecklenburg Swim Association also earned gold status for the first time.
Data Courtesy of USA Swimming:
In total, 22 clubs earned gold medal status this year:
- SwimMAC Carolina
- Carmel Swim Club
- Lakeside Swim Team
- Long Island Aquatic Club
- Pleasanton Seahawks
- Nation’s Capital Swim Club
- TAC Titans
- Irvine Novaquatics
- Sarasota Sharks
- Bolles School Sharks
- Mason Manta Rays
- Acadamy Bullets Swim Club
- Lakeside Aquatic Club
- Mecklenburg Swim Association
- NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc
- Sandpipers of Nevada
- SwimAtlanta
- Bellevue Swim team
- Santa Clara Swim Club
- Bend Swim Club
- Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA
A total of 23 clubs earned Club Excellence status for the first time:
- Sporting Jax Aquatic Club (Silver, 15,362)
- Aggie Swim Club (Silver, 11,561)
- Wahoo Aquatic Club (Silver, 8,140)
- Revolution Aquatic Club (Bronze, 7,688)
- River City Aquatics (Bronze, 6,711)
- Williamsburg Aquatic Club (Bronze, 6,431)
- Life Time Northern California (Bronze, 6,221)
- University Of Notre Dame (Bronze, 6,118)
- Charles River Aquatics (Bronze, 5,784)
- Lakeridge Swim Team (Bronze, 5,589)
- Sacramento Aquatics Club (Bronze, 5,467)
- Wahoo’s of Wellington (Bronze, 5,442)
- University of Louisville (Bronze, 5,075)
- H2okie Aquatics (Bronze, 4,850)
- Center Grove Aquatic Club (Bronze, 4,314)
- Valley Splash (Bronze, 4,291)
- Supernova Swim Team (Bronze, 4,265)
- Columbia Swimming (Bronze, 3,847)
- Mount Lebanon Aqua Club (Bronze, 3,817)
- Sunrise Swim Club (Bronze, 3,803 points)
- Jupiter Dragons Swim Team (Bronze, 3,768)
- Ladera Oaks (Bronze, 3,750)
- Tyler Rose Aquatic Club (Bronze, 3,741)
Each year, USA Swimming recognizes clubs that have achieved gold medal status for four straight years, dubbing them podium clubs. There were 12 honored this year:
- SwimMAC Carolina (66,831)
- Carmel Swim Club (65,853)
- Lakeside Swim Team (55,787)
- Long Island Aquatic Club (55,187)
- Nation’s Capital Swim Club (49,389)
- Irvine Novaquatics (39,515)
- Sarasota Sharks (36,901)
- Bolles School Sharks (36,675)
- Lakeside Aquatic Club (33,148)
- NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc (32,168)
- Sandpipers Of Nevada (31,290)
- Aquajets Swim Team (25,227)
The list published by USA Swimming contains an error. As the author of the article notes, St. Petersburg Aquatics should be listed as a Gold Medal club by virtue of Brinkleigh Hansen being a member of the World Championship team.