U.S. National Team-er, Top 20 HM Arik Katz Sends Verbal to Harvard for 2020

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2019-20 U.S. National Team member Arik Katz of the Sarasota Tsunami has verbally committed to the admissions process* at Harvard for 2020. Katz, a distance specialist, was on Team USA at the 2019 World Junior Championships, where he finished fifth in the mile and eighth in the 800 free. He made the honorable mention list in our rankings of the top 20 high school boys in the class of 2020.

So excited to announce my commitment to swim and study at Harvard! Go Crimson!

Katz’s oldest brother Alex swam at Michigan and then NYU, his older sister Taylor swam at Florida, and his other older brother Austin is a junior at Texas and the 2018 NCAA champion in the 200 back.

TOP TIMES (SCY/LCM)

• 200 free – 1:37.96 // 1:53.30
• 500/400 free – 4:23.32 // 3:53.78
• 1000/800 free – 8:57.37 // 7:57.23
• 1650/1500 free – 15:01.92 // 15:05.93
• 400 IM – 3:53.69 // 4:42.97

Katz is the reigning Florida 3A State Champ in the 500 free, where he went his current best time at the 2018 championships last year as a junior with Venice High School. He then went on to take fourth in the mile and 12th in the 800 free at the 2019 U.S. National Championships.

This is a major get for Harvard, who will have Dean Farris and Raphael Marcoux back on the team next year (both are taking an Olympic redshirt). Harvard just graduated three of its four best distance swimmers, including 2019 NCAA 500 free A-finalist Brennan Novak, and Katz comes in with times that would’ve taken third in the 1000, fourth in the 1650, and 10th in the 500 at the 2019 Ivy League Champs. Right now, he’s just under eight seconds off of the 2019 NCAA invite time in the mile.

Katz joins three other men in Harvard’s class of 2024 who also publicly announced their verbal commitments in the last few days: Dylan Rhee, Quinn Harron, and Will Raidt.

*IVY LEAGUE DISCLAIMER: A “verbal commitment” by a coach is not an offer of admission, as only the Admissions Office has that authority. An Ivy League coach can only commit his or her support in the admissions process. Moreover, an Ivy League Likely Letter is not an offer of admission to the university.

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