USA Swimming has named 74 swimmers to its 2023-24 Junior National Team roster, with the announcement coming on Monday just over a week after the conclusion of the World Junior Championships.
The roster features 16 medalists from the 2023 World Juniors, including individual champions Leah Shackley, Addison Sauickie and Joshua Chen.
Bailey Hartman, who won a pair of relay medals and swam in three individual finals at World Juniors, leads all swimmers as she qualified in five different events, while Luke Whitlock and Kaii Winkler led the boys’ side by qualifying in four apiece.
One noteworthy name on the roster is Luka Mijatovic, who set a number of National Age Group Records this summer in the boys’ 13-14 age group.
The 74-member roster includes eight open water swimmers, though two of them, Whitlock and Michaela Mattes, qualified in both pool and open water. The 68 swimmers that qualified in pool events is a slight downturn compared to the 72 named in 2022-23.
“We could not be more excited to announce the 2023-2024 National Junior Team Roster,” said Erik Posegay, USA Swimming’s National Junior Team Director and National Coach.
“We proudly welcome back some familiar faces while adding a number of new athletes who together represent the future of our sport. We look forward to supporting these stars throughout the year as we prepare for Olympic Trials and Paris 2024”.
A total of 49 swimmers have qualified for the Junior National Team for the first time, while 39 of the athletes have represented the U.S. internationally, 29 of whom did so earlier this month at World Juniors.
2023-24 U.S. JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM
Girls’ Roster
| Swimmer | Event(s) | Hometown | Club |
| Hannah Bellard | 1500 free, 200 fly, 400 IM | Grose Ile, Mich. | Club Wolverine |
| Berit Berglund | 100 back | Carmel, Ind. | Carmel Swm Club |
| Lilla Bognar | 200 back, 400 IM | Travels Rest, S.C. | Team Greenville |
| Lynsey Bowen | 800 free | Carmel, Ind. | Carmel Swim Club |
| Caroline Bricker | 200 IM | Colorado Springs, Colo. | Pikes Peak Athletics |
| Campbell Chase | 200/400 IM | Dallas, Texas | COR Swimming |
| Avery Collins | 200 breast | Keller, Texas |
Lakeside Aquatic Club
|
| Charlotte Crush | 100/200 back, 100 fly | Louisville, Ky. | Lakeside Seahawks |
| Audrey Derivaux | 200 fly | Mount Laurel, N.J. | Jersey Wahoos |
| Paige Downey | 1500 free | Gilbert, Ariz. |
Gold Medal Swim Club
|
| Cavan Gormsen | 200/400/800 free | Wantagh, N.Y. |
Long Island Aquatic Club
|
| Bailey Hartman | 100/200/400 free, 100/200 fly | Danville, Calif. | Crow Canyon Sharks |
| Annie Jia | 100 fly | Ambler, Pa. |
Upper Dublin Aquatic Club
|
| Caroline Larsen | 50 free | Eden Prairie, Minn. | Foxjets Swim Team |
| Michaela Mattes | 800/1500 free, 10K | Sarasota, Fla. | Sarasota Sharks |
| Haley McDonald | 100 free, 200/400 IM | Louisville, Ky. | Lakeside Seahawks |
| Mary McKenna | 10K | Seaford, N.Y. | Long Island Express |
| Raya Mellott | 100/200 breast | Danville, Calif. | Crow Canyon Sharks |
| Lolly Milbaum | 7.5K | Sarasota, Fla. | Sarasota Sharks |
| Madison Mintenko | 200/400 free | Colorado Springs, Colo. | Pikes Peak Athletics |
| Anna Moesch | 50/100 free | Green Brook, N.J. |
Greater Somerset County YMCA
|
| Lainey Mullins | 200 fly | Hockessin, Del. | Suburban Seahawks |
| Annam Olasewere | 50 free | Greenwich, Conn. |
Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club
|
| Erika Pelaez | 100 free, 100 back | Hialeah, Fla. | Eagle Aquatics |
| JoJo Ramey | 200 back | Fishers, Ind. |
Fishers Area Swimming Tigers
|
| Addie Robillard | 100/200 breast | Mason, Ohio | Mason Manta Rays |
| Addison Sauickie | 200/400 free | Sarasota, Fla. | Sarasota Sharks |
| Leah Shackley | 100/200 back, 100 fly | Bedford, Penn. | Blair Regional YMCA |
| Cliare Stuhlmacher | 10K | Henrico, Va. |
NOVA of Virginia Aquatics
|
| Molly Sweeney | 100/200 breast, 200 IM | Carmel, Ind. | Carmel Swim Club |
| Lucy Thomas | 100 breast | Elm Grove, Wis. | Elmbrook Swim Club |
| Hailey Tierney | 50 free | Pewaukee, Wis. |
Lake County Swim Club
|
| Kathleen Turano | 800/1500 free | Wyckoff, N.J. | Scarlet Aquatics |
| Maggie Wanezek | 100/200 back | Brookfield, Wisc. | Elmbrook Swim Club |
Boys’ Roster
| Swimmer | Event(s) | Hometown | Club |
| Adriano Arioti | 200 back | Potomac, Md. |
Rockville Montgomery Swim Club
|
| Alexei Avakov | 100 breast | Manchester, N.H. | Phoenix Swimming |
| Arthur Balva | 200 fly | Palo Alto, Calif. |
Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics
|
| Josh Bey | 200 breast | Hinsdale, Ill. |
Highland Hurricanes Swim Club
|
| Ben Bricca | 100 back | Seattle, Wash. |
Seattle Metropolitan Aquatic Club
|
| Josh Chen | 100/200 breast | Ames, Iowa | Texas Ford Aquatics |
| Norvin Clontz | 400 free | Charlotte, N.C. | SwimMAC |
| Rowan Cox | 100 fly | Austin, Texas | Longhorn Aquatics |
| Johnny Cursh | 100 back | Louisville, Ky. | Lakeside Seahawks |
| Landon D’Ariano | 400 IM | West Chester, Pa. |
Germantown Academy Aquatic Club
|
| Ben Delmar | 200 breast | Charlotte, N.C. | SwimMAC |
| Diggory Dillingham | 50 free | Bend, Ore. | Bend Swim Club |
| Charlie Egeland | 100 breast | Minneapolis, Minn. | Aquajets |
| Luke Ellis | 800/1500 free | Las Vegas, Nev. |
Sandpipers of Nevada
|
| Gregg Enoch | 200 fly | Carmel, Ind. | Carmel Swim Club |
| Ryan Erisman | 7.5K | Windermere, Fla. | Windermere Lakers |
| Isaac Fleig | 1500 free | Cedarburg, Wis. | The Swim Team |
| Jerry Fox | 50/100 free | Raleigh, N.C. | TAC Titans |
| Connor Fry | 10K | Humble, Texas | South Texas Aquatics |
| Sean Green | 400 IM | Garden City, N.Y. |
Long Island Aquatic Club
|
| Drew Hitchcock | 200 fly, 400 IM | Chattanooga, Tenn. | Baylor Swim Club |
| Michael Hochwalt | 200 back, 200 IM | Colbert, Wash. |
Spokane Waves Aquatic Team
|
| Jeremy Kelly | 200 IM | Georgetown, Texas | Nitro Swimming |
| Cooper Lucas | 200 free, 200/400 IM | Keller, Texas |
Lakeside Aquatic Club
|
| Caleb Maldari | 100/200 back | Charlotte, N.C. | SwimMAC |
| Gabriel Manteufel | 10K | Las Vegas, Nev. |
Sandpipers of Nevada
|
| Henry McFadden | 50/100/200 free | Haddonfield, N.J. | Jersey Wahoos |
| Luka Mijatovic | 400/800 free | Pleasanton, Calif. |
Pleasanton Seahawks
|
| Humberto Najera | 200 back | Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. | Evolution Racing Club |
| Watson Nguyen | 100 breast | Plano, Texas | Metroplex Aquatics |
| Spencer Nicholas | 100 fly | Nashville, Tenn. | Nashville Aquatics |
| David Schmitt | 200 fly | San Juan Capistrano, Calif. | Evolution Racing Club |
| Noah Sech | 200 IM | San Clemente, Calif. |
Mission Viejo Nadadores
|
| Nathan Szobota | 400/800/1500 free | Richmond, Va. |
Nova of Virginia Aquatics
|
| August Vetsch | 100 fly | Queen Creek, Ariz. | Swim Neptune |
| Luke Whitlock | 400/800/1500 free, 10K | Noblesville, Ind. |
Fishers Area Swimming Tigers
|
| Hudson Williams | 100 back | Powell, Ohio |
New Albany Aquatic Club
|
| Jordan Willis | 200 breast | Waxhaw, N.C. | SwimMAC |
| Kaii Winkler | 50/100/200 free, 100 fly | Miami, Fla. | Eagle Aquatics |
| Jason Zhao | 100/200 free | Cincinnati, Ohio | Mason Manta Rays |
Athletes are eligible for Junior National Team selection provided they are 18 or younger as of December 31, 2023, did not compete individually at the World Aquatics Championships and were not named to the U.S. National Team.
The selection process is very similar to that of the National Team, with swimmers selected based off their performances between January 1 and September 10, 2023.
SELECTION CRITERIA
- Priority 1: The two athletes with the fastest times in each individual Olympic Event.
- Priority 2: The athletes with the third and fourth fastest times in the 100-meter and 200-meter Freestyle.
- Priority 3: The athletes in each individual Olympic Event who achieve a time equal to or better than the following Time Standards who have not been previously named to the Team using Priorities 1 and 2. The Time Standards are 4% over the combined average of the medal winning times from the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and the 2019 and 2022 World Championships.
| Men | Event | Women |
| 22.25 | 50 Free | 25.06 |
| 49.36 | 100 Free | 54.64 |
| 1:48.91 | 200 Free | 1:59.16 |
| 3:51.73 | 400 Free | 4:09.11 |
| 7:59.32 | 800 Free | 8:34.12 |
| 15:13.08 | 1500 Free | 16:20.65 |
| 54.28 | 100 Back | 1:00.74 |
| 1:58.91 | 200 Back | 2:10.83 |
| 1:00.51 | 100 Breast | 1:08.17 |
| 2:12.30 | 200 Breast | 2:27.20 |
| 52.54 | 100 Fly | 58.72 |
| 1:57.51 | 200 Fly | 2:10.70 |
| 2:00.59 | 200 IM | 2:13.28 |
| 4:18.37 | 400 IM | 4:42.98 |
- Priority 4: The third fastest athlete in each individual Olympic event not already named to the team using Priorities 1-3.
- Priority 5: The fourth fastest swimmers in each individual Olympic Event not already named to the team using Priorities 1-4
I’m confused, what makes you qualify for the national team vs the junior national team? Can someone please explain?
How does a swimmer who competed at Junior Worlds not make either national roster?
If you name the athlete you’re referring to, I can dig in and figure out why.
Seems like that should be an automatic add. Similar to how it’s a shame Henry McFadden is not on the National team after qualifying for Worlds. He misses out on some good National team perks after getting bumped from swimmers at the pro series meet.
National Team and National Junior Team rosters are determined by best times, for a period of time (in this case, January 1 – September 10, 2023).
Worlds and Junior Worlds rosters are determined by performance only at a specific selection meet (in this case, Phillips 66 Nationals in June).
Thus, some swimmers who have faster times, but did not perform those times at Phillips 66 Nationals, might bump out those swimmers who made Worlds or Junior Worlds.
Which is more difficult to achieve? Matter of opinion.
IMO qualifying for the international meet/team is the bigger accomplishment (not to mention better experience). Show up and swim fast when it matters.
Can anyone explain why there are two swimmers named for 7.5k? The criteria selection specifically outlines selection based Olympic events, and Paris 2024 only lists a 10k, as does World Aquatics. Why would they select a 7.5k, rather than the next person on the 10k list?
USA Swimming has 7.5k in its open water events, but those aren’t Olympic events. Seems to go against their posted selection criteria.
Here is the open water criteria. I think your “Olympic events” definition is from the pool selection criteria. The open water criteria selects 3 per gender from the 10k and 1 per gender from the 7.5k.
https://www.usaswimming.org/docs/default-source/open-water-resources/open-water-selection/2023-2024-ow-national-junior-team-selection-summary-final.pdf
Thanks!
Max Williamson??
Maximus is on National Team not Junior
Does anyone recall the last junior national team member to make an Olympic team?
I thought I read that if individuals competed at world juniors (Israel), they were ineligible for the team? Maybe I read it wrong?
If they compete individually at senior Worlds they’re not eligible. No restriction on World Juniors.
When golden googles nominations? Should be these days
thx
For athletes with dual citizenships , does it negate their ability to compete for the other country?
No. Being on the National Team or National Junior Team doesn’t “lock in” one’s eligibility, only competing internationally does (and there are some new loopholes to mitigate that international performance at the junior level).
Virtually no benefit to being named to this team for the athletes, teams, and coaches. Never understood the point.
They get to put it in their instagram bio
Aren’t there certain camps people get to go to? Along with gear?
Sounds like you’re salty you’ve don’t have a kid on it.
It is a developmental team, there are training trips at the OTC, priority registration for meets, and travel opportunities. It is also a great social experience. My oldest daughter made the team in 2016, and it was such a huge moment in her career. USA Swimming does a great job trying to prepare these athletes for possibly making future national teams.
Except that it’s not a team in any way. It’s a list of names (a roster) that don’t actually get any training opportunities, including camps (not sure if they even get priority at OTC anymore being on this team). So if the only real benefit is priority registration and their name on a list, then my point stands.
The U.S. Junior national team roster just an honor. To represent theUnited States in international competitions, you still need to compete in the qualifiers. Plus they can participate in the junior national team camp at OTC in January
The National Junior Team camp is a big one. They and their coaches also get a higher level of support/service from Erik Posegay and the National Junior Team staff – including club visits.
I think I’d also remove “just” and say “The US Junior National Team roster is an honor.” Let’s not discount that – it’s a recognition that you’re one of the best junior teamers in the country. There’s a big wave against recognizing youth athletes in this country, but I think being top 56 junior athletes is pretty special.
Met Cooper Lucas and his grandmother at the trials. She will be so proud and happy. I know I would be.
OW team members are travelling to Barcelona this week for the LEN 10K. International racing experience is a good benefit of the team i’d say.
No need to bring facts up to this guy. He’s made up his mind.
There’s a plethora of reasons why this is a good thing. Negating the positive mental impact this can have on kids as they March closer to their ultimate goals is crazy.