Previous Five
A comparatively small class for Princeton, but they
strike gold in efforts to replace Ivy Champ and Record-Holder Jon
Christensen with the signing of Jack Pohlmann (55/2:00)and Teo
D’Alessandro more versatile with 20. 50 speed, 45.0 in the 100
free and 1:38 in the 200 free for the relays and 1:47/3:53 in
the IMs and 55 in the breast. Byron Sanborn from Palo Alto adds
another 55 breaststroke as well as another 1:47 IM, Sanborn also has
45 speed in the 100 and is a hair off of 20. In the 50. En Wei
Hu-Van Wright should also add relay depth and contribute in
the the 100 back and fly. Brooks Powell lack the versatility
of his fellow P’16 classmates, but should immediately ,make an
impact in the sprints and with a little development is within reach
of NCAAs in the 50 with a high school best of 20.2.
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Another class that was ranked lower initially, but
with the announcement of the additions of Fred Abramyan, Rich
Altman, Morten Klarskov and Harry Pullar they have vaulted into the
top-10. Pullar and Abramyan should give them immediate relay
help as they move from the top of the prep sprinter ranks to
collegiate studs under Salo, while Klarskov gives them one of the
best breaststroke sprinters available. Altman should also
develop into a solid breaststroker for the Trojans and has great
potential in the IM as well. Singley is extremely versatile,
while Maclin Davis is one of the premier fly recruits in the country
and can also add depth to the sprint corp along with Gottfried
Eisenberger and Zach Wagner who both could find themselves on the
Trojan relays sooner rather than later.
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Few people thought Cal could do what they did
considering what they graduated last year. This year they
don’t graduate nearly as much points-wise but they continue to
stockpile talent in a way that could put Stanford’s Pac Ten title
string in jeopardy and next year’s NCAA title out of reach for the
rest of the country . The class starts with a pair of National Junior Teamers in Jacob Pebley and Josh Prenot. Pebley immediately replaces Glydsen in the backstrokes. Prenot also ranks among the top 1% of all seniors academically. That will come in handy because he will likely be learning from the Professor of Breaststrokeology Nort Thornton. A multi-event threat, the Golden Bears need Prenot to get up to help replace Martin Liivamagi and Nolan Koon.
Much of Cal’s success the past few years has rested with local recruiting and this class is no exception. In addition to Prenot, the Golden Bears early signings of Michael Haney and Sam Shimomura are already paying big dividends. It wasn’t so long ago that Haney was a 1:44 200 freestyler, but a couple of weeks ago he swept the 100 and 200 at the CIF Championships. Shimomura’s ascension has been nothing short of spectacular. Two weekends ago, at the Central Coast CIF Championships, Shimomura made the type of time drops you only see among novice age groupers.
Dillinger has owned Wyoming swimming in just about everything from the 50 to the 500, but given the opportunity to develop and focus on sprint events, he should blossom. Indiana native Scott Haeberle rounds out the class. He’s plateaued a bit in the past of year, but given a new environment and the ability to specialize, he should, like Dillinger, blossom.
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For the second year in a row, Stanford lands the top
recruit in the nation. Tom Kremer is no David Nolan, but he
does boast a resume that includes nine different events where he
ranks near the top ten. Kremer is a local boy, having
swum for Palo Alto, but he has international experience and just
missed making the Israeli Olympic team. Stanford’s biggest loss (aside from Skip Kenney) is Chad LaTourette, but even he wasn’t the multi-event threat Danny Thomson could be. While Thompson is the top mid-distance / distance recruit in the country, he can also throw down the occasional 55-breaststroke or sub-4:00 IM. It’s not difficult to imagine he, Kremer, Sean Duggan, and Nolan forming some impressive 800 Free Relays.
While most of Texas’ top prep talent was headed to the SEC, the Lone Star State’s top recruit, Gray Umbach opted to go West. Once an up-and-comer, Umbach had a breakout state meet and established himself as the top 100 flyer and 200 IMer in this year’s class.
In addition to raiding Texas, there will be a pair of Colorado Cardinals next year. Ryan Arata and Jeff Garnier will arrive on campus as the top two recruits from the Rocky Mountains. Arata is an established backstroker and flyer, but Garnier had a breakthrough state meet and by putting them at sea level they’re only going to get better and better.
The biggest concern in this class is numbers. Stanford is the only team among the top 6-8 to not lose a NCAA champion, but they lose nearly 400 points at the Pac 10 meet. Compare that to the 150 lost by their cross-bay rivals and you have to wonder – can this group help the Cardinal extend their run of 31 Pac 10 titles? It’s going to be tough.
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Not only is Georgia’s class number one based on
sheer numbers. The fact is this group more than makes up for
the 10.5 points that Seniors Peter Benner and Michael Arnold scored
at NCAA’s. Chase Kalisz is top on our list, but picking
him is like trying to choose the prettiest girl in a beauty contest.There’s not much the North Baltimore product can’t do. As a freshman he’s a legit SEC scorer in the freshman and back, breast, fly, and/or IM. When it comes to free, the Bulldogs signed the most versatile freestyler in the country in Matias Koski. Few high school (and college) guys can go 23.8 LCM 50 Free AND sub-15:00 in the mile, but Koski does. How he fits into the lineup will be interesting. There’s little doubt he can develop into one of the NCAA’s best 50-100-200 guys, but you have to think that he will vie for a 200-400-1500 spot come 2016. In the short term, his range is going to allow the Bulldogs to pile a lot of swims on his young legs.
As close as Bauerle and Texas’ Eddie Reese are, all is fair in love and recruiting and Bauerle spirited two of the Longhorn State’s best - Matt Ellis and Ediz Yildirmier – over the borders. Ellis is a flyer/sprinter with Junior Pan Pac experience on his resume. As a 200-500-1650 guy Yildirmier is second only to Koski. When you add in Yousef Alaskari and James Powell into the mix you see that this class resembles those Bulldog women’s classes that stockpiled mid-distance like no other.
This class isn’t all freestyle fenoms though. Tynan Stewart (along with Alaskari) are excellent flyer/backstrokers while Zach Gunn will have time to develop into a front-line breaststroker. The class is rounded out with a pair of in-state pickups. Aidan Sweeney and Nick Salyers aren’t top-100 material just yet, but Jack and Harvey have watched the pair develop over the years and figure their rapid improvement curves will continue once they get to Athens.
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