2021 Swammy Awards: Age Group Swimmer of the Year – 17-18

To see all of our 2021 Swammy Awards, click here.

2021 Honorees: Torri Huske and Baylor Nelson

17-18 Girls

Torri Huske – Arlington Aquatic Club, Arlington, VA

Torri Huske stood out as the top 17-18 age group swimmer of the year by virtue of her American Record, World Junior Record, three National Age Group Records, and six other first-place finishes for the year. Huske broke the American Record and World Junior Record in the LCM 100 fly for the first time in the semi-finals at Olympic Trials Wave II when she finished first with 55.78. She then lowered the respective marks to 55.56 in the final, punching her ticket to Tokyo at the same time. At the 2020 Olympic Games, she finished in fourth place, a mere .01 off the podium with 55.73. She also lowered her own NAG record in the SCY 100 fly and took down Simone Manuel’s national mark in the LCM 50 free.

Huske was also the top performer for 2021 in the SCY 50/100/200 free and 200 IM, as well as the LCM 100/200 free. She ranked 2nd in the LMC 200 fly and 200 IM; and 3rd in the SCY 200 fly.

Huske ranks among the all-time top-25 in the SCY 50 free (2nd), 100 free (5th), 200 free (5th), 100 fly (1st), 200 fly (11th), and 200 IM (4th). In LCM, she is #1 in the 50 free, 3rd in the 100 free, 9th in the 200 free, 1st in the 100 fly, 24th in the 200 fly, and 4th in the 200 IM.

She achieved 18&U World Rankings of #3 in the 50m free, #6 in the 100m free, #12 in the 200m free, # in the 100m fly, #14 in the 200m fly, and #6 in the 200m IM.

Runner-Up

Lydia Jacoby, Seward Tsunami Swim Club (Seward, AK)

Jacoby became a household name in July when she won the 100m breaststroke at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, dethroning defending champion and Team USA teammate, Lilly King. Jacoby lowered her own 17-18 National Age Group Record in the event with her winning 1:04.95. She had previously broken the NAG twice at U.S. Olympic Trials with 1:05.71 in semis and 1:05.28 in the final.

Jacoby, who was still 17 when she broke the record, has another year left to do more damage. Notably, over the next twelve months, she will take aim at Kaitlyn Dobler’s 57.71 100 breast and Ella Nelson’s 2:05.68 200 breast in short course yards, and King’s 2:24.47 200 breast in long course meters. Jacoby finished the year ranked #1 in the LCM 100/200 breast and #3 in the SCY 100/200 breast among 17-18 girls.

Honorable Mention

• Justina Kozan – Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA / Unattached-CA

Kozan was a consistent talent who hovered around the top of the charts in her events throughout 2021. Only 17, she has a full year left to continue to make her mark on the 17-18s but already turned in the top performance in the LCM 400 IM (4:40.57) with her fifth-place finish in prelims at U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She went on to finish eighth and was the only 18-and-under swimmer in the final. Kozan also was 2nd in the SCY 400 IM and LCM 200 free; 3rd in the LCM 200 IM; 4th in the SCY 200 free and 200 fly and the LCM 200 fly; 8th in the SCY 200 IM; and 9th in the LCM 100 free. A member of the 2020-2021 National Junior Team, she won the 200 free, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM at Speedo Summer Championships-West. At Winter Juniors-West, she was runner-up in the 200 fly and 400 IM and she placed fourth in the 200 IM.

17-18 Boys

Baylor Nelson – SwimMAC Carolina (Charlotte, NC)

Nelson was the top IMer in the 17-18 age group for all of 2021. He ranked #1 at year-end in both the 200 IM and 400 IM in short course yards and in long course meters. He displayed his broad array of talent by also finishing #5 in the LCM 100 free and #6 in the SCY 200 back and 200 breast and the LCM 200 free and 200 back.

Nelson won the SCY 200 back, 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM at Winter Juniors-East, a week after winning the LCM 200 IM and placing second in the 200 back and 400 IM at U.S. Open.

Nelson is ranked among the all-time top-100 in the age group in ten events, including the SCY 200 back (35th), 200 breast (22nd), 200 IM (2nd), and 400 IM (14th), and the LCM 100 free (31st), 200 free (34th), 100 back (97th), 200 back (57th), 200 IM (9th), and 400 IM (18th). He was the 10th-fastest male junior swimmer in the world in 2021 in the LCM 200 IM and the 14th-fastest in the 400 IM. He was also ranked #30 in the 100 free, #33 in the 200 free, #69 in the 100 back, #29 in the 200 back, and #67 in the 100 breast.

Runner-Up

Jack Aikins, SwimAtlanta (Atlanta, GA)

Aikins was the top backstroker of the 17-18 age category, ending 2021 with the #1 times in the SCY 200 back and the LCM 100/200 back. He was the only 18&U swimmer in the final of the men’s 200m back at U.S. Olympic Team Trials and he was a semi-finalist (placing 12th) in the 100m back. In addition, he was 3rd in the SCY 100 back and 9th in the LCM 50/100 free in 2021.

Aikins ranks among the top-100 all-time in the SCY 50 free (43rd), 100 free (52nd), 100 back (15th), and 200 back (4th), as well as the LCM 50 free (31st), 100 free (42nd), 100 back (4th), and 200 back (7th).

Honorable Mention

• Luke Hobson – Lakeridge Swim Team-PC / University of Texas: A freshman at Texas, Hobson broke the boys 17-18 National Age Group Record in the 500 free at the Minnesota Invite in December 2021. In the morning session, he took down Michael Phelps’ 2004 mark of 4:12.33 with a stunning 4:12.12. He lopped another 2.4 seconds off that time in finals, setting the new NAG at 4:09.72. Hobson ended the year with the #1 times for 17-18 boys in the SCY 500/1650 free and he was #2 in the LCM 400 free; “3 in the SCY 1000 free; and “4 in the SCY 200 free and LCM 200 free.

• Jack Alexy – Greater Somerset County YMCA Storm-NJ: Alexy broke the boys 17-18 National Age Group Record in the 100m free in prelims at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, bettering his own PB by .9 and taking a .09 chunk out of Caeleb Dressel’s old national mark of 48.78 that had stood since 2015. During 2021, Alexy also notched the #5 time for the age group in the SCY 100 free and LCM 50 free; and the #6 time in the LCM 100 back. Alexy had world junior rankings of #14 in the 50 free and #10 in the 100 free.

• Matt Fallon – Greater Somerset County YMCA Storm-NJ: Fallon took down the boys 17-18 NAG Record in the 200m breast in semi-finals at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, when he qualified first for finals with 2:08.91. The only 18&U swimmer in the final, he wound up placing 8th, adding 3.3 seconds. His semis time ranked #2 in the world among junior swimmers for 2021. Fallon wrapped up 2021 with the #1 time for the age group in the SCY 200 breast; #2 in the SCY 100 free; #3 in the SCY 400 IM; #4 in the SCY 100 breast; and #5 in the LCM 100 breast.

Past Winners

Originally published Jan 5, 2021