Charles Klein, a senior at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona and member of Scottsdale Aquatic Club, is the latest to make a verbal commitment to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas men’s swimming and diving program. Klein will start in the fall of 2015.
Klein represented Pinnacle at the 2013 Arizona State Division 1 Swimming & Diving Championships, swimming the 200 free and 500 free individually, and as part of the school’s 200 medley and 400 free relays. Klein’s best events, however, are longer than anything swum in high school. His best short course times are:
1650y free: 16:04.53
1000y free: 9:36.92
500y free: 4:38.39
200y free: 1:41.97
Klein also had an excellent long course season last summer. He led off SAC’s 4x200m free relay at Summer Juniors in Irvine with a 1:56.45, his best by 1.5 seconds, a 3.5-second year-over-year improvement. He also went his best 100m free (54.50) and 400m free (4:09.91) in time trials at Juniors.
Klein would have scored in the top ten in the mile at 2014 Mountain West Conference Championships, which would have been nice for a team that only entered one swimmer in the event. In the 500 and 200, Klein’s times are right at the edge of getting a second swim. With another year of training under his belt he could make a real impact as a freshman.
Klein told SwimSwam: “I chose UNLV because I immediately loved the school as soon as I got on campus. The guys made me feel so welcome; it was like I was on the team already. I also believe the coaching is the best fit for me to succeed and reach my goals because of their very detail-oriented distance program.”
The Rebels are putting together a terrific group for the fall of 2015. They have also received verbal commitments from: