2024 NCSAs: 18-Year-Old Devin Dilger Goes 49.6 in the 100 Meter Free

2024 NCSA SPRING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 19-23, 2024
• Rosen Aquatic and Fitness Center, Orlando, Florida
• Short Course Yards Prelims (25 yards)/Long Course Meters (50 meters)
• Live Stream
• Meet Central
• Live Results on Meet Mobile: “2024 NCSA Spring Swimming Championships”
• Day 2 Finals Live Recap

On day 2 of the 2024 NCSA Spring Championships, the big stars like Kyle Peck and Rylee Erisman continued to rock the national order of swimming, but there were some great swims further down the rankings worth taking notice of as well.

The biggest swim you might have missed on Wednesday came from 18-year-old Devin Dilger of OLY Swimming in Michigan. At the end of the finals session, where he otherwise didn’t race, Dilger swam a 100 free Time Trials, marking a 49.62 to go well-under the Olympic Trials cut. That improved his previous best of 50.17 that was done to win the individual event on Tuesday.

It also moves him into the top 30 Americans all-time in the 100 free in the 17-18 age group. He ranks 4th nationally this season among 18 & unders and is just the 6th-such swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the 100 free.

15-year-old Zara Kocak of Excel Aquatics in Tennessee started off her day a bit shaky, adding a second-and-a-half to her best time in the 200 free. But she got better as the session went on, qualifying 14th in the 200 fly in 2:02.07, improving the 2:04.93 that she did almost exactly a year ago.

15-year-old Caroline Wanezek from the Elmbrook Swim Club in Wisconsin, younger sister of Junior National Teamer Maggie Wanezek, dropped two seconds in the 200 fly in prelims to go 2:04.95 in yards.

16-year-old Alison Diehl of the Sun Devils in Minnesota swam 2:07.96 to finish 73rd in the 200 fly prelims, which was more than three seconds ahead of her best time of 2:11.25 coming into the meet. That not only breaks her own team record, but in total she has taken roughly 12 seconds off the old 15-16 team record in the event.

Two swimmers who were highly-ranked in their individual events, but whose relays finished further down the standings, where Caroline Larsen of the Foxjets Swim Team, who split 22.30 in the 50 free on a rolling start, and Josie Connelly of OLY Swimming in Michigan, who split 22.46 on a flat start.

In the boys’ 400 IM, a lot of swimmers dropped time in the heats. 18-year-old Nova of Virginia swimmer Harry Belcher dropped almost three-and-a-half seconds to sneak into the A-final in 3:51.09. He’s a Virginia commit.

Samir Elkassem from Rockville Montgomery, meanwihile, dropped five-and-a-half seconds to go 3:53.33 in prelims, 12th-best of the morning session. He is committed to Duke next season. In his first-recorded long course 400 IM, he climbed up to 10th in finals in 4:29.23. His brother Nasim Elkassem won the 100 back B-Final in 56.83.

Another Nova of Virginia swimmer Alexander Ayers swam 56.14 in prelims of the 100 breaststroke for 35th before scratching the D Final. He’s another Virginia commit trending in the right direction – though the IM and distance freestyle races are his specialty.

New Trier’s Riley McNeal was 1:04.38 in prelims of the 100 breast, a 1.3 second drop, but racing in the E-Final, the 14-year-old really did her damage. She swam 1:12.08 in long course, a best time by five-and-a-half seconds, and a swim that was faster than all but six swimmers in the evening (including the entire B, C, and D Finals).

In the girls’ 200 fly B-Final, Campbell Scofield won in 2:14.92. That would have put her 2nd overall in the A-Final and is a second improvement for the Purdue commit.

Olympic Trials Cuts

• Girls’ 200 Free – Rylee Erisman, Laker Swim, 2:00.19 (14 years old)
• Boys’ 400 IM – Sean Green, LIAC, 4:18.81 (16)
• Boys’ 400 IM – Ryan Erisman, Laker Swim, 4:19.35 (17)
• Boys’ 400 IM – William Savarese, Cor Swimming, 4:22.74 (18)
• Boys’ 400 IM – Evan Mackesy, Rockville Montgomery, 4:25.10 (18)
• Girls’ 100 Breast – Elizabeth Nawrocki, Academy Bullets, 1:09.33 (16)
• Girls’ 100 Breast – Grace Koenig-Song, NASA Wildcat Aquatics, 1:09.97 (13)
• Boys’ 100 Breast – Josh Bey, Highland Hurricanes, 1:01.45 (17)
• Boys’ 100 Breast – Jake Wang, Suburban Seahawks Club, 1:01.90 (18)
• Boys’ 100 Free – Devin Dilger, OLY Swimming, 49.62 (18)