Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based swimmer who has proven themselves over the past month. As with any item of recognition, Swimmer of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one athlete whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a swimmer who was visibly outperforming other swimmers over the month, or one whose accomplishments slipped through the cracks among other high-profile swims. If your favorite athlete wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Loyola High School junior Rex Maurer had an explosive month competing in the CIF high school postseason in California, producing some monstrous swims in the boys’ mid-distance freestyle events.
Maurer, 17, had his top performance come in the 500 freestyle at the Southern Section (CIF-SS) Division I Championships, clocking 4:13.90 to become the fastest 17-year-old male in U.S. history.
It also moved him into 10th all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group, and it was the third-fastest swim ever produced in a high school meet. Coming into the competition, Maurer’s PB stood at 4:15.40, set at the Winter Junior Championships – West back in December.
At the same Section meet, the Rose Bowl Aquatics member led off Loyola’s relays with personal best times of 20.20 and 43.76 in the 50 and 100 free, and neared his 1:34.59 lifetime best by winning the 200 free in 1:34.95.
At the CIF State Championships less than two weeks later, Maurer won the 200 free (1:35.40), was the runner-up to Sonora senior Matthew Chai in the 500 free (4:17.39), and recorded a blistering anchor split of 19.57 as Loyola broke the meet record in the 200 medley relay. He also led off in 44.02 as the team set another meet record en route to victory in the 400 free relay.
Just before the calendar turned to May, Maurer also had an impressive showing at the U.S. International Team Trials in Greensboro, producing lifetime bests in the 200 free (1:50.01) and 400 free (3:53.65) to earn a spot on the American roster for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in August.
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He’s an incredible athlete!
A bit faster than Luke was at this time…at least sprinting wise.
I think Luke’s 500 was low 4:20s at 17. Rex’s 500 is way faster (of course, that applies to pretty much everyone). Luke’s early progression at Stanford was huge though (50-200). It will be interesting to see what the next few years hold. I think Rex has the potential to go all the way. #1 in the re-rank? When is the re-rank BTW?
Today and he’s still ranked #2 behind scotty buff
If you threw me in those heats with him the results would be different
Seems like a bobo boi to me
Hey don’t call my son a bobo.
that’s facts
Isn’t he like 5?
Imagine if this kid starts lifting weights and hits the creatine…19.4/42.9/1:32.9/4:11.8 are all realistic for next season.
relay start work will further add to his development
where to? Texas?
usc
Not to join his mom at USC or his brother at Stanford?
It’s not just his brother at Stanford. It’s also the alma mater for both of his parents. Maybe he’ll want to blaze his own trail, but that’s a strong legacy.
So Raftus