USA Swimming has announced rosters of its top 18-and-under talents to compete at the Mel Zajac International Meet and the Mare Nostrum tour in June.
The Mel Zajac roster is for high school athletes who have never previously represented the United States, while the Mare Nostrum group is pulled from last year’s 18-and-under International Team.
Mel Zajac International Swim Meet
The Mel Zajac meet will take place in Canada (University of British Columbia, Vancouver) from June 1-3. The meet should be a big draw for Canadian swimmers, and as we’ve previously reported, a number of American seniors will also be in attendance, headlined by Florida-based Olympians Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Lochte.
The American roster is specifically made of first-time Team USA members who are currently in high school:
- Phoebe Bacon
- Katharine Berkoff
- Grace Cooper
- Zoie Hartman
- Ema Rajic
- Isabelle Stadden
- Gretchen Walsh
- Mikey Calvillo
- Ross Dant
- Wyatt Davis
- Jake Foster
- Ethan Harder
- Luca Urlando
- Alexander Zettle
Mare Nostrum tour
The Mare Nostrum team is about half of what USA Swimming calls its “18 & Under International Team.” That group qualified last year, with the requirement to post a minimum top-50 world ranking for women or a top-75 world ranking for men. The 18 & Under International Team then had a choice of traveling to two World Cup meets last fall (Tokyo and Singapore) or attending two of the three stops on the Mare Nostrum tour in mid-June. Specifically, the half who chose Mare Nostrum will compete in Canet-en-Roussillon, France on June 9-10 and Barcelona, Spain on June 13-14.
The “18 & Under” portion appears to refer to when the team actually qualified, as a handful of these athletes have already turned 19 this season. You can see the full roster including the World Cup swimmers here.
- Michael Andrew
- Grace Ariola
- Zoe Bartel
- Cassidy Bayer
- Brooke Forde
- Daniel Krueger
- Bryce Mefford
- Kieran Smith
- Erica Sullivan
- Alex Sumner
You can see both full rosters along with coaching staffs here.
18 & under?
Isn’t Michael Andrew 19 yo?
“The ’18 & Under’ portion appears to refer to when the team actually qualified, as a handful of these athletes have already turned 19 this season.”
Good chance to get international experience before the second half of the Olympic quad begins
Great opportunities for These Juniors. Actually better than some of the National teamers!
One last junior team for Michael Andrew!