Nick Soedel Sprint Freestyle
Personal Life
Nick Soedel of Huntington Beach, California was born July 21, 1993 to parents Sven and Patty Soedel. He competed for Marina High School and the Goldenwest Swim Club. Soedel was a letter-winner each year of his high school career, and was a two-time CIFDI 100 yard freestyle champion. In high school, he was undefeated in the 100 free as an upperclassman, and his best time in that event as a senior (44.87) put him as 12th All-American. His most impressive swim outside of high school competition was a 3rd place finish in the 50 meter freestyle at the 2011 Speedo Junior Nationals.
College Swimming
Freshman
Soedel finished his freshman year as the fastest 100-freestyler that the University of Utah had ever seen after he led off the Utes’ 400 yard freestyle relay in a 43.47 at the 2012 Pac 12 Championships. His 7th place 50 free effort (19.98) was the 2nd fastest time in Utah’s history, as well as his first time under 20 seconds. Soedel’s 1:37.58 leading off the Utes’ 800 yard freestyle relay put him 3rd on their best times list for the 200 yard freestyle. After the 2011-12 season, Soedel & company cleared all 5 of Utah’s relay records.
Sophomore
Soedel turned heads during the 2012-13 season and proved himself to be an elite college sprinter after continuing to chip away at his times. At the 2013 Pac 12 Championships, he cut his 200 free down to 1:35.83 as the lead-off for the Utes’ 800 relay. He tied with Cal’s Seth Stubblefield for 3rd in the 50 free (19.64) which put him 2 tenths under the school record, after breaking it by a hundredth during prelims. He led off the 200 free relay in a 19.88, and despite the relay not qualifying for NCAAs, the final time (1:19.72) did eclipse the time put down by the 2012 relay that Soedel was on which broke the Utah record. Soedel’s 1:36.05 got him into the A final of the 200 free, however he gained time and held 8th place. He overcame a DQ in the 100 free after an impressive 42.83 leading off Utah’s 400 free relay which earned an NCAA ‘B’ cut and broke the school record. His 42.83 was a new best and also another school record.
After missing 2012 NCAAs as a freshman, Soedel catapulted his way to the top of the B final on Day 1 prelims of the 50 free at the 2013 NCAAs, shattering his own school record from Pac-12’s in a 19.48. He would go on to finish 12th overall to score his first points at an NCAA Championship. After missing the 200 free finals, Soedel put up the exact time he went to lead off the 400 free relay at Pac-12’s (42.83) and finished 12th, just as he did in the 50 after a 43.04 at finals.
Junior
At the 2013 AT&T Winter National Championships, Soedel & company stepped up to solidify appearances at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Soedel’s incredible leadoffs of 19.42 and 42.50 in the 200 and 400 free relays were both new personal bests, and while the 200 free relay missed the ‘B’ cut, the 400 relay was just off the ‘A’ cut and both relays broke school records. Soedel then anchored the 400 medley relay in 42.30, which earned a ‘B’ cut and broke the school record. Individually, Soedel was just off his bests, however his lead offs in the 200 free relay (19.42) and 800 free relay (1:35.03) both earned him ‘B’ cuts, while his 42.50 from the 400 free relay was an ‘A’ cut. The 800 free relay, in which Soedel was followed by three sophomores, earned them a ‘B’ cut by almost three seconds.
The 2014 Pac-12 Championships saw Soedel shatter two individual school records and contribute to three more relay school records. Soedel began his conference meet program with a new school record in the 800 free relay, in which Utah would finish fourth. He is usually the lead-off leg for the Utes, however this time he swam the 2nd leg, where he split a blazing 1:33.66. Next, he swam the 50 free, and hit his best time ever (19.36) in prelims and finals for third place. He was just .06 off of the ‘A’ cut. The 200 free relay broke the school record in prelims, and although it was DQ’d in finals, note that Soedel split an 18.82 as the 2nd leg. In the 200 free, his time of 1:36.42 in finals was about a .8 gain from prelims, and he finished 13th. The 100 free is arguably Soedel’s best race, and he turned up the heat in prelims. His time of 41.97 broke his own school and personal records, and his finals time of 42.00 crowned him Pac-12 champ. He led off the Utes’ school-record breaking 400 free relay with a field-leading time of 42.14, and helped Utah to a third place finish in that relay.
Soedel followed up his outstanding performance at the Pac-12 Championships with an equally impressive NCAA meet. Individually, he placed 22nd in the 50 free (19.53) and 18th in the 100 free (42.64). Soedel was a member of the 23rd place 200 free relay, 20th place 400 medley relay, 19th place 400 free relay, and 17th 800 free relay. While he wasn’t able to replicate his individual times or most of his relay splits from Pac-12’s, he led off again in the 800 free relay. This time, his 1:34.90 was a new best and school record.
Senior
At his last Pac-12 Championships, Soedel racked up three more A final finishes, placing highest in the 100 free (4th, 42.86). He grabbed 7th in the 50 free (19.54) as well as 8th in the 200 free (1:36.66), making him the highest individual point scorer for the Utes. He also lent his hand to both medley records as anchor as well as the 800 free relay and 400 free relay. The 800 free relay finished 4th of 6 teams, while the other Ute relays touched 6th. Soedel broke his own 200 free school record in the 800 free relay finals with a 1:34.53, then went on to lower that in prelims of the individual 200 free (1:34.50).
Soedel chipped away at that record once more at the 2015 NCAA Championships; he finished 20th overall with a 1:34.24. Despite not scoring any individual points in his junior season after scoring as a sophomore, Soedel found himself back in the action with a t-12th place finish in the 50 free (19.44) at the beginning of competition. On the final day of competition, he touched the wall with a 42.36 in the 100 free to take 6th place, earning him All-American honors.
National/International Swimming:
2011 Jr Nationals
Soedel has participated in multiple Junior National Championships. His highest finish came in the summer of 2011 before he headed off to Utah. Soedel placed 3rd in the 50 meter freestyle (23.23) after missing the 100 meter freestyle final at the 2011 Junior National Championships.
2012 Olympic Trials
In 2012, Soedel competed at the Olympic Trials, where he placed 36th in the 50 free (23.01) and 121st in the 100 free (51.62). His best 100 free time of the year, however, was 51.40 which he posted at the 2012 Purdue Invitational in March a few months before Trials.
2013 US Open
Soedel’s meters times made a drastic improvement in 2013, and he posted exceptional times in the 50 and 100 at the US Open. He finished 12th in the 100 free in 50.14 after just dipping under 50 (49.99) for the second time that summer (he was 49.89 at the 2013 Los Angeles Invite). He squeaked into the A final of the 50 free by a hundredth, and finished 8th with a new best of 22.59, a time that would have put him into the semifinals at the 2012 trials.
2014 US Summer Nationals
At the 2014 US Nationals, Soedel was just off of his bests in the 50 and 100 free from the summer prior. He was 22.63 in the 50 for 21st, but scratched finals. In the 100, his time of 49.91 earned him a tie for 28th with Michael DiSalle of Ohio State University.
–Originally developed by Karl Ortegon