Daniel Diehl Follows-Up NAG Record with #2 All-Time 13-14 100 Freestyle

EAGLE SWIM TEAM VIRTUAL MEET #2 – SENIOR DIVISION

• October 9th – 11th, 2020
• McDonogh School, Maryland
• Short Course Yards (SCY)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “MDSI Virtual Meet Series 20-21/005”

Eagle Swim Team in Maryland held its second virtual meet over the weekend.

Highlighting the meet was 14-year-old Daniel Diehl of the Cumberland YMCA who won several individual events and broke a 13-14 NAG record in the 200 freestyle (covered in full, here)

In that 200, Diehl swam to a final time of 1:36.75, which knocked over 1.5 seconds off of the previous 13-14 NAG record set by Destin Lasco in 2016 at 1:38.24.

Diehl also saw time drops across 4 other events: the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 400 IM, and 500 freestyle. He also swam a best time in the 100 back on the split of a 200 yard back.

Diehl followed up his NAG record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 44.31 in the 100 freestyle, which puts him 2nd in the all-time 13-14 rankings behind Andrew’s 43.90 NAG. With his swim, Diehl dropped over 3 seconds off of his best time (47.75). He previously did not even make the list of the top 100 swims.

In the 200 backstroke, he raced for a first 100 yard split, touching in 48.11. That time also ranks 2nd all-time behind Michael Andrew in the history of the age group. Andrew swam a 47.83 in 2014.

In the 50 freestyle, Diehl posted a time of 20.68 to drop .47 off of his previous best (21.15). His time slots him #13 in the all-time 13-14 rankings. The NAG record stands at 19.76 set by world champion Michael Andrew in 2014. 

The 400 IM saw Diehl post another 3 second drop, where he touched second in 3:56.56. His time slots him in at #11 in the all-time 13-14 rankings, just ahead of Olympic legend Michael Phelps. 

Although Diehl did not enter the all-time rankings in the 500 freestyle, he still dropped almost 4 seconds to post the 2nd fastest time in the country this year, finishing in 4:42.33. 

Beating Diehl in the 400 IM was 17-year-old Nate Sukeena, who put up the fastest time in the country for his age group, finishing in 3:54.47. This was almost a 5 second drop for Sukeena, who is committed to swim for the US Naval Academy in the fall of 2021. 

Sukeena also had a very successful weekend, dropping time and winning every race he swam. In addition to the 400 IM, Sukeena also posted best times in the 100 breaststroke (56.41), 200 breaststroke (2:02.08), 200 IM (1:49.65), 200 backstroke (1:50.28), and 200 butterfly (1:53.63).

Notably, Sukenna’s time 200 IM was a 3 second drop from his previous best, and ranks him 4th in the country this season across all age groups. 

Other Highlights:

• 17-year-old Kira MacMullan put up a time of 4:28.02 in the 400 IM, which is the 5th fastest time in the country this season among 17 year olds..
• 15-year-old Natalia Diaz from Eagle Swim Club dropped almost 1.5 seconds in her 100 breaststroke to finish first in 1:05.99.
• 16-year-old Taj Benton dropped .9 in his 100 butterfly to touch in a time of 50.47, which beat the rest of the field by over 2 seconds.