TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Aiden Hayes was an under-the-radar swimmer coming from an under-theradar state. But after a stellar high school season and spot at the U.S. Olympic Trials, he is putting himself and the state of Oklahoma on the map.

It has been quite a year for the senior from Norman North High School.

Hayes set two national high school records at the Oklahoma state championships and was selected as Swimming World’s Male High School Swimmer of the Year.

“It is a really big deal,” Hayes said. “Oklahoma doesn’t get the recognition in swimming. It is definitely not the biggest sport, or even top five. But it has started to pick up around the state.

“It started a few years ago, and now Patrick Callan (a University of Michigan senior who’s from Owasso, Okla.) follows that up as one of two Olympians from Oklahoma.

“It is two Olympics in a row that we put someone on the Olympic team (the first was Oklahoma City’s David Plummer in 2016). To bring that experience back to Oklahoma is huge. I looked up to Patrick when I was younger, and to bring that fast swimming to Oklahoma has elevated our sport as a whole.

“It was a really big deal. I was obviously excited about it. To be up there with Joseph Schooling, Ryan Hoffer and Caeleb Dressel is pretty awesome. I am really excited about that!”

So was Sooner Swim Club coach Kent Nicholson.

“Oklahoma swimming has always had some top-level swimmers. We have some (NCAA) D-I swimmers, but what Oklahoma struggles with is the depth. You will have two to three fast swimmers in an event, then it will really drop off,” Nicholson said. “But you have these kids who swim super fast, and the

Everything appears to be OK for Norman younger kids are responding to North (Okla.) High School senior Aiden that. We have some fast kids coming up in Oklahoma right Hayes. He set two national high school now. records (100 fly and 50 free) this past season. “Aiden was the Oklahoma Athlete of the Year, so swimHe competed and gained experience at the mers being recognized as the top athlete in the state is a big U.S. Olympic Trials as the fastest 18-year- deal.” old in the country in butterfly. And he was NATIONAL HIGH named Swimming World’s Male High School SCHOOL RECORDS Swimmer of the Year. Last February, Hayes took down a pair of national high BY DAN D’ADDONA school records, first lowering the standard in the 50 yard freestyle, and then breaking the record in the 100 butterfly. In the 50 free, Hayes produced a winning time of 19.20, which was quick enough to better the 19.24 that Matt Brownstead (State College Area, Pa.) posted at last year’s Pennsylvania 3A Championships. (However, Pennington School’s David Curtiss—who will be teammates with Hayes at NC State this fall—lowered the record to 19.11 a little more than a week later at the New Jersey state championships!) Following the 50, Hayes took down Joseph Schooling’s 2013 record in the 100 fly. Touching the wall in 45.47, Hayes clipped the 45.52 that Schooling managed during his days at the Bolles School in Florida. A little more than three years after Schooling set the high school record, he claimed gold in the 100 fly at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to breaking Schooling’s overall high school record, Hayes cracked the public school standard of 45.88, set in 2019 by C.K. McClatchy’s (Calif.) Luca Urlando, now a sophomore at the University of Georgia. “His 50 free and 100 fly were swum back-to-back, normally a 15-minute break plus awards, but because of COVID, there was no time to think, and he was swimming the 100 fly 12 minutes later. It

>> Aiden Hayes took down a pair of national high school records in back-to-back events at the Oklahoma state championships last February, lowering the 50 yard free to 19.20, then the 100 fly to 45.47. “The meet itself was a lot of fun—not just the records, but getting to race strong my senior year to close it out meant a lot,” said Hayes.

was an interesting and fun experience. Those national records—I never envisioned seeing something like that,” Nicholson said.

And he did this all during a pandemic.

“It was challenging. Our city of Norman did a really good job of supporting us and allowing us an opportunity to swim outdoors. We were able to get in there early with one kid in a lane. We weren’t going to have a pool to go to in September, but the city allowed us to swim outdoors until mid-October,” Nicholson said.

“One hurdle that we had was we needed one more Trials cut. We had a really hard time getting to a long-course meet to get that cut. We got caught up in a COVID protocol, so we couldn’t. But he got it right after New Year’s. We were then able to not worry about Trials for a couple months, and we focused on short course—and he came into the meet hot!”

OUTSTANDING CAREER

Hayes has enjoyed an outstanding high school career.

In 2019, he set a state record in the 50 free, touching the wall in 20.09 to break Jake Pearce’s old 6A mark of 20.65. The sophomore had another record-breaking performance in the 100 back with a 47.28, taking down Plummer’s 6A record of 48.42 set back in 2004. His record swims ranked 13th and sixth in the nation that year.

Two years later, Hayes and his coach prepared for a memorable senior season. “This year started off well,” Hayes recalled. “We were able to train pretty frequently. We were ready to go and didn’t need much of a break. We were able to spend a majority of the year working hard. It wasn’t two months of this, then two months of that.

“I felt like we were ready earlier in the year than usual. We did a lot of racing leading up to (the 6A state meet in February). We had lots of opportunities to clean up the stroke and get the race strategy down. Then you had done the preparation. It wasn’t a guessing game, it was just a performance.

“The meet itself was a lot of fun—not just the records, but getting to race strong my senior year to close it out meant a lot. We were able to taper and go really fast at the high school state meet for the first time in my career.”

MOVING ON TO TRIALS

Hayes, swimming for Sooner Swim Club, finished 17th in the 100 meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Neb. in June. He also took 21st in the 200 freestyle and 57th in the 50 free at the Wave II meet. His times are likely fast enough to join the junior national team.

“Shifting from the high school state meet to Trials, we didn’t take any time off,” Hayes said. “We had our cuts under our belts, so we were able to go right into long-course training. Our focus was 200 fly and 100 fly. It did get a little mentally exhausting that last month. I was in the best shape of my life, but it got a little mentally tiring,” he admitted.

“I think the meet went really well. It wasn’t super killer performances like the high school records, but it was the highest national meet at which I have ever competed. I placed just outside of the B-final in both butterfly events, and I was the top 18-yearold in the country by a second or so.

“Being able to get that Trials experience and racing like that will prepare me for Junior Worlds and any big meets coming after that. There is no better meet to race at in the U.S.”

Nicholson agreed with Hayes, saying that his Trials experience will be pivotal for Hayes’ future.

“The meet was successful. We were excited to be there. You have some grown men with all sorts of experience. Racing those big boys is a serious challenge, and I thought Aiden did a great job stepping up and racing them,” Nicholson said. Hayes will join North Carolina State next year and will likely be an immediate point scorer for the Wolfpack.

“I have appreciated the process more this year,” Hayes said. “As a younger swimmer, it is harder to appreciate meets and training. We figured out what we really needed to do to be ready for Trials, and, hopefully, we can put that into effect and take my swimming to the next level.” v