Swim Team Stars Shine at Junior Nationals

On Dec. 5-10, 2023, two of the MAC Swim Team’s finest, Graham Inman and Thomas Olsen, competed at the Speedo West Winter Junior Nationals Championships in Chicago, racing against the fastest 18 & Under swimmers in the country.

Inman, a senior at Edison High School who’s committed to study and swim at the University of the Pacific in the fall, qualified for the meet less than a week before at the Tualatin Hills Holiday Classic. There, he dropped half a second in Prelims and another full second in Finals to win the 200 Butterfly and earn his place among the best 18 & Unders in the country. His time of 1:49.53 is the fourth fastest time ever at MAC. At Winter Juniors, Inman was within half a second of his best times in the 200 Butterfly (FL) and 200 Individual Medley (IM); he dropped almost three seconds in the 400 IM and two-and-a-half seconds in the 100 FL!

Olsen, a senior at Parkrose High School who’s committed to study and swim at the University of Southern California in the fall, placed in the top eight in the 500 and 1650 Freestyles. Coming into the meet, Thomas was seeded 10th in the 500. He went just under his best time in Prelims to qualify for the A Final, then was able to drop over a second in Finals with a strong back half to his race to place sixth overall in a time of 4:23.85.

Olsen is a true distance swimmer — the longer the race, the better. His last race of the meet was the 1650 Freestyle, the longest race offered. In the top heat of the race, he dropped over eight seconds to place third overall. His time of 15:08.71 is the second fastest ever from a MAC swimmer and was the third fastest time ever in Oregon! Both of Olsen’s performances in the 500 and 1650 FR were team records in the 15-18-year-old category.

Congratulations to Inman and Olsen, and good luck to the MAC Swim Team in their 2024 competitions!

— Tim Larkin, Head Swim Coach