SwimMAC Carolina Tops USA Swimming's Club Excellence Rankings For Third Straight Year
11/08/2024 10:12 AM
By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
SwimMAC Carolina reigns supreme in USA Swimming’s Club Excellence Rankings for the third straight year, outpacing runner-up Carmel Swim Club by a massive margin.
USA Swimming announced the 2024-25 tier list at the end of October, recognizing the 200 highest-performing clubs in the development of athletes ages 18 years and younger. Clubs are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medal status via a point system that is based on athlete performance scores.
SwimMAC scored 88,076 points this year, a tick below the 89,639 they scored last year while landing the club’s 20th Gold Medal recognition in their history.
Carmel Swim Club moved up one spot from last year into 2nd, overtaking the Sandpipers of Nevada which dropped to 3rd.
Ranking 5th was Nation’s Capital Swim Club, which leads all clubs historically with 22 Gold Medal recognitions.
Top 10 Clubs
- SwimMAC Carolina – 88,076
- Carmel Swim Club – 64,531
- Sandpipers of Nevada – 52,121
- Lakeside Swim Team – 49,013
- Nation's Capital Swim Club – 48,097
- Long Island Aquatic Club – 42,195
- Lakeside Aquatic Club – 41,565
- Sarasota Sharks – 40,067
- Rockville Montgomery Swim Club – 39,620
- Scarlet Aquatics – 39,043
Clubs earn points based on swimmers hitting particular time standards in each event, with different standards implemented for Gold, Silver and Bronze status.
Leading the way for SwimMAC were National Junior Team members Jordan Willis and Elle Scott, who were both individual medalists at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.
Scott scored points in four events, totaling 6,079 after ranking 1st in the women’s 200 IM, 2nd in the 100 breast, 3rd in the 100 fly and 4th in the 100 free, while Willis scored 3,352 by ranking 1st in the men’s 100 breast and 2nd in the 200 breast.
Another key contributor for SwimMAC was Avery Klamfoth, one of the top age groupers in the country in the girls’ breaststroke and medley events.
Runner-up Carmel Swim Club put two swimmers on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team, one of whom was eligible to score in the Club Excellence Rankings, Alex Shackell, along with three swimmers being named to the 2024 Junior Pan Pac roster: Kayla Han, Gregg Enoch and Andrew Shackell
In 3rd, the Sandpipers of Nevada put two swimmers on the Olympic team in Katie Grimes and Claire Weinstein, and also landed Luke Ellis on the Junior Pan Pac roster.
Clubs automatically earn Gold Medal status if they put a swimmer on the Olympic team. In addition to Carmel and the Sandpipers, the Fishers Area Swimming Tigers (FAST) sent a swimmer to Paris in Luke Whitlock, as did Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA with Thomas Heilman.
Both FAST and Texas Ford Aquatics earned Gold Medal status for the first time.
Data courtesy of USA Swimming:
A total of 15 clubs earned Gold Medal Status:
| Swim Club | Points |
| SwimMAC Carolina | 88,076 |
| Carmel Swim Club | 64,531 |
| Sandpipers of Nevada | 52,121 |
| Lakeside Swim Team | 49,013 |
| Nation’s Capital Swim Club | 48,097 |
| Long Island Aquatic Club | 42,195 |
| Lakeside Aquatic Club | 41,565 |
| Sarasota Sharks | 40,067 |
| Rockville Montgomery Swim Club | 39,620 |
| Scarlet Aquatics | 39,043 |
A total of 19 clubs were recognized for the first time, all of which earned Bronze status:
- Blazing Barracudas (7,824)
- Front Range Barracudas (5,633)
- Hurricane Aquatics (5,563)
- Orange County Gold (5,530)
- Wolfpack Elite (5,258)
- Mississippi Makos Swim Team (5,256)
- Mason Makos Swim Team (5,118)
- Alpha Aquatics (5,041)
- Aquawolves Swimming (4,978)
- Glacier Swim Club (4,862)
- Great Waves Aquatics (4,862)
- Lubbock Swim Club (4,816)
- Ridley Area YMCA Stingrays (4,568)
- Metro Area Life Time (4,452)
- Farmington Valley YMCA Tsunamis (4,436)
- Jersey Aquatic Club (4,432)
- Greater Kalamazoo Crocs (4,344)
- Hornet Age Group Swim Club (4,336)
- Saluki Swim Club (4,301)
Southern California Swimming led all LSCs for total clubs recognized with 12.
USA Swimming also honors the 2024 Podium Clubs—those of which have achieved Gold Medal status for four straight years. Eleven clubs earned Podium recognition this year:
- SwimMAC Carolina
- Carmel Swim Club
- Sandpipers of Nevada
- Lakeside Swim Team
- Nation's Capital Swim Club
- Long Island Aquatic Club
- Lakeside Aquatic Club
- Sarasota Sharks
- Irvine Novaquatics
- Bolles School Sharks
- NOVA of Virgnina Aquatics, Inc.
You can read more about the Club Excellence Rankings here.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: SwimMAC Carolina Tops USA Swimming’s Club Excellence Rankings For Third Straight Year
