Maximus Williamson Moves Up to 4th in 500 Free 15-16 NAG Rankings at Southern Premier

By Riley Overend on SwimSwam

2023 SPEEDO SOUTHERN PREMIER

• March 3-6, 2023
• Centennial Sportsplex, Nashville, TN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results (MeetMobile)/Web results

Lakeside Aquatic Club (LAC) 16-year-old Maximus Williamson continued his ascent up the national age group (NAG) rankings while winning two individual events on Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee.

Williamson began his evening by triumphing in the 50-yard freestyle with a new personal-best 19.82, taking .17 seconds off his previous best from December. He edged out Cal sophomore Evan Petty (19.97, not on Cal’s Pac-12 roster) for the title. Williamson jumped from 15th to 9th in the boys’ 15-16 NAG rankings.

Williamson capped his double in the 500 free with another lifetime best, a 4:16.84 that shaved more than two seconds off his previous best from last March. He’s now No. 4 all time in his age-group rankings behind Sean Grieshop (4:16.59), Matthew Hirschberger (4:16.43), and Drew Kibler (4:15.36).

On Friday, Williamson won the 200 free and 200 back, but he was slower than his NAG records in both events.

His LAC teammate, University of Texas commit Cooper Lucas, enjoyed a couple of thrilling showdowns with University of Georgia commit Drew Hitchcock. Their rivalry is set to continue in the SEC in 2024.

In the 200 fly, Hitchcock dropped a second and a half to reach the wall in 1:43.26, just a blink ahead of Lucas (1:43.44), who shaved .06 seconds off his previous best from December.

Hitchcock and Lucas also tied in the 200 IM (1:45.18). Lucas was slightly off his lifetime best from December while Hitchcock dropped over a second off his personal best. 

Lakeside (Kentucky) 16-year-old Haley McDonald picked up a pair of victories on Saturday in the 500 free (4:48.37) and 200 IM (1:58.67). Her 500 free performance marked a new personal best, improving upon her 4:49.35 from last February.

Lakeside (Kentucky) teammate Charlotte Crush tallied two lifetime bests in the 200 fly and 200 IM to continue her climb up the girls’ 13-14 NAG rankings. She won the 200 fly with a 1:57.67, which ranks 17th in her age group. Crush also placed second behind McDonald in the 200 IM with a 1:59.68. It was her first time under two minutes in the event as she entered the meet with a lifetime best of 2:04.64. She now ranks 24th in her age group. 

On Sunday morning, Crush rebroke her NAG record in the 100 back (51.00), her second NAG record of the weekend after taking down Missy Franklin’s 13-year-old standard in the 200 back with a 1:50.95. 

SwimSwam: Maximus Williamson Moves Up to 4th in 500 Free 15-16 NAG Rankings at Southern Premier