The Sub-22 Club: Tracking the Rarest Sprint Benchmark in Girls Age Group Swimming
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Event: 50 Free (SCY) | Eligible athletes: Girls 18 & under | Seasons covered: 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26 (through May 2026)
Breaking 22 seconds in the short course yard 50 freestyle is one of the most exclusive benchmarks in girls age group swimming. It doesn't happen often — and the data makes that plain. Across three seasons of 18-and-under competition, only 17 swims by 14 unique swimmers have cracked the barrier in our dataset. That's a small, elite group by any measure.
Here's a closer look at who's done it, when, and how the seasons compare.
Season-by-Season Breakdown
2023–24 — The deepest class on record (in this dataset)
Ten swimmers went sub-22 in 2023–24, making it the strongest single season of the three. Alex Shackell (Carmel Swim Club) led the way with a 21.71 at the 2023 Speedo Winter Junior Championships – East, a performance that rated out at exactly 1000 power points. Lily Christianson (Irish Aquatics, 21.72) and Annaliesa Moesch (Greater Somerset County YMCA, 21.73) followed closely, both swimming their best times at the Indiana high school state championships and YMCA Short Course Nationals, respectively.
Notable in the class: Julie Mishler (Fishers Area Swimming Tigers) went 21.85 as a 16-year-old at the Indiana state meet, and Charlotte Crush (Lakeside Swim Team) posted 21.88 at just 15 years old at the Georgia Speedo Southern Premier — both foreshadowing what was to come.
Rank Name Time Age Meet Date 1 Alex Shackell 21.71 17 Speedo Winter Jr. Championships – East Dec 2023 2 Lily Christianson 21.72 18 IN IHSAA Girls State Championships Feb 2024 3 Annaliesa Moesch 21.73 18 YMCA Short Course Nationals Apr 2024 4 Julie Mishler 21.85 16 IN IHSAA Girls State Championships Feb 2024 5 Charlotte Crush 21.88 15 GA Speedo Southern Premier Mar 2024 6 Katherine Sikes 21.90 18 ECA Southeastern Classic Nov 2023 7 Caroline Larsen 21.93 17 West Speedo Winter Juniors Dec 2023 8 Hailey Tierney 21.94 18 NCAA Division I Women's Championships Mar 2024 9 Jillian Crooks 21.95 17 Speedo Winter Jr. Championships – East Dec 2023 10 Erika Pelaez 21.98 17 FL FHSAA Class 1A Championships Nov 2023
2024–25 — A smaller class, but a faster top end
Only three swimmers went sub-22 in 2024–25, but the season produced the fastest individual performance across all three years. Rylee Erisman (Windermere Lakers) clocked a 21.61 at the 2024 FHSAA 4A Championships in November — as a 15-year-old — for 1028 power points, the top mark in this entire dataset. Julie Mishler continued her progression, dropping to 21.62 at Winter Juniors East in December, and Annam Olasewere (Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club) rounded out the season with a 21.99 at the EZ North Speedo Short Course Sectionals.
Rank Name Time Age Meet Date 1 Rylee Erisman 21.61 15 FHSAA Swimming & Diving Championship-4A Nov 2024 2 Julie Mishler 21.62 17 Winter Juniors East Dec 2024 3 Annam Olasewere 21.99 17 EZ North Speedo Short Course Sectionals Mar 2025
2025–26 — Youth on the rise (season still in progress)
Four swimmers have gone sub-22 so far in 2025–26, with the season still ongoing. Gabi Brito (Beach Cities Swimming) leads at 21.66, set at the CIF Southern Section Division 1 meet on May 7 — as a 15-year-old. Erisman is right behind her again at 21.67, showing remarkable consistency across back-to-back state championship performances. Reina Liu (TAC Titans, 21.93) and Charlotte Crush (Lakeside Swim Team, 21.98) round out the current season, with Crush making her second appearance in this dataset, now as a 17-year-old.
Rank Name Time Age Meet Date 1 Gabi Brito 21.66 15 CIF Southern Section – Division 1 May 2026 2 Rylee Erisman 21.67 16 FHSAA Swimming & Diving Championship-4A Nov 2025 3 Reina Liu 21.93 15 NC TAC Speedo Champions Series ESSZ Mar 2026 4 Charlotte Crush 21.98 17 Speedo Southern Premier Mar 2026
Swimmers to Watch: Multi-Season Performers
Two names appear more than once across seasons, which is worth noting in an event where sub-22 is never a given:
Rylee Erisman went sub-22 in back-to-back seasons — 21.61 at age 15 in 2024–25, then 21.67 at age 16 in 2025–26. Both performances came at the Florida state high school championships. She's clearly established herself as one of the nation's elite age group sprinters.
Julie Mishler (Fishers Area Swimming Tigers) improved from 21.85 as a 16-year-old in 2023–24 to 21.62 as a 17-year-old in 2024–25 — a notable 0.23-second drop in 12 months.
Charlotte Crush (Lakeside Swim Team) appears in both 2023–24 (21.88, age 15) and 2025–26 (21.98, age 17), maintaining her sub-22 status across a two-year span.
Context: How Rare Is Sub-22?
To put this benchmark in perspective:
Standard Time 2026 USA Swimming National Championships 22.19 2026 NCAA Qualifying Standard 22.28 2026 Speedo Junior Nationals 22.99 SCY American Record 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh (2025) Going sub-22 in the 50 free as an 18-and-under athlete puts a swimmer comfortably inside the USA Nationals qualifying window and well above the NCAA cut. It's a genuinely rare mark — across three seasons of available data, it has happened only 17 times.
Data Notes
- Girls 18 & under only (ages 22 and under by integer time, filtered to sub-22.00)
- One best swim per swimmer per season is reflected in the season tables; the all-time list uses each swimmer's single best swim across all three seasons
- Data sourced from available Swim Standards records
- 2025–26 season data through May 19, 2026; the season is ongoing
Have a swimmer or swim we missed? Drop it in the comments below.
