AUBURN, Ala. – Head coach Ryan Wochomurka has landed yet another influential recruiting class in his second year at the helm of the Auburn Swimming and Diving program.
The 2022 class features 18 swimmers and two divers.
"We are excited to welcome this incredibly talented group of young people to the Auburn Swimming and Diving Family," said Wochomurka. "We also look forward to investing in their success both academically and athletically as they develop into Auburn Men and Women. War Eagle!"
Wochomurka's latest batch of signees includes a multitude of US Junior Nationals qualifiers, Olympic Trials qualifiers, numerous Scholastic All-Americans and several top recruits from their respective states.
"We're very excited to have Kayla Walsh and Talan Blackmon join our program," said head diving coach Jeff Shaffer. "During the recruiting process, it was evident they would immediately fit into our program and be great teammates. Both Kayla and Talan bring experience from competing at the Junior National and Senior Open USA Diving Competitions this past summer.
"Talan brings a very athletic skill set to Auburn and will contribute on both springboard and platform events. Kayla brings experience on all three diving events as well. She's very graceful with great body awareness, she shows tremendous potential and I'm excited to welcome her to Auburn."
The Orange and Blue faithful can expect an extremely diverse group of freshmen who arrive on the Plains next fall. Four student-athletes hail from Florida, two from Colorado, Virginia, Illinois, California, North Carolina and Georgia, and one from Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.
Aislyn Barnett
Hometown: Littleton, Colo.
High School: Front Range Christian School
Club Team: Aces Swim Club
Event: Breast
Highlights: 3 sport athlete at Front Range Christian School… Top 150 recruit.
Andrew Billito
Hometown: Seminole, Fla.
High School: Home School
Club Team: West Florida Lightning Aquatics
Event: Free/Fly/Back/IM
Highlights: Scholastic All-American… Ranked No. 9 in the State of Florida
Talan Blackmon
Hometown: Plano, Texas
High School: Plano Senior High School
Club Team: Dallas Metroplex Diving
Event: Diving
Highlights: NISCA All-American… District Champion… Zones Qualifier… TISCA Top Finisher… Regionals qualifier… Nationals Qualifier
Morgan Carteaux
Hometown: Brentwood, Tenn.
High School: Ravenwood High School
Club Team: Ensworth Aquatics
Event: Free
Highlights: 5x Junior National Qualifier… Summer Nationals Qualifier… Southeastern Champion… No. 1 recruit in the State of Tennessee… 3x State Champion… 2022 State Swimmer of the Meet… 2022 Region Swimmer of the Year… 2022 Tennessean All-Midstate Sports Awards Swimmer of the Year… 3x Scholastic All-American… 4x All-American… AP Scholar with Honors… National Honors Society Member.
Jade Castro
Hometown: State College, Penn.
High School: State College Area High School
Club Team: Nittany Lion Aquatic Club
Event: Back/Free
Highlights: Scholastic All-American… National Qualifier… Nittany Lion Aquatic Club record holder… Pennsylvania State medalist… Team and pool record holder… Academic Honor Roll.
Olivia Dinehart
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: Cutler Bay Senior High
Club Team: Soflo Swimming
Event: Breast/IM
Highlights: Summer Junior Nationals Qualifier… State Champion in the 100 breast… Voted Team Captain in 2021…. Academic Honor Roll
Lawson Ficken
Hometown: Greenwood Village, Colo.
High School: Cherry Creek High School
Club Team: University of Denver Hilltoppers
Event: Free/Fly
Highlights: 9x NISCA High School All-American… 2x USA Swimming Scholastic All-American… 6x Colorado All-State Recipient… Member of the Colorado State record-setting 200 free relay team… 2x Colorado State runner-up in the 50 free… 2x Colorado 5A State Champion… Finalist in the 50 free at the 2022 National Championships… 2022 World Championships International Team Trials qualifier.. 2x Speed Junior National Qualifier… 2022 Four Corners Championships qualifier… Academic Honor Roll
Wyllo Hanson
Hometown: Williamsburg, Va.
High School: Jamestown High School
Club Team: Coast Guard Blue Dolphins
Event: Sprints
Highlights: 3x Swimmer of the Year… 50 Free VHSL Class 4 Champion… VHSL meet record holder… 2021-22 highest points scorer on the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins
Liam Heary
Hometown: Sarasota, Fla.
High School: Sarasota High School
Club Team: Sarasota Sharks
Event: Breast/IM
Highlights: 6x Florida age group champion and record holder… Winter Nationals finalist… ranked No. 5 in the State of Florida… 2x High School State Champion… Former NAG record holder
Avery Henke
Hometown: Lafayette, La.
High School: Teurlings Catholic High School
Club Team: Crawfish Aquatics
Event: IM/Breast
Highlights: State Champion… All-State selection… All-District honoree… All-American… No. 1 recruit in the State of Louisiana
Michelle Kaner
Hometown: Des Plaines, Ill.
High School: Maine West High School
Club Team: Glenbrook Swim Club
Event: Back
Highlights: All-American… 2x All-State Selection… All-Conference in four different events… Team MVP… National Honors Society Member… Academic Honor Roll
Maggie McGuire
Hometown: Irvine, Calif.
High School: Santa Margarita Catholic High School
Club Team: SOCAL Aquatics
Event: Free/Back
Highlights: Nationals qualifier… 2x CIF Team Champion… 2x Scholastic All-American… 2x NISCA All-American…2x Team Captain
Josh Noll
Hometown: Peoria, Ill.
High School: Dunlap High School
Club Team: PAWW
Event: Butterfly
Highlights: Junior Nationals qualifier… Holds multiple records at PAWW… National Honors Society member… Academic Honor Roll.
Harrison Ranier
Hometown: Concord, N.C.
High School: Northwest Cabarrus High School
Club Team: SwimMAC Carolina
Event: Free/Fly
Highlights: NCHSAA State Champion in the 200 free and 400 free relay… 3A West Regional champion in the 100 fly, 200 free relay and 400 free relay… South Piedmont All-Conference… Northwest Cabarrus Men's MVP… Holds 9 school records… NISCA All-American in the 100 and 200 free… Winter US Open Qualifier… Summer Junior Nationals qualifier… Winter Junior Nationals qualifier… USA Swimming Scholastic All-American
Carissa Rinard
Hometown: Seminole, Fla.
High School: Home School
Club Team: West Florida Lightning Aquatics
Event: Fly
Highlights: Team MVP for two seasons… All-American in the 200 free
Katie Russell
Hometown: Glen Allen, Va.
High School: JR Tucker High School
Club Team: NOVA of Virginia
Event: Distance
Highlights: Named SwimSwam's 'Best of the Rest' distance freestyler… US Open qualifier… Summer Junior Nationals qualifier… JR Tucker record holder… 2x Virginia Swimming Competitive Spirt Award winner… Academic Honor Roll.
Britton Spann
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
High School: Johns Creek High School
Club Team: Dynamo
Event: Breast
Highlights: Member of the National Age Group Record-holding 4x50 medley relay team… 2x Scholastic All-American… Broke high school breaststroke record… No. 5 recruit in the State of Georgia.
Kayla Walsh
Hometown: Greensboro, N.C.
High School: Caldwell Academy
Club Team: Triad Diving Academy
Event: Diving
Highlights: Team captain at the Triad Diving Academy… Principals Award Winner… Academic Honor Roll… Reformation Award Winner
Kara West
Hometown: Suwanee, Ga.
High School: Lambert High School
Club Team: Chattahoochee Gold
Event: Free
Highlights: 3x team MVP… Next Level qualifier… Scholastic All-American… 2x relay record holder for Chattahoochee Gold… 2x State record holder in 50 free and 100 free… 2x GHSA Individual Champion… Female County Swimmer of the Year… All-County Team Member
Zoey Zeller
Hometown: Gilroy, Calif.
High School: Gilroy High School
Club Team: South Valley Makos
Event: Breast/IM
Highlights: Olympic Trials qualifier… Finalist at SCY Junior Nationals… Top-100 recruit nationally… 2x California CCS champion… 2x top-five finisher at the California State Championships… Academic Honor Roll.
