USA Swimming Diversity Camp Set to Foster USA’s Next Minority Talent

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, March 7. USA Swimming’s Diversity Select Camp brings a group of promising minority athletes to the Olympic Training Center each year to give them the tools to continue in the sport and rise through the ranks as they get older.

No one exemplifies the goals of this camp more than Simone Manuel, who participated in the Diversity Select Camp in 2011. She’s now a member of the USA Swimming national team and a world championship medalist.

The next big swimming star could come from this year’s camp, which will take place May 1-4 in Colorado Springs. The 18 boys and 18 girls were picked to participate based on their times relative to the AAAA national motivational times for the 13-14 age group, though the age range for this camp is 14 to 16 years old. Athletes must also represent at least one of the following minority groups: African American, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or Native American.

Rockville Montgomery Swim Club will take two swimmers to the camp, the only team with multiple athletes on the list. As far as Local Swim Committees go, it should come as no surprise that Southern California is sending the most swimmers to the camp. Four athletes will represent the largest LSC in USA Swimming at the camp.

Like the “regular” Select camps, the personal coach of each swimmer is invited to Colorado Springs for a weekend of education.

Juan Caraveo, the head coach at Pearland Aquatics in Texas, will serve as the camp’s head coach with a staff of three assistant coaches — Brian Nabeta, Kimi Davidson and Justin Correia — also attending. Correia is the older brother of Olympic medalist Maritza Correia, who was the first black female to make an Olympic swim team, doing so in 2004.

Boys roster
Robert Anaya, Unattached (100 free)
Taye Baldinzanno, Columbia Aquatics (1650 free)
Duncan Brookover, Jersey Wahoos (200 back)
Daniel Chang, Barracuda Swim Club (200 breast)
Benjamin Dufauchard, University of Denver Hilltoppers (multiple events)
Eli Fouts, Rockville Montgomery Swim Club (multiple events)
Maicoll Gomez, Carter Center Aquatics (200 fly)
Emanuel Hernandez, Fox Valley Wave Swim Team (500 free)
Maziar Hinman, Star Aquatics (400 IM)
Samuel Jo, Crescenta-Canada YMCA (100 back)
Joshua Kim, Hancock Park Swim Club (200 free)
Marco Leo, Swim Florida (200 IM)
Daniel Lupro, Hillsboro Swim Team (100 breast)
Eien McGee, Sunkist Swim Team (multiple events)
Dean Nguyen, Cascade Swim Club (50 free)
Devin Truong, Nation’s Capital Swim Club (IMX)
Sanjay Wijesekera, Rockville Montgomery Swim Club (IMX)
Jared Williams, Nu Wave Swim Club (100 fly)

Girls roster
Jewels Harris, Crimson Tide Aquatic (multiple events)
Lara Maria Hernandez Tome, Sarasota YMCA (400/500 free)
Kendal Kitahara, Excel Aquatics (400 IM)
Krystal Lara, Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (multiple events)
Caroline Liu, Duke Aquatics, (100 breast)
Kamaria Mahone, Royal Swim Team (200 back)
Kailee Nabeta, Arden Hills Swimming (200 breast)
Tenzin Nordon, Charles River Aquatics (IMX)
Nneka Pilgrim, Randolph YMCA (1500/1650 free)
Colette Robinson, Hershey Aquatic Club (50 free)
Marcella Ruppert-Gomez, Clearwater Aquatic Team (800/1000 free)
Julia Samson, Albany Starfish (100 back)
Samantha Shelton, Mission Viejo Nadadores (IMX)
Miku Takabayashi, SoNoCo Swim Club (IMX)
Bryanna Vasquez, First Colony Swim Team (multiple events)
Julianne Walz, San Antonio Wave (200 IM)
Elaine Zhou, Mount Pleasant Swim Club (200 fly)
Victoria Zukeran, Splash Aquatics Makiki (100 fly)

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