Syracuse’s Ryan Nicholson, 2nd-Ranked Swimmer in NY, Commits To Duke

ITHACA, New York, September 30. THE Syracuse Charger-to-Duke pipeline continued as Ryan Nicholson just committed to Duke head coach Dan Colella. That’s the second high-profile recruit to head to Duke from the club as newly-minted RCP Tiburon Mile winner Ashley Twichell also competed collegiately at Duke following her age group days at Syracuse.

Nicholson, who is ranked 39th in the Class of 2014 by CollegeSwimming.com, is versatile threat with top-end speed in the butterfly.

Nicholson, the second-ranked recruit in the State of New York, had an outstanding NYS Federation meet in March while representing Ithaca Senior High School with a plethora of lifetime bests. He threw down a 48.30 in the 100-yard fly for his best effort, while also clocking personal records in the 50-yard free (20.49), 100-yard free (45.56) and 200-yard IM (1:51.80) to give Colella plenty of places to put Nicholson in a dual meet lineup.

Nicholson’s effort in the 100-yard fly proved to be a state record, bettering the time of 48.37 set by Tom Luchsinger of Mt. Sinai back in the techsuit-fueled 2009 event. Yes, the Arena-signed professional swimmer Luchsinger who is now training under head coach Bob Bowman at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Should Nicholson follow the same career trajectory as Luchsinger, Colella is going to have an NCAA title threat on his hands.