North Allegheny’s Mihm listed among nation’s top swimmers

By: Karen Kadilak
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | 9:45 PM

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North Allegheny senior Rick Mihm was recently named to a list of the country’s top 18-and-under male swimmers by USA Swimming.

Mihm ranks 72nd on the 2019 18 & Under World 100. His time of 2 minutes, 3.02 seconds in the 200-meter individual medley is 31st in the world.

The list consists of the best 18-and-under swimmers in the nation based on their world rankings.

According to USA Swimming, the goal of the program is to acknowledge the excellence achieved by the athletes, as well as their coaches and clubs.

The complete world ranking list consists of 299 American male swimmers and 338 American female swimmers.

Former Tiger Jack Wright (200 freestyle, 1:50.78) ranks 133rd among males. A Virginia freshman, he ranks 51st in the world.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be named,” said Mihm, a Stanford recruit and Allegheny North club member. “It inspires me to keep pushing for my goal to one day represent the U.S. internationally.”

Mihm and Wright achieved their marks in the Phillips 66 National Championships last August. Both qualified for this June’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

“My goals right now are focused on WPIALs and states, and doing everything I can do to help my team win those meets,” said Mihm, a three-time PIAA and four-time WPIAL Class AAA champion in the 200-yard individual medley and 500 freestyle. “After that, I will turn my attention to Olympic Trials.”

Wright said seeing his name on the list means a lot to him.

“These times have been a goal of mine for a long time,” he said. “It is motivating to see how I compare to others around the world.

“Now, my main focus is (the ACC and NCAA championships). After the college season ends, we’ll take a short break before getting back to work (and) focusing on trials.”

Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo said Wright has been coming on strong the last four to six weeks.

“He’s been training at a significantly higher level and is accelerating through the season,” DeSorbo said. “(Recently) he had his best dual-meet swims in the 200 and 500 freestyles by far.”

North Allegheny coach Patrick Wenzel said Allegheny North is proud to have Mihm and Wright represent it on all stages of the swimming world.

“It shows what a program confined to one school district can do with kids (who) work hard and always do the right thing,” he said.

Tags: North Allegheny