Best High School Sprinter Ever? Rylee Erisman Ready for Early College Jump
Before Gretchen Walsh began her legendary college career at the University of Virginia, she built a record as one of the top prep sprinters ever. Walsh made her Olympic Trials debut as a 13-year-old in 2016, and she quickly rose through the ranks in the freestyle events. She won world junior titles in the 50 and 100 free in 2019 and later set a national high school record in the 100-yard free. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, she qualified for the final of the 50 free, finishing fifth, while also qualifying for the semifinals of the 100 butterfly.
In the same age bracket, Rylee Erisman has been even better. That’s not to say Erisman will go on to match the ridiculous heights Walsh has achieved in the collegiate, national and international ranks, but the newest pledge to Cal-Berkeley has accomplished just about everything possible before graduating to the senior ranks.
Erisman was still 14 when she became the youngest American ever to crack 25 seconds in the 50 free in March 2024. Three months later, Erisman reached the semifinals in the 100 backstroke and 100 free at the Olympic Trials, finishing less than two tenths behind an eighth-place tie in the latter event. She finished off her meet with the 50 free and qualified for the final, notching a fifth-place finish. Two months later, Erisman won gold in the 100 free plus four relays at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships while adding a silver in the 50 free. Her 100 free time of 53.76 was quicker than had been required to make the Olympic team.
Those swims made Erisman a real threat to qualify for this year’s World Championships team, but she was slightly off her best times at U.S. Nationals. Her only A-final appearance came in the 100 back, where she finished eighth, and she settled for B-final wins in the 50, 100 and 200 free. That meant Erisman would again compete with the U.S. junior team, and she was dominant at the World Junior Championships in Otopeni. The results included eight medals, five golds plus three silvers, and individual wins in the 50 and 100 free.
Rylee Erisman — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Moreover, Erisman’s times were good enough to secure her first-ever senior-level international spot for 2026. In the 100 free, Erisman crushed her lifetime best by almost a second, and her finals time of 52.79 made her the fifth-fastest woman in the world for 2025. As the third-best American this year (and sixth-fastest ever), she automatically secured her spot at next year’s Pan Pacific Championships. Another big drop in the 200 free put her at 1:56.76, making her the No. 6 American in the event.
At Pan Pacs, Erisman will battle for a spot on the American women’s 400 free relay against a who’s who of U.S. sprint stars: Walsh, Olympic silver medalist Torri Huske, short course world-record holder Kate Douglass and 2016 Olympic champion Simone Manuel. From there, it would only be a short trip from Irvine, Calif., north to Berkeley, her collegiate home for the next four years. Once on campus, she will provide the Golden Bears with a skill set perfectly suited for the realities of college competition.
In yards, Erisman holds the 15-16 National Age Group record in the 100 free at 46.69, and she was just off that mark at the recent Florida High School State Championships when she clocked 46.73. That mark broke Walsh’s national high school record as well as the public school mark held by three-time Olympian Abbey Weitzeil. Her best time would have placed fourth at last year’s NCAA Championships, while her top mark in the 50 free (21.61) would have resulted in a top-eight finish; at 1:43.51 in the 200 free, Erisman is already poised to score points in that event. And she might not be finished: Erisman raced last year at U.S. Winter Junior Nationals, and she could have another influx of yards best times to come before 2025 concludes.
The decision to graduate and enroll at Cal one year early means Erisman will be one of the youngest college swimming stars in recent memory, but the timing might be to her advantage. She will make the transition from high school to college two years before the 2028 Olympic Trials, giving her plenty of time to adjust to the new training methods under the eye of Bears head coach Dave Durden. Her older brother, mid-distance specialist Ryan Erisman, is currently a freshman at Cal, and scores of sprinters, including Weitzeil and men’s American-record holder Jack Alexy, have thrived in the Cal system.
As Erisman aims to continue her rapid progression to the forefront of American and global sprinting, the fit at Cal makes sense. Her emergence is far from complete, with plenty of rungs of the ladder still to climb, but Erisman’s results over the past two years have made her the envy of even the best high school sprinters in history.
