Rylee Erisman Breaks Gretchen Walsh’s National High School Record in 100 Freestyle
Competing at the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 4A Championships, Windermere High School’s Rylee Erisman broke the national high school record in the 100-yard freestyle on Friday night. Erisman, the reigning world junior champion in the 50-meter freestyle and 100 freestyle, clocked a time of 46.73. That performance bettered the 46.98 by Gretchen Walsh during her high school days in Tennessee.
Erisman was out in 22.75 and came home in 23.98 while winning the event by more than four seconds. Second place went to Laila Harran in 50.82. Erisman’s time was the second-fastest of her career, trailing only the 46.69 she managed at last year’s Winter Juniors-East. In addition to breaking Walsh’s overall national high school record, which was set in 2020, Erisman lowered the public-school standard of 47.09, formerly held by Olympian Abbey Weitzeil.
Erisman also won the 50 freestyle on Friday night, behind a time of 21.67. That mark was not far off Walsh’s national record of 21.59. She also anchored Windermere High to victory in the 200 medley relay, which was timed in a superb performance of 1:38.96. Brynn Lavigueur led off with a backstroke split of 24.16 while the breaststroke was handled by Aidyn Reese in a split of 28.66. After a butterfly leg of 24.63 by Lilliana Krstolic, Erisman anchored in 21.51.
At last summer’s World Junior Championships, Erisman was a star for the United States. On top of winning gold medals in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, the teenager won the silver medal in the 200 freestyle and exited with four relay medals.
