By Sydney Asher on SwimSwam
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Distance freestyler Neala Klein has announced her verbal commitment to swim for Duke University beginning in the fall of 2025. Klein, who is originally from New York, began training for Bolles School Sharks while studying at Bolles School in high school in Jacksonville, Florida. She announced on social media:
“I’m so excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at Duke University! I’d like to thank my family, friends and my coaches at Bolles and Westchester for supporting me along the way. I’d also like to thank Coach Brian and all the Duke coaches for this amazing opportunity. Go Blue Devils!
”
”Klein has competed in the Canadian Olympic Trials for the past two years in a row. In 2023, she placed tenth in the 1500 free (17:20.70) and 23rd in the 400 free (4:27.85). She showed up again this year to compete in the same events and tacked on the 100 fly. She placed 13th in the 1500 free (17:29.12), 14th in the 400 free (4:28.40), and 55th in the 100 fly (1:04.40).
Klein was on fire at the Florida Spring Senior Championships SCY earlier this year as a three-time finalist, setting five personal bests. She placed third in the 1000 free, setting a new personal best at 9:56.72. She set another best time in the 500 free, coming in fourth at 4:52.14, and placed seventh in the 200 fly at 2:03.07, another personal best. Klein set two more personal bests in the 50 free (24.39) and the 100 free (52.78).
Between prelims and finals, she cut 5 seconds off her 500 free time, qualifying her for the upcoming Speedo Winter Junior Championships this December. Her 1000 free landed her a spot at the US Open, also this December.
In February, Klein competed at the Southern Zone Senior Championships LCM. She ranked as a two-time finalist, placing fourth in the 1500 free (17:18.98) and 5th in the 200 fly (2:19.58). At the same meet, she placed 9th in the 800 free (9:05.22) and got a personal best time in the 400 free (4:26.54), shaving off two seconds from prelims to finals. Her 400 free time qualified her once again for the Speedo Winter Junior Championship East. With a total of 38 points, Klein was the team’s top scorer for women, leading the club to place third overall.
Klein shaved 19 seconds off her best time in the 1650 free at the Winter Junior Championship East SCY last December, finishing in 16:38.66 and landing her as an eighth-place finalist.
This summer, Klein placed second in the 1500 free (17:14.34) at the Futures Championship LCM in July.
Best times:
- 100 fly – 52.78 SCY
- 200 fly – 2:03.07 SCY
- 200 free – 1:51.06 SCY
- 500 free – 4:52.14 SCY
- 1000 free – 9:56.72 SCY
- 1650 free – 16:38.66 SCY
At last year’s Florida Aquatics 1A State Championship SCY meet, Klein placed 5th in the 500 free (4:53.25), and 9th in the 200 free (1:51.06), a personal best time. This year’s state championship meet is November 14 through 17, less than one month away. With last year’s top performers Lillie Nesty and Erika Pelaez having moved on to college, Klein will be racing against teammates Allison Kelly and Ella Gotham for a spot in the finals.
At the Bolles School Sharks, her head coach Peter Verhoef has coached multiple swimmers to the Olympics. Verhoef was a finalist at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Trials himself.
As Kleins built up her reputation as quite the distance swimmer, she’s ranked first on her team for the fastest 1650 free swimmer (16:38.66), 20 seconds ahead of second place.
She will join previous Bolles teammate Alex Meyers-Labenz who is currently competing as a freshman for the Blue Devils. At a duel meet against Marymount this October, Meyers-Labenz placed fourth in the 50 free (21.73) and third in the 100 fly (52.70).
Duke women swam their way to the highest NCAA finish in program history last May under coach Brian Barnes. The Blue Devils’ stacked roster has broken multiple records this past season, including the women’s 200 medley relay (1:35.16) and the women’s 800 free relay (7:04.50). Kaelyn Gridley and Martina Peroni both set program records, with Gridley clocking a 58.74 in the 100 breast, and Peroni swimming a 1:53.76 in the 200 fly.
Verbal commitments to Duke for the class of 2025 season include Raphael Wang, Anderson Kopp, Heather White, Scarlett McGlinchey, and Sidney Arcella.
While still two years out, Duke is already attracting top swimmers for the class of 2026. Sprinter Riley Anderson, #14 in class of 2026, has verbally committed to Duke, as well as breaststroker Addison Bitel.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.
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