Courtesy: MAC Athletics
MAC Men’s Swimmer of the Week
Antonio Thomas, Missouri State
Senior – Fayetteville, Arkansas/Haas Hall Academy
Thomas turned in impressive efforts in the long-distance freestyle events at the Southern Methodist University Invitational, earning the top spot in the 1650 (15:08.55) and runner-up in the 500 (4:23.39) among several top-tier programs. Both times rank nationally, with the 1650 coming in at No. 39 and the 500 landing at No. 20. He also rounded out the top-five A-final group in the 400 IM, swimming a 3:54.45 pace.
MAC Women’s Swimmer of the Week
Daisy Platts, Bowling Green
Sophomore – Leicester, United Kingdom/Lutterworth College
Daisy Platts won four individual events and broke a BGSU program record at the Cleveland State Magnus Cup. Platts won the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:59.64, the fastest time in school history. This marked the first time a BGSU swimmer finished a 200-yard IM in less than two minutes. Platts also took first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.84 seconds, the second-fastest time in school history. She won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.34, also second-best in school history. Platts set the program’s fifth-best mark in the 400-yard IM with a first place time of 4:20.95. The sophomore was a key part of the Falcon relay teams, swimming the opening leg for the first place 200-yard medley and 400-yard medley teams. Her efforts helped the Falcons finish fourth of 13 teams in Cleveland. Platts has competed in 13 individual events this season, finishing first in all 13.
Other Nominees
Katie Garrity, Ohio
Junior – Eagan, Minnesota/Rosemount
Garrity tallied 23 of Ohio’s 466.5 points in Columbus, Ohio at the Ohio State Fall Open Invitational. Garrity put eight points on the board for the Bobcats when she came in 23rd in the 1650 Yard Freestyle, with a time of 16:55.13. Then, her best performance came in the 400 Yard IM, where she placed 17th, coming in at 4:22.49.
Izzy Jones, Toledo
R-Junior – Ivinghoe, England/The Cottesloe School
Junior Izzy Jones had an outstanding performance over the weekend, helping the Rockets to a second-place finish at the TYR Invitational. Over the three-day event, Jones claimed three individual Top-10 finishes and four relay Top-Five finishes. Jones started the weekend off strong, claiming a first-place finish in the 500 free. The Ivinghoe, England native touched the wall in 4:46.89, the fourth-fastest time in program history. During the event, Jones clocked a season-best 54.19 in the 100 freestyle. Jones went on the take two more individual top-10 finishes, claiming a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke and a sixth-place finish in the 100 backstroke. Jones’ time in the 200 backstroke was 1:56.92, less than a second off of her school record set in 2017. Jones’ also clocked the second-fastest time in program history in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall in 54.37, just .04 second off of the school record set in 2014. Jones helped her teammates claim two third-place finishes (800 free relay and 200 medley relay) and two fourth-place finishes (400 free relay and 400 medley relay) – all season-best times.
Jillian Lawton, Buffalo
Junior – Lakewood, New York/Southwestern
University at Buffalo swimmer Jillian Lawton had a career meet at the Ohio State Invite this past weekend. After facing four nationally ranked programs in No. 14 Ohio State, No. 15 Kentucky, No. 17 Notre Dame and No. 25 UCLA, Lawton held her own. She had personal bests in the 100 butterfly and in the 100 freestyle. She finished in eighth place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.33, while finishing in 12th place in the 100 freestyle in 49.89. She also went on to help the team in the 400 freestyle relay as the team placed sixth in a time of 3:19.33. This time is UB’s third best time in the event in school history and currently the fastest in the Mid-American Conference. Lawton finished the 50 freestyle in 23.07, for 22nd place. She wasn’t done as she helped the team finish in ninth place in the 200 medley relay (1:41.67) and in 11th in the 200 freestyle relay (1:33.24). Both of these times are in UB’s top-10 in their respective events.