McKenzie Rice, a senior at Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio, has made a verbal commitment to swim for the University of Akron next year. Rice is a member of the Countryside YMCA National Team.
“I’m very excited to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Akron! I felt instantly welcomed by the team and coaches on campus and believe that Akron will provide me with the perfect environment and programs to continue my academic studies and pursue my goals in the future.”
Rice is coming off a breakout year in 2016-2017. She was a finalist in both the 200 free (12th with 1:53.02) and 500 free (11th with 4:59.84) at the 2017 Ohio State Division I High School Swimming and Diving Championships in February. A month earlier she had dropped 43 seconds to win the 1650 free at the 34th Annual Southwest Ohio Swimming and Diving Classic, touching more than 13 seconds before the next-fastest swimmer. Representing Countryside at YMCA Short Course National Championships she took 13th in the 1650, 18th in the 1000 free, 31st in the 500 free, and 55th in the 200 free. At the YMCA Long Course Nationals this summer, she was 7th in the 1500, 11th in the 800, and 15th in the 400.
Rice will join the Zips with Andrea Fischer, Avery Movold, Lauren Cooper, and Sarah Watson, all of whom have indicated their verbal commitment to the class of 2022. Her top 1650 time would have scored (7th) for the conference-champion Zips at the 2017 MAC Championships; she is just out of scoring range in the 500 and 200 freestyles (the Mid-American Conference only scores an A final and a B final).
Top SCY times:
- 1650 free – 16:55.41
- 1000 free – 10:14.83
- 500 free – 4:59.84
- 200 free – 1:52.83
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].