Mackenzie Atencio, a six-time All-Conference swimmer for Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colorado, has made a verbal commitment to join the Indiana University women’s swimming and diving team starting with the 2015-16 season. Atencio will be joining Lilly King, Christie Jensen and Allison Cunningham who have all chosen to make Bloomington their home next year.
“I’m really excited to be a Hoosier. The team and coaches made me feel completely at home. I can’t wait to compete at the next level.”
Atencio is a breast/IM specialist who trains with Jeffco Hurricanes. She is a Winter Juniors qualifier in the 200y breast (2:19.65), and a Colorado state high school finalist in the 100 breast, having place fourth in each of the last two years. Atencio broke a 27-year-old league record in the 100 breast this past year and was a member of Jeffco’s 400 medley relay team that broke the state record at spring Sectionals two years ago.
Her top times over the last couple of years are:
200y breast: 2:19.65 200m breast: 2:40.47
100y breast: 1:05.27 100m breast: 1:15.96
400y IM: 4:35.46 400m IM: 5:17.17
200y IM: 2:10.28 200m IM: 2:30.70
Atencio’s strongest event is likely the 200 breast but she has made nice strides in the IM. From 2011 to 2013 she improved significantly each year in the 200 and 100 breast before hitting a slight plateau in 2014. During that same time frame she had steady drops in the 400 IM. In the 200 distance, however, she continued to improve every single year, including a full 1.5 seconds in 2014.
With the current class of commits and the 12 freshmen already on the roster, Atencio will have an excellent group of Hoosier workout peers with whom she should make it to the next level: a scorer at B1G Conference Championships.
Anne, it’s “Indiana University.”