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Summer Juniors B-finalist Matthew Mortenson has announced that he will be joining the Mizzou Tigers next fall. Mortenson is wrapping up his senior year at East Ridge High School, while also training-year round with Riptide in Apple Valley, Minnesota.
“I am super excited to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Missouri to
continue my academic and swimming career!!! The day I stepped on campus it felt like home. Thank you to God, my family, friends, and my coaches, Mike and Michelle at Riptide for getting me to where I am today.Thank you to the MIZZOU coaching staff for giving me
this opportunity. I can’t wait to be a Tiger! MIZ!”
Mortenson primarily swims IM and breaststroke, with his best event being the 400 IM. At Speedo Summer Juniors in August, he qualified for the B-final in 400m IM, where he ended up 16th overall with a best time in prelims of 4:27.94. He also swam the 200m breast, where he took 73rd with a 2:24.62.
Top SCY Times:
- 100 breast – 58.49
- 200 breast – 2:02.92
- 200 IM – 1:50.49
- 400 IM – 3:52.10
Mortenson most recently competed at the Winter Juniors – West, where he set personal best times in all of his events. His highest finish was in the 400 IM, where he clocked a 3:53.43 to finish 15th. He took 52nd in the 200 IM (1:50.49), 42nd in the 200 breast (2:02.92), and 103rd in the 100 breast (58.49). His 400 IM was an 8 second drop from last season, while his 200 IM was a 4 second drop.
Mizzou is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), where they placed 7th out of 10 teams at last year’s conference meet. Mortenson is just outside of scoring range in the 400 IM, as it took a 3:50.98 to advance to the C-final at SECs in 2022. The Mizzou men only scored 14 points in this event last year, meaning Mortenson could help fill that gap if he continues to improve.
The leader in the 400 IM so far this season for the Tigers is freshman Jakob Nissen, who clocked a 3:49.53 at the Mizzou Invitational in November. Nissen and Mortenson will overlap in Columbia for three years, potentially giving Mizzou a chance to make the 400 IM a more impactful event at SECs.
Mortenson is joined by Alex Ochsenbein, Jaden Pospishil, Darden Tate, Matthew Stephenson, Logan Ottke, and John Watson in Mizzou’s class of 2027. Watson and Tate are the others in the class who swim very similar events to Mortenson.
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Congratulations.
Mizzou reloading
He’s got that “jeah brah” look on his face