Sprinter Mario McDonald of Drop Aquatics Verbally Commits to Ohio State

Photo Courtesy: Mario McDonald

NEW COMMIT: Farmington Hills, Mich. native and talented sprinter Mario McDonald has announced his verbal pledge to The Ohio State University beginning in the fall of 2020.

McDonald, who owns the Winter Juniors standard in the 50 free, does his club swimming with Drop Aquatics and most recently placed 10th in the 50 free at Indianapolis Speedo Sectionals in March. He earned bronze in the 50 free at the Michigan Open this past winter and recorded a pair of best times at the Northwest Ohio Classic in December. Also competing for Detroit Catholic Central High School, McDonald placed third in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free as a junior at the Michigan D1 State Championships during his junior season.

He told Swimming World:

“I am very excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at The Ohio State University. The moment I stepped on campus and met the coaches and team I knew it was my home. Huge thank you to my coaches, family, and teammates who helped get me to this point. #GoBucks”

His best times include:

50 free – 20.38
100 free – 45.40
200 free – 1:45.45
200 IM – 1:57.72

Although he’s not quite in scoring range just yet at the Big Ten Championships, McDonald has continuously made improvements each season. Over the past two years, he has dropped well over a second in the 50 free, four in the 100 free, five in the 200 free and 11 in the 200 IM. He will add even more depth to a Buckeye sprint group that’ll include Ruslan Gaziev and Ben Sugar.

If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.

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