Photo courtesy of Laura Hawton
Max Hawton, a senior at Sandia High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has verbally committed to the University of Kentucky Wildcats. He will join future class of 2023 teammates Jacob Eismann and John Michael Gordon beginning in the fall of 2019.
“I’m looking forward to working with the team and coaches at Kentucky! Go Wildcats!”
Hawton is a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American with Winter Juniors-or-better cuts in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, and 200 back. At the 2018 NMAA State Swimming & Diving Championships, he won the 50 free by 8/10 with 20.74 and the 100 back by 2 seconds with 49.71. He led off the 3rd-place 200 medley relay (23.17) as well as the state record-breaking 200 free relay (21.03). The previous year he was runner-up in the 50 free and 3rd in the 100 back and he earned two more gold medals as a member of the Sandia 200 free and 400 free relays.
Hawton swims year-round with Charger Aquatics. He has competed at both Summer and Winter Junior Nationals. At Speedo Junior Nationals in Irvine this summer he finished 15th in the 100m free and went best times in the 50m free (23.82), 100m free (51.14), 100m back (58.33), and 100m fly (56.93). He had an equally impressive short course season. Beginning at Winter Juniors where he scored a PB in the 200 free, he went best times in the 50 free and 50 back during high school season, then dropped in the 100 free, 100 back, 200 back, and 100 fly at Federal Way Sectionals in March.
Hawton holds 15 New Mexico state records and 7 high school records. His top SCY times include:
- 50 back – 23.17
- 100 back – 49.39
- 200 back – 1:49.81
- 50 free – 20.74
- 100 free – 45.32
- 200 free – 1:41.12
- 100 fly – 50.07
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].