Kacey McKenna Commits to Indiana as Part of Rebuilding Backstroke Group (2021)

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North Baltimore Aquatic Club swimmer Kacey McKenna has verbally committed to the Indiana Hoosiers.

McKenna, like many NBAC swimmers, doesn’t swim high school competition, instead focusing on USA Swimming meets.

At her last meet before the coronavirus pandemic shut down most competition nationally, the Maryland Swimming Senior Championships, McKenna missed most of her best times by several seconds and scratched out of her top event, the 100 backstroke.

That leaves most of her best times from the 2019 championship, where she finished 2nd in the 100 back (54.37) and 5th in the 200 back (2:00.59).

In long course, she has a best time of 1:03.59 in the 100-meter backstroke, which is a Summer Junior Nationals cut. That swim, done in January of 2020, ranks her 25th among Americans in the 15-16 age group in the 2019-2020 season, emphasizing NBAC’s traditional long course focus. It also leaves her less than a second away from the 2020 Olympic Trials cut of 1:02.69, which remains in-tact through at least December as a qualifying standard for the 2021 meet.

Best Times in Yards:

• 50 free – 23.83
• 100 free – 51.96
• 200 free – 1:51.20
• 50 back – 26.38
• 100 back – 54.37
• 200 back – 2:00.59
• 100 fly – 55.63

Indiana had 2 of the top 12 ranked 100 yard backstrokers in the Big Ten last season: freshman Cora Dupre (52.47) and junior Grace Haskett (52.77). Dupre is transferring to Alabama this fall and Haskett, presuming the 2020-2021 season happens, is in her final year of eligibility.

That means the Hoosiers will be in rebuilding mode int he backstroke group, with McKenna already being faster than any other backstroker on the Indiana roster was last season.

To help fill that gap, in the class of 2020 Indiana brings in Mary Kate Reicherter (55.6/1:58.2 backstroker), and Anna Freed (54.9/1:58.4). In addition to McKenna in the class of 2021, the Hoosiers have also added backstrokers Elyse Heiser (54.5/1:58.8), Katie Broderick (54.5/1:57.5), and Anna Peplowski (55.4/1:57.8). That group, combined with the very-early commitment of class of 2022 swimmer Mya Dewitt, a 53.7-second backstroker already, means that the Hoosier backstroke group should return in a hurry.

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