The University of Wisconsin has received a verbal commitment from the Badger Aquatic Club’s Chris Wills. He will stay in Madison next fall, joining the Badger’s roster for the 2015-2016 season.
Wills is versatile, specializing in sprint and mid-distance freestyle, I.M., and breaststroke events. As a junior, he placed 90th in the 400 I.M., 106th in the 200 I.M., and 73rd in the 200 Breast at the 2013 Winter Junior Nationals. He placed 34th in the 200 Breast, 94th in the 100 Breast, and 63rd in the 50 Breast at the 2014 NCSA Junior National Championships. This summer was a breakout season for Wills, as he placed ninth in the 100 Breast, 65th in the 200 Free, 18th in the 50 Breast, ninth in the 200 Breast, and tenth in the 200 I.M. at the 2014 NCSA Long Course Junior National Championships. He also split 24.57 and 53.66 as the lead-off for Badger Aquatic Club’s 200 and 400 Free Relay at that meet.
Some Of His Best Times
(LCM)
50 Free: 24.57
100 Free: 53.66
200 Free: 1:57.92
100 Breast: 1:05.75
200 Breast: 2:23.00
200 I.M.: 2:08.42
Wills Is Showing Improvement
As a junior, Wills short course season was a bit up and down, but his long course season showed a lot of improvement. He is coming off of a solid meet at the 2014 NCSA Long Course Junior National Championships, where he swam several events, as well as contributing to his club’s relays. This short course season will likely be one in which Wills will drop a lot of time in many events.
When he joins the Badgers in the Big Ten Conference, Wills may be able to have an immediate impact, but his times are not quite at the scoring level yet. He has the potential to be valuable in the 100 and 200 Breast, as well as the 200 and 400 I.M., but he still has another year to develop before his collegiate debut.