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Luke Vickers has announced his decision to remain in-state with the Ohio State Buckeyes, starting with the 2024-2025 season. Vickers is a junior at Massillon Jackson High School and trains year-round with the David YMCA Phantoms in Massillon, Ohio.
“I am thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and swimming careers at The Ohio State University! I would like to thank Coaches Bill Dorenkott and Mike Hulme for working with me through the recruiting process and giving me this amazing opportunity. Thank you to my parents for all of the support over my swimming career. I know I will always have you both as my number 1 supporters. Thank you to all of the coaches I have been blessed to work with over the years for all you have done to better me as an athlete, especially my long time coach Doug Nist. Thank you to my teammates for all of your support and pushing me to my limits in the pool each and every day. I am so grateful for this opportunity and for everyone who has made this journey possible. I am excited to get to work and be part of such an amazing team in 2024! Go Buckeyes!! #O-H 🌰🙆♂️”
Vickers, a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, is a pure breaststroker. This past August at Summer Junior Nationals, Vickers qualified for the B-final in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke. He placed 10th in the 100m breast with a personal best time of 1:02.89, and 11th in the 200m breast, clocking a best time of 2:16.39. Over the course of last summer, Vickers dropped nearly three seconds in his 100 and six seconds in his 200.
Top SCY Times:
- 50 breast – 26.15
- 100 breast – 55.42
- 200 breast – 2:01.90
His short course swims haven’t quite caught up with his long course improvements yet. This season, he’s been as fast as 55.56 in the 100 breast and 2:03.99 in the 200 breast. His best time of 2:01.90 in the 200 breaststroke came from YMCA Nationals last March, where he placed 10th overall. His best 100 breaststroke is from a meet in the summer, where he dropped nearly a second in one swim.
The Buckeye men were the runner-up team at the 2022 Big Ten Championships. All of the scoring athletes in both breaststroke events advanced to finals last season due to roster limits. To make the B-final, it took 54.00 in the 100 and 1:57.73 in the 200. Vickers’ short course times are off that, but his long course times indicate he has lots of room to improve before arriving on campus.
Hudson McDaniel was the highest finisher for Ohio State at Big Tens in both breaststrokes, earning 7th in the 100 (52.34) and 16th in the 200 (1:58.52). Behind him was Pete Krusinski, who earned 18th in the 200 (1:58.48) and 11th in the 100 (53.30). Neither will overlap with Vickers in Columbus, making his arrival timely as Ohio State rebuilds their breaststroke group.
Vickers is joined by fellow Ohio native Krys Gorski in the Buckeyes’ class of 2028. Gorski focuses primarily on backstroke and mid-distance freestyle.
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We see Luke Vickers swim on a regular basis. Just saw him set a local pool record in the 200 IM SCM. While his specialty appears to be breaststroke, he can do it all!