Mackenzie Johnson '20 Recruiting Profile

I have been swimming year-round since I was 8 years old. I love the sport of swimming. I am from a small, remote town on the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington. I really enjoy the team environment and positive, competitive culture that swimming offers. As I have become older the number of same-age teammates has dwindled. One of the things about college swimming I look forward to the most is being a part of a larger team with peers who share my commitment, dedication and passion for swimming.  I love the training aspect of swimming and am excited to be in an environment with teammates who support and push each other to be better every day.  

As with most athletes I have had my ups and downs in my swimming career. Living in a small rural town has presented some unique challenges and has caused frustration at times. After my sophomore swim season I was struggling. I decided I needed a different experience and wanted to test myself. I asked my parents if I could move to Tucson and live with my aunt and uncle for a semester. My parents said no at first but then listened to my reasons and decided they would allow it. My friends and family thought I was crazy. I enrolled in a school where I knew no one. I was in a city 20 times the size of where I came from and had to learn to navigate it quickly.  I swam on a club where there were dozens of kids who were putting in the time and effort and also loved to swim.  I truly felt like part of the team and made some great friends.  I found out I could get used to 5 am practices and train twice a day! I learned many invaluable lessons from this experience, but most importantly I rediscovered my love of swimming and was excited about my future in swimming. I was more sure than ever before I wanted to swim at the college level. I feel that this experience will allow me to transition into college life more smoothly and give me the confidence to succeed.

My goal is to go under 1:00 in my 100 back before I get to college. I would like to drop a full second which would bring me down to :59.0. My goal for college is to make NCAA Championships.