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Michigan State has gotten a verbal commitment from Central High School and Champaign County YMCA’s Payton Woods. He placed 5th in the 50 free at last year’s IHSA Championships, and also split a 20.47 anchoring Central’s 200 free relay at that meet.
Woods has made some huge strides since his freshman year in the sprint free events. Take a look at his progression below:
| Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | |
| 50 free | 22.42 | 21.46 | 20.83 |
| 100 free | 51.11 | 49.53 | 47.01 |
Woods earned himself a Winter Juniors cut in the 50 free this past season, both in yards and in meters. The 24.31 he swam at the Indiana Futures Champs was also under the Winter Juniors qualifying standard.
Last season, MSU didn’t have any sprinter under 20.6 in the 50 free, and Woods has a great shot at making it onto the 200 free relay as a freshman. If he can add a bit of endurance, he might be a player in the 100 free for the Spartans. MSU finished last in the conference in every relay this past season, and Woods could seriously impact those sprint relays, especially if he continues to improve through his senior season.
Woods is the first reported male commitment to the Spartans for next fall.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email to [email protected]
Go P-Woods!
That’s IHSA Champion Payton Woods now!