Abby Ford of Mid Michigan Aquatics and Grand Ledge High School has committed to Division II University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ford focuses her training in mid-distance freestyle, breaststroke, and IM races.
“I really liked the atmosphere of the team and how close they were,” Ford said of her future team. “The coaches, Chris and Dar, were so friendly and welcoming and that definitely helped me make my decision. The smaller campus is also nice. Their training facilities are awesome and I can’t wait to start training there next fall!”
Best Times in Yards:
- 50 free – 24.86
- 100 free – 55.43
- 200 free – 2:00.40
- 500 free – 5:10.95
- 1000 free – 10:37.39
- 100 breast – 1:07.08
- 200 breast – 2:24.78
- 200 IM – 2:15.45
- 400 IM – 4:42.39
Ford would rank in the top 3 among Sioux Falls swimmers this season in the 500 free (3rd), 1000 free (1st), 100 breast (3rd), 200 breast (2nd), 200 IM (3rd), and 400 IM (2nd). The Cougars are an incredibly young team, as one would might expect in only the 3rd year of the team’s existence. The team currently has 3 juniors and no seniors on the roster, and at least their top 4 ranked swimmers in every event are freshmen or juniors.
That makes Ford’s addition an incredibly-valuable one for Sioux Falls as they continue to build a deeper and more well-rounded program. She already has times in both the 1000 free (which is an NCAA Championship event in Division II) and 400 IM that rank her 2nd in school history. She projects to be at least a 40-point scorer as a freshman at the NSIC Conference Championship meet (where USF was 3rd last year, relying on a roster that had 19 freshmen among 27 swimmers). She’s also within reach of National Championship qualifying already (the team was 21st at NCAAs last year).
She dropped 20 seconds in the 2018 calendar year alone in the 500 free, 12 seconds in the 400 IM, and she’s only officially raced the 1000 free once. As an indicator of how much potential Ford has: she didn’t swim the 100 back in USA Swimming-sanctioned competition in 2018; and her 100 breaststroke time is now faster than her 100 backstroke time.
All of that, while her 50 free ranks 5th on the team, and nearly within reach of a relay spot, in spite of not considering it a primary event.
Ford trains under coach Ian Townsend both in high school and in club.
go coach Ian!!
go coach hamstra!!