Malia Rausch Announces Verbal Commitment to Ohio State for 2021

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Austin, Texas-native Malia Rausch has announced she plans to swim for The Ohio State University in the class of 2025.

“I am SO beyond excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic career at THE Ohio State University. Every aspect of the program was unmatched by any other school I visited, from the extremely strong culture of the team and coaches, to the world class academics, to the unique and superior resources that are provided for OSU student-athletes, and the breathtaking facilities. I can not wait to be a part of Buckeye Nation and to see how far this amazing team of women is able to go!! Go Bucks‼️‼️🌰🌰❤️❤️”

Rausch recently competed at the 2020 Texas UIL 6A State Swimming and Diving Meet, where she won the 500 free (4:48.06) and was runner-up in the 200 IM (2:02.21) at the conclusion of her junior year season at Lake Travis High School. She also led off the 8th-place 200 medley relay (26.69 backstroke) and the 6th-place 400 free relay (51.82). In club swimming, where she represents Austin Swim Club, Rausch focuses mainly on freestyle and backstroke. She swam the 100/200/500/1650 free and 100 back at 2019 Winter Juniors West, making top-16 in the 200 free, 500 free, and 1650 free. She earned PBs in all four freestyle distances. She also competed at U.S. Open in the LCM 200/400 free, 100 back, and 200 IM.

Last summer, at Des Moines Futures, she was a finalist in the 200 free (5th), 800 free (8th), 100 back (9th), 200 back (4th), and 400 IM (7th). She went best times in the 100/200/800 free and 100/200 back and qualified for Winter U.S. Open in the 100 back (1:04.59) and Winter Juniors in the 200 back (2:20.09).

Rausch will suit up with Gwen Woodbury, Mackenzie DeWitt, Mairin O’Brien, Paige Hall, and Teresa Ivan in the fall of 2021. Her times are already fast enough to score at the conference level for the 2020 Big Ten-champion Buckeyes. She would have made the C final of the 200/500 free at 2020 B1G Women’s Championships and she would have been 23rd in the 1650. Rausch will miss training with Molly Kowal and Grace Kowal but she will overlap one year with Sally Tafuto and Georgia Mosher.

Top SCY times:

• 200 free – 1:48.53
• 500 free – 4:47.01
• 1650 free – 16:39.18
• 50 back – 26.12
• 100 back – 55.94
• 200 back – 1:59.81
• 200 IM – 2:02.21

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