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Mecklenburg Swim Association’s Ian McKinney, a Winter Juniors-level butterflier, has verbally committed to West Virginia University for the fall of 2023.
McKinney is a rising senior at Marvin Ridge High School in North Carolina, a few hours south of his future university. He recently placed 7th in the 500 free and 9th in the 200 free at the 2022 North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A State Championships in February. March was a productive month for McKinney who blasted lifetime best times in the 200 fly, 500 free, 1000 free and 100 fly at Sectionals in Cary, North Carolina. He placed 8th, 12th, 12th and 41st, respectively. He also came within 2 seconds of his best 1650 free time from December to place 5th.
Top SCY times:
- 200 fly – 1:49.89
- 200 free – 1:40.37
- 500 free- 4:32.62
- 1000 free – 9:27.77
- 1650 free – 15:45.54
- 400 IM – 4:01.88
In Cary, McKinney secured his first-ever Winter Juniors qualifying time in the 200 fly. He also has Futures times in the 200 and 500 free, alongside the 400 IM.
McKinney’s best times would have scored at the 2022 Big 12 Conference Championships for the Mountaineers. They place him in the A final of the 200 fly, 8th in the 1650 free, and in the B finals of the 200 free, 500 free, and 400 IM. His fastest 200 free time also beat one leg of WVU’s 3rd-place-finishing 800 free relay.
WVU 200 fly school record holder David Dixon graduated after the 2022 season, leaving room for a new era of Mountaineer butterfliers. McKinney would now be the second-fastest WVU 200 flyer, behind rising sophomore Zhenya Ingram who was their only other A finalist at last season’s championships. McKinney would also be WVU’s second-fastest 400 IMer since their only A finalist last season, Josh Harlan, has graduated. B finalist Reilly Keaney, a rising sophomore, now leads that training group.
McKinney’s lifetime best 1650 free time fits right in with the times rising juniors Brendan Williams and Logan McFadden swam at last season’s championship meet to place 7th and 8th, respectively. Rising junior William Mullen placed highest for WVU at 4th. Mullen and Williams lead the 500 squad after qualifying for the A final last season. Roanoke Shirk is currently WVU’s strongest 200 freestyler; he was the only swimmer to make the A final.
West Virginia men are coming off a 3rd place finish at the 2022 Big 12 Conference Championships under head coach Vic Riggs.
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