04/01/2021
And that’s no joke! Couldn’t have a better man representing the USA in Tokyo❤️
Max McHugh Named Big 10 Swimmer of the Year
Junior breaststroke specialist, two-time NCAA Champion and three-time Big Ten Conference Champion Max McHugh has been unanimously named the Big Ten Men's Swimmer of the Year, as announced by the Big Ten Tuesday afternoon. The unanimous decision was the first since the Big Ten began recording voting tallies in 2003.
The award is the first of McHugh's well-decorated career and the fifth in Minnesota's history, the last of which was awarded to Gopher great Terry Silkaitis in 2003. Before Silkaitis, Alex Massura brought the honor to the Maroon and Gold twice, winning outright in 2000 and sharing the award with Michigan's Chris Thompson in 1999. McHugh received Big Ten yearly honors in 2019 as well, being named Freshman of the Year.
Throughout the year, McHugh has been an absolute force in the individual breaststroke events, being out-touched on only two occasions throughout the entirety of the season. In the shorter of the two individual events, not only did McHugh touch first overall in all six instances he hit the water, but all six times account for the top-six swims in the nation this season, none of which were slower than 50.87 seconds.
What were easily McHugh's best finishes came at the 2021 NCAA Championships, where the Sturgeon Bay, Wis. native brought home Minnesota's first men's swimming titles in the past 57 years by winning both the 100 breast and 200 breasts in Minnesota school record times of 50.19 and 1:49.02, respectively. The last time a Minnesota men's swimmer was named an NCAA Champion dates back to 1964, when Walt Richardson won the 100 butterfly. McHugh's titles also make him the first men's NCAA Champion for the Gophers since 1996, when diving great PJ Bogart won the title in the one-meter springboard.
Both performances earned McHugh All-American honors, the fourth and fifth of his career. He'd previously been named an All-American in 2019 in the 100 and 200 breast, as well as the 400 medley relay.
As only a junior in terms of eligibility, McHugh will return to Minnesota for the 2021-22 season with his sights set on a repeat performance of this year's NCAAs. Currently, he has begun training for the upcoming US Olympic Trials, with hopes to represent the U.S.A. in Tokyo later this summer.
Courtesy Gophersports.com
