Elise Mason's first trip to the NCAA DII Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in 2022 was a learning experience.
On Saturday, the final day of the 2023 edition of the DII Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, the sophomore swimmer for Hillsdale College made those lessons learned pay off.
Swimming in the morning heats of the 1,650 yard freestyle, her signature event, Mason put together the race of her life, cutting 12 seconds off her previous personal best time in the event and becoming the first swimmer in Hillsdale history to break the 17 minute mark in the 1,650. Mason, who entered the event seeded 25th, finished in 16:59.27 to take 11th overall after the evening fast heat was factored in, becoming just the sixth swimmer in Hillsdale College history to earn NCAA DII All-American honors.
The honor for Mason was well-earned. A walk-on as a freshman last season, the Zeeland, Michigan native was an immediate difference-maker for the Chargers in 2021-22, winning three G-MAC/MEC titles and becoming Hillsdale's first national meet qualifier since 2019. The sophomore took things to another level in 2022-23, repeating as G-MAC/MEC Champion in three events and now adding All-American honors to her already lengthy list of accomplishments.
Mason joins teammate and fellow sophomore Megan Clifford in earning All-American honors for the Chargers. Clifford finished seventh in the 200 butterfly on Friday night to receive NCAA recognition. It's the first time in program history that Hillsdale has had multiple All-Americans in the same season, and with both swimmers still having two more years of eligibility remaining, there's likely more to come in future seasons.
Photo courtesy of Meredith Wipper