A returning All-American, Hillsdale College junior Elise Mason served notice to the nation that the Hillsdale College women's swimmer is back for more this season at the Don Kimble Invitational this past weekend.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference took notice too, naming Mason the G-MAC Women's Swimmer of the Week on Monday. It's her first honor of 2023-24 and the third weekly conference honor of her career.
Mason wowed against tough competition at the three-day invite in Grand Rapids, Michigan, posting three B-cut times to help the Chargers to a fourth-place finish as a team.
The junior took second in the 1,650 freestyle in 17:06.68, the second-fastest time she's ever swam in her signature event after her All-American-earning swim in March. That Mason came so close to that time early in the season without her full training under her belt bodes well for what she may be able to do in the event in March, and the time should almost certainly get her there even if it's not improved upon between now and the announcement of the field.
Mason also earned a second B-cut time in the 1,650 freestyle race, as her split through the 1,000 yard mark in the race of 10:20.26 is faster than the B-cut time in that event as well. She added her third and final B-cut time with a fourth-place finish in the 500 freestyle, in a time of 5:02.99.
The junior from Zeeland, Michigan has been the distance queen of the G-MAC since first stepping on the campus of Hillsdale as a freshman in the fall of 2021. She's never lost a distance freestyle race, preliminary or final, at a G-MAC/MEC championship meet in her career, going a perfect 10-for-10 over the last two seasons. Now, her focus will be on adding to that list of accomplishments and helping Hillsdale compete for the G-MAC/MEC crown as it looks to take back the title from a strong Findlay squad in February.