Miles Smachlo ’16 has experienced a productive and rewarding freshmen year campaign with the Michigan Wolverines men’s swimming and diving team. So far in his first collegiate year, his achievements and accolades included; NCAA Championships participant, Big Ten Championships Top 10 finisher, and Scholar All-American, just to name a few.
Most recently, Smachlo and 10 fellow University of Michigan teammates were in action at the 2017 Phillips 66 National Championships, held June 27-July 1 at the IUPUI Natatorium. The event allows swimmers to put themselves in contention for spots on the 2017-18 U.S. National team and for the World University Games. At the event, Smachlo had one of the best performances of the week, where he shaved nearly four seconds off his seedtime to make the final in the 200-meter butterfly, in which he finished 8th overall (2:00.46). In other events, he took 16th in both the 50-meter (24.54) and 100-meter butterfly (53.39), and 44th in the 200-meter IM (2:06.08).
Following the conclusion of his freshman year, Smachlo earned Scholar All-America recognition from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for his achievements in the classroom. The individual selection recognizes students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and have participated in their respective NCAA Championships. Additionally, the University of Michigan men’s swimming and diving team received the team CSCAA Scholar All-America honor for posting a team GPA of 3.0 or higher for the spring semester.
Smachlo qualified and swam at the NCAA Championships in his rookie season where he finished 25th in the 200-yard butterfly (1:43.38) and placed 31st in the 100-yard butterfly (46.52). He recorded two top 10 finishes at the Big Ten Championships in February. His best finish was for 4th place in the 200-yard butterfly (1:43.46) which he followed with a 6th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (46.43) and he placed 18th in the 200-yard IM (1:45.23).
Other season top 5 performances included a 1st place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.84) at the Michigan State meet, a 2nd place finish in the 200-yard butterfly and 5th in the 100-yard Freestyle (45.10) and the 100-yard Butterfly (47.84) (1:46.91) at Ohio State. At the Indiana meet, Smachlo finished 3rd in the 200-yard Butterfly (1:47.89) and 4th in the 100-yard Butterfly (48.15). Smachlo kicked off his rookie season at the University of Georgia Invitational where he finished 5th in the 100-yard Butterfly (46.88).
In his rookie collegiate campaign Miles has achieved student-athlete success both in the classroom and in the pool. During his days at Deerfield, Miles set school records, won meets and won individual championships. It is clear from all that he has accomplished so far in his academic and swimming career that the possibilities are endless. Congratulations Miles on your success as a student-athlete thus far!