Edison and Aquazot All-County swimmer Thomas Smith — who races on despite a benign tumor in his left knee — made a recruiting trip to Ohio State over the weekend and returned to Surf City impressed with the Big Ten school.
“Ohio State was the experience of a lifetime,” he said in a text. “I was extremely honored to have been given the opportunity to see such a high-level and courteous team that is striving to climb to the top.
“The guys there are similar to Aquazot — humble, hard-working and conscious of their short-term investment in swimming aside from long-term investment academically.”
Smith also plans to visit Arizona, LSU, Michigan and Cal. He placed third in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 back at the CIF Division 1 finals in May but also is an outstanding 200 backstroker, a non-CIF event.
In other swimming news, Santa Margarita’s Katie McLaughlin of the Nadadores committed to Cal on Sunday.
Please send swimming recruiting news to Dan Albano at dalbano@ocregister.com
