Top Achievements
• 2019-20 MAC gold medalist in the 1650 free and 400 IM
• 2019-20 MAC silver medalist in the 500 free
• 2018-19 MAC silver medalist in the 500 and 1650 free
• 2018-19 MAC bronze medalist in the 400 IM
• 2017-18 MAC gold medalist in the 500 and 1650 free
• 2016-17 NCAA Qualifier
• 2016-17 MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year
• 2016-17 MAC gold medalist in the 500 and 1650-yard freestyle
Honors & Awards
• 2019-20 MAC Co-Swimmer of the Year
• 2019-20 MAC Most Outstanding Senior
• MAC Swimmer of the Week (11/23/16, 11/27/19)
• All-MAC First Team (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
• All-MAC Academic Team (2020)
• MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll – Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2018
2019-20 Season (Senior)
Earned Co-Swimmer of the Year, Most Outstanding Senior, and All-MAC first team laurels in senior season…Gold medalist in 1650 free and 400 IM, took silver in 500 free at MAC Championships (March 4-7)…Opened season with fourth-place time in 500 free at Show-Me Showdown (October 4)…Recorded first individual and relay victories of senior campaign in 1000 free and 800 free relay at Kansas Double Dual (October 11-12)…Followed it up with 1650 free and 800 free relay wins at Indiana State Invitational (October 19-20)…Turned in first-place efforts in 500 and 1000 free on senior day versus SIU (November 9)…Took top prize in 1650 free and runner-up in 500 free at SMU Invite (November 21-23)…Swept long-distance freestyle events in both meetings with Drury (December 14, January 20)…Posted fifth-place mark in 1650 free at Shamrock Invitational (January 24-25).
2018-19 Season (Junior)
All-MAC first team selection…Proved essential for the Bears in the long-distance races at the MAC Championships, taking the silver medal in the 500 (4:21.99) and 1650 freestyle (15:14.11)…Added on a bronze in the 400 IM (3:52.67)…Top-10 finish in the 1650 freestyle as well as landing top-15 in 500 freestyle and 400 IM at Shamrock Invitational among nationally recognized programs…Held top-five time in 500 freestyle, 1,000 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, and 400 IM for MSU in 2018-19.
2017-18 Season (Sophomore)
Earned gold medals in the 500 and 1650 free at the MAC Championships … Finished 10
th in the 200 free at the league meet … All MAC First-Team selection … Was the fourth swimmer to the wall in the 500 free at the Missouri Show-Me Showdown (Sept. 29) … Won the 100 free and took second in the 500 free in the Bears’ home meet against Southern Illinois (Oct. 7) … Earned a golden finish in the 1000 free against South Dakota on Oct. 20-21 … Finished second in the 1000 free and third in the 500 free against Drury on Oct. 27 … Earned two top-25 finishes and took fourth overall in the 1650 free at the Purdue Invitational (Nov. 16-18) … Won the 1000 free and took fifth in the 500 free at Drury on Jan. 18 … Earned a victory in the 1000 free and took third overall in the 500 free against Missouri (Jan. 20) … Took second in the 1650 free at the Shamrock Invitational (Jan. 27-28) and finished eighth overall in the 500 free (PR, 4:22.76) … Set career bests (7) in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 100 back, 100 breast and 100 fly.
2016-17 Season (Freshman)
Became the second freshman in program history to qualify for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, as well as the first distance swimmer to compete on the national stage … Finished 30
th in the nation in the 1650 freestyle (15:03.83) … Improved to 44
th overall in the 500 free at the NCAA Championships with a time of 4:21.72 … Claimed the school record in the 500, 1000 and 1650 freestyle … Became the first swimmer in program history to complete the 500 free under 4:20.00, completing the event in 4:19.97 (MAC Championships 3/2/17) … Became the first swimmer in school history to swim the mile in under 15:00.00, claiming the school and conference record at the 2017 MAC Championships (3/4/17) in 14:26.02 … Earned gold and set two conference records in the 500 and 1650 free at the 2017 MAC Championships, earning 2016-17 MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year accolades … Kicked off collegiate career with a first-place finish in the 500 free at the Missouri Show-Me Showdown … Finished second in the 500 free and third in the 1000 free against North Dakota on Oct. 22 … Placed third in the 1000 free and fourth in the 500 free against Iowa and Purdue on Nov. 4 … Dominated the 500 free and 1650 free, setting two meet record at the House of Champions Invitational (11/18) … Against Evansville on Dec. 2, claimed the 200 free in a time of 1:44.12 … Took second in the 500 and 1000 free at Southern Illinois on Dec. 3 … Claimed the 1000 free against Drury with a time of 9:16.04, as well as the 500 free (4:26.53) … Finished first in the 1000 free at Missouri (1-21) and took second in the 500 free … Claimed the 1650 free in 15:05.16 at the Shamrock Invitational, setting a new pool record at the meet … Finished the season with the team’s fastest time in the 500, 1000 and 1650 free.
Background
The No. 1 ranked swimmer in the class of 2016 out of the state of Arkansas according to CollegeSwimming.com … Previously qualified for the US Open in the Long Course 800-meter freestyle and the Speedo Junior National Championships … The Fayetteville product had the fastest times in the 500 free, 1000 free and 1650 free in the sectional Champions Series event in Jenks, Oklahoma, in March, 2015 … Earned the highest point total among all swimmers at the meet … Took high point honors during summer of 2015 at the Champions Series event in Columbia … Along with club success for the AquaHawgs, Thomas was previously named a USA Scholastic All-American.
Personal
Son of Aaron and Stephanie Thomas … Has two sisters, Luciana and Martina … Born January 11, 1998 … Both parents competed in swimming and Old Dominion … Majoring in digital film production.
| Career Bests at Missouri State |
| Event |
Time |
Opponent/Meet |
Date |
| 100 Free |
50.39 |
vs. Evansville |
12/1/17 |
| 200 Free |
1:39.01 |
2018 MAC Championships |
11/18/16 |
| 500 Free |
4:22.76 |
2018 MAC Championships |
2/28/18 |
| 1000 Free |
9:04.60 |
Purdue Invitational |
11/16/17 |
| 1650 Free |
14:56.02 |
2017 MAC Championships |
3/4/17 |
| 100 Back |
59.61 |
vs. Evansville |
12/1/17 |
| 100 Breast |
1:05.27 |
vs. Evansville |
12/1/17 |
| 100 Fly |
56.13 |
vs. Evansville |
12/1/17 |
