Lake Forest College swimmer Lily McCarthy was named Forester Athlete of the Week on Thursday after helping lead her team to a runner-up finish at last weekend's Midwest Conference Championship Meet at Grinnell College.
McCarthy, a senior, posted a victory in the first individual swimming event of the weekend when she won Friday's 500-freestyle final by more than three-and-a-half seconds. In addition to being and career-best, her time of 5:07.38 moved her up a spot to fourth on the program's list of the five fastest swimmers in each event. She had finished second in the event each of the last two years after placing fifth as a freshman.
McCarthy recorded another career-best time in the 200-freestyle on Saturday. Her 1:57.52 was good for second place behind teammate Corynn Christjansen but left her just outside the top five in school history. McCarthy had finished seventh in the event in 2015, fourth as a sophomore, and third last year.
The final individual event of the week for McCarthy was Sunday's 1650-freestyle, which she entered as the two-time defending conference champion. Not only did McCarthy capture the title for the third year in a row, but she completed the 66 lengths of the pool in 17:45.91, nearly 15 seconds ahead of the runner-up. That final time, as well as her 1000 split of 10:44.83, also moved her up a spot to third in program history.
In addition to her performance in her three individual events, McCarthy also helped the 400-medley, 800-freestyle, and 400-freestyle relays finish second at the meet.
Forester Athletes of the Week are selected by the Athletic Department on Thursdays. McCarthy also earned the award on January 25.