Freshmen, Ayden Baxter is 2025 Men’s SUNYAC Co-Rookie of the year!
Baxter finished in 2nd place in the 400 IM and 5th in the 500 & 1650 free races at the SUNYAC championships!
It’s no wonder this standout freshman was named Co-Rookie of the Year—his impressive track record from a decade-long career speaks for itself.
Baxter’s success in his swimming career didn’t just start in college, he has continuously proven himself to be a strong athlete in his college career.
Baxter, a business economics major from Marlboro, NY who was a five-year member of the varsity swim team and specialized in distance freestyle and broke his high school record in the 500 free his junior year and then his own record again his senior year as well as the 200free relay.
In the 2024-2025 season Baxter finishes placing 11th overall in the men’s SUNYAC conference and 4th overall on the team’s performance scale. These places take into consideration all meets and times throughout the season.
For a freshman he is already outshining many in the conference and has had an outstanding season, but he’s not done yet with many more accomplishments he’s ready to achieve.
“It feels really good to win it [Rookie of the Year]. I spent many hours in the water working hard and all that hard work paid off.” Baxter proudly states, “In terms of SUNYACS, I think I could’ve done better this season. I could’ve paced better in the mile and the 500. I think I got a little in my head at finals for those events.” Baxter says as he reflects on SUNYACS. “My 400IM was probably the event that I was most proud of, and I think that I went all out at night for finals.”
Although Baxter found some flaws in his performance at championships it only goes to show further the intense and determined athlete that he is.
Baxter’s performances weren’t just the highlight of his SUNYACs, fortunately for him, Baxter got to experience the team’s first SUNYAC win in over 10 years, “It felt great to see the team win. I was really happy that we won.” Baxter proudly states, “The team was a great motivation. I think the way the team was before and when I got up on the blocks got me really amped up and made me do as well as I did.”