FSC’s Jeb Halfacre Repeats as SSC Male Athlete of the Year
For the second consecutive year, Florida Southern junior swimmer Jeb Halfacre has been named Sunshine State Conference Male Athlete of the Year.
A native of Gainesville, Fla., Halfacre won three national titles at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships. He won the 200-yard backstroke for the third consecutive year in an NCAA-record time of 1:43.41. He also won titles as part of FSC’s 400-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relay teams. Swimming the leadoff leg in both events, Halfacre and his teammates set new NCAA record times en route to their national championships. The Mocs swam the 400 medley relay in 3:12.43 and the 800 freestyle relay in 6:27.73.
Additionally, Halfacre finished second in the 100 backstroke, third in the 200 individual medley, and fifth in the 200 freestyle at the DII Championship. He left the national meet with seven All-America honors and helped lead FSC to a third-place finish in the team standings, best in program history.
At the SSC Championship, Halfacre won gold in the 200 backstroke, setting a new meet record with his mark of 1:44.77. Swimming the leadoff leg of the 400 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay, he also established new conference meet records in the 100 backstroke (48.62) and 100 freestyle (44.43). In total, Halfacre swam the leadoff leg on four SSC champion relay teams, all of which established new SSC meet records.
Halfacre’s outstanding spring earned him recognition as the SSC Men’s Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season. With swimming only being a conference-sponsored sport for two years, he is the only student-athlete to win the award.
Voting for the SSC Male Athlete of the Year was conducted among the league’s athletic directors, senior woman administrators, sports information directors, and faculty athletics representatives.
Halfacre’s selection as the SSC Male Athlete of the Year marks the 13th time that an FSC student-athlete has won the award.