The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IZAAK Bastian’s performance at the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships included school records, NCAA qualifying swims and a fifth-place finish for his No.15 Florida State Seminoles.

On the final night of the meet, hosted at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, Bastian set a new Seminoles record in the 200 yard breast in a time of 1:53.82 seconds.

Swimming out of lane two in the B final, Bastian finished strong in the final 50 yards for the come from behind victory and surpassed the previous record of 1:54.30 which stood for six years.

“Izaak has really grown into the 200,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said.

“He has worked on the details and it paid off with two school records.”

Bastian also set a school record in the 100 yard breast at 51.84 to win the B final. He became the only Seminole in history under the 52-second barrier and surpassed the previous six year mark of 52.11.

“We had a great night,” Studd said.

“Most of the guys stepped up and went faster tonight. Izaak was on point. He hit everything perfect and just crushed his best for a new school record and NCAA invite time.

“I’m so happy for him. He’s a great guy and just works hard all the time.”

Bastian and the 200 yard medley relay teammates earned an NCAA Championships qualifying standard on the opening night of the meet.

Bastian teamed with Mason Herbet, Max McCusker, and Peter Varjasi to swim a time of 1:23.91 to win the second heat of the timed finals at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

They eventually tied for fourth overall with the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Their timed final was 1.69 seconds lower than their seeding time entering the event.

After Herbert opened with a 21.11 sec split in backstroke, Bastian followed a time of 23.68 in the breaststroke, McCusker with a 20.11 split in the butterfly and Varjasi concluded with 19.01 in the freestyle.

The Seminoles finished the meet in fifth place with 740 points.

The 2021 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships will also be hosted at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

The women’s meet is scheduled for March 17-20, while the men’s meet is scheduled a week later - March 24-27.