NEW COMMIT: UC San Diego has landed a new verbal commitment for the 2020-21 season and beyond from breaststroker Luke Pusateri of Mount Vernon, Wash.
Pusateri, who owns the Summer Juniors standard in two events, does his club swimming with Skagit Valley Family YMCA and most recently raced both breaststroke events at Junior Nationals this past summer. At YMCA Nationals in April, he raced to 11th in the 100 breast and 14th in the 200 breast.
Also representing the Philippine Swimming Federation, Pusateri finished fourth in the 200m breast and fifth in the 100m breast at the South East Asia Championships in June. A current senior at Mount Vernon High School, Pusateri has earned USA Swimming Scholastic All-American honors twice in his career.
He told Swimming World:
“Words cannot describe how unbelievably excited I am to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of California San Diego! I would like to thank my family, friends, and coaches who have supported me throughout the years; I would not be where I am today without them. Thank you Coach Marko, Coach Kirk, Coach Kayla, Coach Zach, and the whole UCSD team for believing in me and welcoming me into their family. Growing up swimming by myself has been a hard and emotional journey, but I am so grateful to finally say I will be a part of something greater than myself: a team. Go Tritons!”
His best times include:
- 100 breast – 56.44
- 200 breast – 2:03.20
- 200 IM – 1:55.38
- 100 fly – 51.98
- 50 free – 22.05
He will add much-needed breaststroke depth to the Tritons’ lineup next fall following the graduation of Edgar Chin, who finished sixth in the 100 breast at the 2019 NCAA DII Championships. Pusateri would’ve scored in the B-final of both breaststroke events at the MPSF Championships last season and will be a valuable asset as a member of the class of 2024.
If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.
Congratulations