Irvine NOVA Distance Freestyler Joe Lastelic Commits to UCSB Gauchos

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Joseph Lastelic of Huntington Beach, California, has made a verbal commitment to swim for the University of California, Santa Barbara for the next four years. Lastelic is a classic distance freestyler, in that the longer he is in the water the more effective he is. Lastelic swims for Irvine Novaquatics and Marina High School. At Marina, he holds the school records in the 200 and 500 freestyles and is a four-year varsity water polo athlete. Lastelic will be receiving his Eagle Scout badge in January from Huntington Beach Boy Scout Troop 1134.

“As a third Generation Slovenian, my great Grandpa would say .. UCSB.. ‘It’s a long way from Boslivaloka, Solvenia’   Why Gauchos ?..As an incoming freshman, I’m looking forward to being a part of the Gauchos awesome swim program that will allow me to take my swimming career to the next level.  I’m also excited to be attending the most amazing schools in the UC system. Having 14 years of NOVA swim training under my belt I believe I have a lot to contribute to the Gauchos as well.”

Lastelic competed in the 200 free (1:40.15) and 500 free (4:27.78) at the 2015 CIF-Southern Section Division I (large schools) championships last May, finishing 11th and 10th in the events, respectively, earning personal best times in each. His 500 free was the fifth-fastest time overall in the D1 meet. He did even better at Summer Junior Nationals, where he dropped 2 seconds in the 400m free to reach the “B” final, placed 16th in the 800, and was 14th in the 1500 with a best time.

Lastelic’s best events are:

Lastelic is a nice pick-up for UCSB, who finished 55 points behind MPSF champions BYU at the 2015 conference meet. Lastelic would have been an “A” finalist in the 500 free, and his 1650 time would have been the second-fastest of the meet.

The Gauchos have also received a verbal commitment from Northern California’s Jake Rollo for 2016.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email to [email protected]