Preston Planells, a senior at Damien High School in La Verne, California, has verbally committed to swim for the University of Iowa beginning in the fall of 2019. He’ll suit up with #20 Will Myhre in the class of 2023.
“I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim at the University of Iowa! The team and coaches made me feel right at home. A huge thank you to my family, friends, and coaches who have supported me through this process. Let’s do it! Go HAWKS!!!!”
Planells led Damien to a 5th-place finish among boys’ teams at the 2018 CIF-Southern Section Division II Championships in May. He finished 4th in the 200 IM (1:52.22) and 3rd in the 100 back (49.44), led off the 3rd-place medley relay (23.67), and anchored the 3rd-place 400 free relay (45.93). He went on to the state meet and placed 12th in the IM and 14th in the backstroke. As a sophomore he was 9th in both events at the 2017 California state meet.
Planells does his club swimming with BREA Aquatics. He had a strong LCM season, improving his lifetime bests in the 50/100 free, 100/200 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM. He finished the summer with a U.S. Open cut in the 100 back, Summer Juniors in the 200 back, and Winter Juniors in the 200 IM.
Iowa’s top-scoring backstroker from 2018 B1G Championships, Kenneth Mende, will have graduated by the time Planells joins the Hawkeyes’ roster. It took 48.83 in the 100 and 1:45.61 in the 200 to get a second swim at the 2018 conference meet.
- 200 back – 1:47.79
- 100 back – 49.44
- 50 back – 23.67
- 200 IM – 1:50.99
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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