Lilla Bognar, #5 in the Class of 2025, Makes Verbal Pledge to Florida

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Lilla Bognar from Travelers Rest, South Carolina, has announced her verbal commitment to the University of Florida for the 2025-26 school year and beyond.

“I’m so excited to announce my verbal commitment to further my athletic and academic career at the University of Florida! I’d like to thank my family, coaches, friends and teammates for helping me reach this point. I can’t wait to swim with my best friends. GO GATORS!🐊💙🧡”

Bognar, the #5 recruit on our Way Too Early list of the fastest girls from the high school class of 2025, will join #9 Lynsey Bowen in Gainesville in the fall of 2025. She is the third of four siblings to swim in the NCAA. Cara Bognar is currently a senior on the University of Illinois team, while Nils Bognar is in his sophomore season at Georgia Tech.

Bogner is a junior at Eastside High School. She swims year-round with Team Greenville and is the fastest 400 IMer in the class. She also has an excellent 200 back and the potential to develop into a top-level performer in the 100 back, 200 IM, and 200/500 free.

Bognar won the 200 IM and 100 back as both a freshman (2:03.64/54.81) and a sophomore (1:59.74/55.45) at the South Carolina High School State Championships. While her best 400 IM and 100/200 back time date from the 2022 NCSA Spring Championships, her 200/500 free and 200 IM times come from the 2023 edition of the same meet. In 2023, she was runner-up in the 200/500 free, 200 back, and 400 IM, and she placed 4th in the 200 IM.

She had a huge long course season, earning 2024 Olympic Trials cuts in the 200 back and 200/400 IM while notching PBs in a wide range of events, including the 200 free (2:03.17), 400 free (4:22.64), 200 back (2:09.85), 200 breast (2:36.26), 200 fly (2:14.21), 200 IM (2:15.16), and 400 IM (4:40.97). After placing 4th in the 400 IM and 11th in the 200 back at USA National Championships, she competed at Summer Juniors and placed 2nd in the 200 fly, 3rd in the 200 back and 200 IM, 7th in the 400 free, 9th in the 200 free, and 10th in the 200 breast.

Bognar represented Team USA at World Aquatics Junior Championships in Netanya, Israel in September. She finished just off the podium (4th) in the 400 IM with 4:42.83.

Best SCY times:

• 400 IM – 4:05.50 (best in class)
• 200 back – 1:53.29
• 100 back – 53.63
• 200 IM – 1:58.09
• 200 free – 1:46.68
• 500 free – 4:45.39
• 1650 free – 16:39.34

Bognar’s best 400 IM time would have scored in the A final at 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, along with Emma Weyant and Mabel Zavaros, currently a junior and a senior, respectively. She’ll overlap with Zoe Dixon who, like Weyant and Zavaros, was a 1:53 200 backstroker last season.

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