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Isabella Budnik, Condors Swim Club in New City, New York, will head to Blacksburg, Virginia next fall to swim for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Budnik, a Winter Junior Championships qualifier in the sprint frees and backstrokes, attends Clarkstown North Senior High School. In 2024, Clarkstown North’s girls swim team competed as a Co-Op between Clarkstown’s North and South Schools for the first time.
Home is a feeling of belonging, connecting, and purpose. I am thrilled to announce that I have found home at Virginia Tech. I would like to thank Coach Steve and Coach Sergio for giving me the opportunity to join the Hokie Family! I would also like to thank Coach Jim Wargo, my family, friends and teammates for their constant support and guidance. GO HOKIES !!! 🦃 🧡💗
At the New York High School AA Girls Federation State Championships, Budnik took home the title in the 200 free, winning in a best time of 1:48.35. She also swam the 100 back, where she placed 4th in 56.21. A crucial relay piece, Budnik split times of 50.10 in Clarkstown Co-Op’s 400 free relay and 23.06 medley relay, both of which she anchored. With those swims, Budnik racked up 43 points to lead her team to a 5th place finish.
Budnik went on to compete at Speedo Winter Juniors – East just a few weeks later, where she clocked 5 personal bests and 2 finals appearances. Four of those best times came in the 50 free (23.69), 500 free (4:54.55), 100 back (55.62), and 200 back (1:58.65), all of which were set in prelims. Budnik swam her 5th lifetime best in the 100 free, clocking a 50.23 in finals to place 22nd and dip under 51 for just the 2nd time—the first of which came in prelims. She also finaled in the 200 free, swimming a 1:48.64 for 19th, just off her title-winning time from 2 weeks prior.
Best times:
- 100 free – 50.23
- 200 free – 1:48.35
- 500 free – 4:51.99
- 1000 free – 10:14.20
- 100 back – 55.14
- 200 back – 1:58.65
Virginia Tech and the ACC are set to welcome Cal and Stanford this fall. VT placed 6th at the 2024 ACC Championships, but will be losing their highest scorer, Caroline Bentz, who opted to use her 5th year of eligibility at Arizona State. Chase Travis, their next highest scorer, also opted to use her 5th year elsewhere, transferring to ACC rival NC state. Only Emma Atkinson, who scored 43 points at ACCs in 2024, will be returning to VT for her Covid 5th year.
ACC is arguably the most competitive conference in the nation, as it is home to VT’s commonwealth rival and 4x defending NCAA champions UVA. With Cal and Stanford joining this fall, the ACC will only grow more competitive. However, Budnik’s times are not too far off what it took to qualify for a second swim in 2024, as it took times of 49.77/1:47.31/4:51.13 to qualify in the 100/200/500 frees and 54.02/1:57.54 in the 100/200 back.
Budnik will look to bolster VT’s mid-distance free group with the graduation of Bentz and Travis, as her 200 free would have ranked 5th on the 2023-2024 roster while her 500 free would have ranked 6th.
Despite signing a big recruiting class of 2024, that SwimSwam has ranked 15th best in the nation, Budnik is currently the only public verbal commitment for the Hokies’ class of 2029.
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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Congratulations Isabella! Well deserved, we are all very proud of you.