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Luke Eskola, a Hillsboro, Oregon native, will head to Colorado to swim for the University of Denver next fall. A current senior at Liberty High School, Eskola swims club for the Hillsboro Heat as a IM/distance free specialist. He was recently selected by Oregon Swimming to be on Oregon LSC’s senior all star training camp roster.
Denver has a history of fast swimming and a coaching staff that truly cares about the athletes. While on my official visit the team and coaches made me feel as though they really wanted me to be a part of that team. The swimmers are so excited for the future of that program and they want me to be a part of that. I am so excited to swim and study at the University of Denver! Go Pios!!
This past February, Eskola wrapped up his short course season at the Oregon Region XII SC Championships, where he time trialed the 200 breast (2:08.03) for a new best time and finished 6th in the 200 IM in 1:53.84. He was just off his PB of 1:53.50, which he had set a few months prior in December of 2023. Eskola also swam the 400 IM, where his new best of 4:00.73 was good for 5th.
At the 2024 Futures Championships in Sacramento this past July, Eskola continued to lower his bests, setting three PBs and making two finals appearances. He started his meet by leading off Hillsboro’s 800 free relay, swimming a 2:01.22 to help Hillsboro place 19th. Eskola went on to place 27th in the 200 IM in 2:10.70, shaving over two seconds off his previous best of 2:13.53, which he had set at the 2023 edition of this meet. Eskola also swam the 200 back (2:13.38) for 29th, and the 400 IM, where he placed 34th in 4:44.05 and set a new personal best in the opening 100 fly split (1:02.38) in the process.
Just a few weeks later, Eskola carried his momentum to the Mallard Nation Invitational, where he swept his events. He took first in the 100 free (48.33), 100 back (53.73), 200 back (1:54.06), 100 fly (53.09), and 400 IM (4:02.63). All but the 400 IM were new bests.
Best times SCY:
- 200 IM – 1:53.50
- 400 IM – 4:00.73
- 500 free – 4:40.15
- 1000 free – 9:47.99
The University of Denver is a D1 Mid-Major school that competes in the Summit League. In 2024, the Pioneers won their 10th conference championship in the last 11 years. Led by Kieran Watson, who had three victories, Denver totaled 9 wins and 24 podium appearances to beat out Lindenwood University, 868-820.
To qualify for a second swim at the 2024 Summit League Championships, it took times of 1:52.30/4:09.21 in the 200/400 IM, and a 4:39.27 in the 500 free. On Denver’s 23-24 depth chart, Eskola would have ranked 10th in the 200 IM and 6th in the 400 IM. While the Pioneers will return their top 3 IMers this season, two of them are seniors and will not overlap with Eskola next fall when he arrives on campus.
Eskola will join Utah’s Gabe Jones, Texas’ Kurt Owens, and two Colorado natives, Pierce Bickerton and Bayden Todd, in Denver in the fall of 2029. By becoming a Pioneer, Eskola will follow in the footsteps of Hillsboro Heat alum Anton Loncar, who was the 2018 Summit League male swimmer of the year. Loncar had his breakout year that season, where as a senior, he was a 2x NCAA A-finalist. Loncar broke—and still holds—Denver’s school record in the 200 back (1:38.62) and 100 back (45.11), and placed 6th and 7th at NCAAs, respectively. As a 4x First Team All-American at Denver, Loncar was arguably one of most successful swimmers to come out of Hillsboro Heat. Eskola explained that “this connection means a lot to me knowing that while at DU I will be supported in my swimming and education and that the sky’s the limit!”
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