Michael Eastman

200 Medley Relay team shows off their trophies

The 800 Free Relay team poses on the podium with their silver medals

The 200 medley relay throw up their L's on the podium

Photo by: Karl L. Moore

The men's team huddles before the championship

Photo by: Mooreshots LLC

Photo by: Mooreshots LLC

OMAHA, Neb. -- The University of Louisville swimming team sent five Cardinals to the finals of the US Olympic Trials in the first day of racing at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.

Photo by: Jaylynn Nash

Class:
Graduate Student
Hometown:
Louisville, Ky.
High School:
Saint Xavier

Graduate: Back for his final season, Michael was 43^rd in the 200 freestyle (1:35.24), 22^nd in the 100 free (42.18) and swam on four relays at the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis. He helped the Cards to a seventh place finish to win All-American honors in the 200 Medley Relay when UofL posted a 1:22.43 with his anchor split of 18.80 for the fourth fastest time in school history. In the 800 free relay, the Cards earned HM All-American honors with a ninth place finish, going 6:12.25 with Eastman adding a 1:33.34 anchor. More HM All-American honors came when he helped the 200 Free Relay team to an 11^th place finish as the Cards clocked in a 1:15.95 as he put up a 18.95 split on the second leg. In the 400 Free Relay, the Cards’ 2:48.93 with his 42.52 leadoff leg placed 11^th. At ACCs, he scored 62 points. He was in the B-final of the free where he finished 12^th with a 19.58 and was eighth in the 200 free with a time of 1:33.93. He was fifth in the 100 free with a time of 42.23 and helped the Cardinals win bronze in the 400 Free Relay with a time of 2:48.94 with his split of 42.21 coming in the leadoff leg. He won silver in the 800 Free Relay when the Cards put up a 6:11.26 with his anchor clocking in at 1:32.46. He won bronze as a part of the 200 Free Relay team with his split of 18.88 helping the Cards post a 1:15.90 that set a school record.

Senior: Michael Eastman continues to be a stalwart on the Cardinals sprint corps as he returns for another season with the Cardinals. He earned two All-American Honors and another HM All-American honor as a senior. He scored 17 points at the ACC Championships. He was a part of the bronze medal 200 free relay team, anchoring in 18.93. He placed 16^th in the 50-free with a time of 19.67 and 21^st in the 200 free (1:35.36) finals. He was 23^rd in the 100 free finals with a time of 43.57. At the NCAA championships, he swam in four of the five relays. He anchored the 200 medley relay with a freestyle leg of 18.70 that finished seventh. He anchored the 800 free relay with a split of 1:33.43, pushing the Cards to an 8^th place finish. He swam the second leg of the 200 free relay with a time of 18:90 where UofL placed 18^th and anchored the 400 free relay with a 41.92 split where the Cards finished 13^th overall. During the dual season, he anchored the winning 400 free relay, splitting 43.95 at Tennessee. He placed sixth in the 100 free (44.91) and fourth in the 200 free (1:39.65) against the Volunteers. At the Purdue Invitational, he was fifth in the 50 free (20.05), third in the 100 free finals with a 43.15 and anchored the 400 free relay that won with a split of 43.95. Against Indiana, he was sixth in the 50 free (20.17) and seventh in the 100 free finals (43.99). He anchored the 200 medley relay, going 19.83, good for fourth place. In the final race with the Hoosiers, he anchored the second place 400 free relay with a split of 43.09. At Kentucky, he anchored the second place 200 medley relay with a split of 19.37, was fourth in the 50 free (20.01), fifth in the 100 free (44.16) and helped the Cards to a win in the 400 free relay with a leadoff leg of 43.53. He competed at the Phillips 66 US Nationals where he swam the 50, 100 and 200-Meter Freestyle. He was a member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, a Red and Black Scholar in both Fall of 2021 and Spring of 2022 and made the Dean's List (Fall 2021 and Spring 2022) as well as the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

Junior: Eastman continued to be a key asset on the Cardinals’ roster throughout his junior season, earning himself a spot as a relay alternate for the NCAA Championships. At NCAAs, he split 42.05 on the bronze-medal 400 freestyle relay, split 1:33.71 on the eighth-place 800 freestyle relay, and anchored the 200 freestyle relay in 19.16 that finished 11th. At the ACC Championships, Eastman finished seventh in both the 50 freestyle (19.55) and 100 freestyle (43.09) while taking 15th in the 200 freestyle (1:36.30). He was also part of three Cardinal relays: he anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay in 18.89, split 42.35 on the runner-up 400 freestyle relay, and split 1:34.82 on the 800 freestyle relay that earned bronze. Throughout the abbreviated dual meet season, he posted four top-4 finishes. Eastman finished second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle against Kentucky while taking fourth and second, respectively, in those events versus Notre Dame. He also finished 10th in the 100m freestyle at the Toyota U.S. Open. For his efforts in the classroom, Eastman was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.

Sophomore: Eastman had a breakthrough year with the Cardinals, earning himself a spot as a relay alternate for the NCAA Championships before the meet was cancelled. At the ACC Championships, he finished 11th in the 100 freestyle (43.09) and 16th in the 200 freestyle (1:35.05). He won the 100 freestyle (43.47) at the NCAA Last Chance Meet and earned bronze in the 100 freestyle (43.68) and 200 freestyle (1:36.47) at the Purdue Invitational. Throughout the dual meet season, Eastman recorded nine top-five finishes highlighted by a win in the 200 freestyle (1:39.76) against Xavier.

Freshman: Eastman provided depth to the Cards’ sprint squads throughout his freshman campaign. At the IU Invitational, he tallied an 18th place finish in the 200 free with a personal best time of 1:37.79 and also added personal best times in the 100 free (44.64), 50 free (20.60) and 100 fly (49.36). In dual meet action, he added an eighth place finish in the 200 free against Missouri and was a relay contributor.

Prep: Eastman is a hometown product from Louisville, Ky., where he attended Saint Xavier and swam club for Cardinal Aquatics with coach Chris Lindauer. At the 2018 KHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships, he won medals in each of his four events. Individually, he earned a silver medal in the 100 fly (49.88) and a bronze in the 200 free (1:40.16). He anchored Saint Xavier’s gold medal winning and state record breaking 200 medley relay in a split of 20.03 and led off the gold medal winning and state record breaking 400 free relay with a 45.42 split. In 2017, he was named the Regional MVP for Saint Xavier and earned All-State honors in both 2017 and 2018. He also qualified for the 2017 Winter Junior Nationals, swimming the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly. Eastman holds best times of 20.65 in the 50 free, 45.20 in the 100 free, 1:39.90 in the 200 free and 49.88 in the 100 fly.

Personal: Son of Martha and Steve Eastman. Born on April 4, 2000.