PREP ROUNDUP : Woodbridge’s Buyukuncu Sets Division I Record in 50 Free

Woodbridge’s Derya Buyukuncu set a Division I record in the 50-yard freestyle, but missed his national record in the 100 backstroke at the Southern Section Division I Swimming and Diving Preliminaries Thursday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

Buyukuncu, a senior, swam the 50 freestyle in 20.51, breaking the record set in 1977 by Fountain Valley’s Mike Kelly by .21 seconds. Buyukuncu’s heat was so fast, five of the seven swimmers qualified for today’s finals, three of them for the championship finals.

“I could go faster but . . . I’ll go all out tomorrow,” Buyukuncu said. “But the 50 (free) is going to be so close, I’ll probably miss (the national record) by .05 or break it by .02.”

Buyukuncu finished first in the 100 backstroke with a 49.04, short of his 47.84 national record but still almost two seconds ahead of the second-fastest time.

“I had an off start in the backstroke,” he said. “But (today) I’ll probably win.”

His coach, Dan Gaines, agreed. “He’ll go much faster. He’s one of those swimmers with a combination of talent and incredible work ethic. I think that’s what sets him above his peers.”