BOARDMAN — Noah Basista felt the reverberations all around him, only quieting as he went into the ready position at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, the site of the state swimming and diving meet.

The Boardman High School senior felt the ear-piecing noise again as he hit the water in the echo chamber of a building.

“It’s a feeling like no other,” Basista said. “You can still hear the ring, the vibration of the cap. It’s almost deafening. You hit the water and it’s dead silent. I don’t really know what happens. You go into a different place. You hit the wall and you’re like, ‘That just happened?’You look up at the scoreboard and hope for the best.”

Basista holds five school records in the 200-yard freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay, 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.

He finished eighth in the state in the 100 breaststroke last year as a junior.

Bucknell University in central Pennsylvania noticed Basista’s accolades. He liked the Bison’s academic and athletic combination, coaching staff and team.

“I just felt like I fit in and they really wanted me to come there,” said Basista, who signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to swim with Bucknell. “They actually came out to see me swim. It was very welcoming and warm. I could see myself there in the future.”

Boardman swimming coach Carlo Cordon knows why Bucknell sought out his senior swimmer.

“He brings a wealth of desire and grit and work ethic,” Cordon said. “He’s driven. He knows what it takes to get to that next level, whether it’s a state meet.”

Basista, who will be a civil engineering major, hopes to lead his team to a Division I top-10 finish and get some relays into the top eight, which is the finals. From there, he said, he hopes he can compete for a state championship.

“We’ve got big goals,” Basista said.

Cordon sees the Boardman senior as the team leader. What he does, others will follow.

TheSpartans team plans to shut out the outside noise and just swim for state glory — something Basista has been leading toward his high school career. He made state the previous three seasons.

“He’s kind of the guy that pushes the rest of them to get better,” Cordon said.