Any high school state swimming competition wouldn’t be complete without the wave and a little snapchat self promotion… which is exactly what is going on at Evanston Township for the IHSA Boys State Swimming finals.
200 Medley Relay
We jump right in as Waubonsie Valley preps for the first race of the day: the 200 Medley Relay. The warriors in the lane at the bottom of your screen with Arnav Deshpande leading them off. Halfway through and Aayush Deshpande diving in to make up some ground as the warriors sit in the back half of the pack… coming down to the way Hinsdale Central taps in first follows by Glenbrook South. The warriors finish in 6th in 1.33.69,
200 IM
Aayush Desphande now prepping for the 200 IM. He finished second in the prelims yesterday and is up against Max Iida from Glenbrook South and Justin Alderson from the Metamora Co-op. Halfway through Desphande sits second behind Max Iida who holds the IHSA record from 2017. And that’s how they will finish. Iida in first, Deshpande second.
50 Freestyle
Neuqua Valley’s Connor Boyle prepping his block before the 50 free… fastest race in the state… and just 20 second later it’s over with Connor Boyle tapping in first in 20.04 seconds. St. Charles North finishes in second 4 tenths behind the wildcat.
100 Butterfly B Heat
Naperville Central’s Andrew Dai looking very serious before the B heat of the 100 butterfly. Halfway through the race, things look pretty even across the board with Dai having just a narrow edge. Down the streth the final time and it’s the Redhawk who finishes in first in his heat, 7th overall with a time of 49.45.
100 Freestyle
Naperville North’s Grant Bochenski and Neuqua’s Connor Boyle, again checking his blocks before the start of the 100 freestyle. Boyle looks to double up as state champs in the 50 and 100 free. And that’s exactly what he does. Boyle finishes in 43.82 seconds. Loyola’s Luke Maurer finishes in second and North’s Bochenski in third in 44.78 seconds.
500 Freestyle
Now for the longest race of the day, the 500 free with WV’s Lucas Conrads… the girls state champion, Neuqua Valley’s Rachel Stege also in the crowd. The go off the blocks and over 4 minutes later we have a winner. Loyola’s Everet Andrew and Rex Maurere finish one and two… big points for them as Conrads taps in 5th, with a time of 4.34.73.
100 Breaststroke B Heat
Metea Valley with the lone swimmer at the state meet with Jeddrick Gamillas competing in the 100 breast stroke B heat. This one is pretty evenly matched down the line as the mustang finishes in 9th overall in the state with a time of 58.29.
400 Freestyle Relay
We end our day with the most exciting race of the meet.. the 400 freestyle relay. Waubonsie Valley in the lane closest to the bottom of your screen. Lucas Conrads leads the team off the blocks. As Elmer Weng dives in halfway through Waubonsie sits evenly with top teams Loyola and Glenbrook South. But the Ramblers would pull away with the big lead, to finish in 3.02.80. The warriors would finish in 6th in 3.08.26. All St. Charles North had to do was finish the race and they would become state champions and that’s what they did. The Stars take home the IHSA Boys State Swimming title with Loyola in second and Glenbard South in third. Waubonsie Valley finishes in 5th with 85 points and Neuqua in 9th with 46 points.
Check out other swimming competitions in our Boys Sports Highlights!