Over the winter break, the Neuqua Valley boys swimming team kept busy in the water against top-tier programs, hosting its inaugural Tournament of Champions swim meet. The event featured eight different teams, each of which has won an IHSA state championship over the past 20 years. The setup had each team competing for a seeded spot, to then compete in individual races. This story is sponsored by Fair Oaks Ford and Fair Oaks Lincoln.
Neuqua Valley Tournament of Champions makes a splash
“The opening round was just for seeding purposes only. That was an eight-person relay, so each person did a 50 on the relay, and that gave us our seed. We ended up with the number two seed, and we just advanced to the championship,” said Neuqua Valley boys swimming coach Chad Allen.
Each team swam in every race except the 200-yard individual medley and freestyle, and the 500-yard freestyle
“It’s pretty much head-to-head. If the kid wins his race for the guy next to him, he gets a point. If he loses, he doesn’t get a point, so it makes it exciting for our kids that might be the third swimmer, because they know their point is worth just as much as the first-place person,” said Allen.
The idea originated from longtime Neuqua Valley coach Chad Allen, who observed college teams introducing similar meet formats.
“They had a lot of four-team tournaments so we just decided to make it a little bit bigger with eight teams, to make it bigger and more exciting. First time ever in high school that we’re doing it, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Allen.
Area teams representing the big meet
Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central were the two local teams representing the area as former champs. The Wildcats won the state title in 2008 with the help of future Olympic gold medalist Kevin Cordes, while the Redhawks earned a pair of state trophies in 2002 and 2010.
Current team members were excited to be a part of the new event and see how they stacked up against the best in Illinois.
“It’s like a glimpse into the future. We kind of take this meet, and based on our seedings, you see what we are doing well and what we need to work on in the future. These are a lot of the top teams in the state, so we’re looking to be competitive with them and have some good swims, and we like the competition here,” said Neuqua Valley swimmer Arun Kaura.
“It helps us push ourselves to try, meet that level of swimming, and try to honor our history as a swim team,” said Naperville Central swimmer Ben Mattson.
Neuqua Valley goes head to head with defending state champs Hinsdale Central
Neuqua Valley advanced to the championship round against three-time defending state champions Hinsdale Central. Wildcat Peter Carroll had the best time in the 100-yard butterfly, while his teammate Blake Torpey swam to the fastest time in the 100-yard IM.
The Red Devils put on a strong performance and outlasted the Wildcats to win the first Tournament of Champions meet after a thriller in the 200-yard freestyle.
“It shows that integrity, shows that grit that we have as a team. It’s not easy to get through because it’s race after race. You got two meets in a row, and it just shows that we as a team know how to train well, and it shows how well we can compete: who knows what’s going to happen at state,” said Hinsdale Central Swimmer Brandon Suliga.
New Trier took third ahead of Glenbrook South, followed by Lyons Township finishing fifth over Stevenson, and St. Charles North holding off Naperville Central for seventh place.
With the first meet in the books, Allen is optimistic that the tournament will return in the future.
“I think we’re going to kind of take it one year at a time. I think there’s been some interest in either rotating the meet or maybe doing it every few years, but I think there’ll be one way or another. I think there’ll be a similar meet in the future,” said Allen.
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