Luke & Matt Vatev Lead Hinsdale Central To Narrow Victory In Illinois HS Dual Meet Tournament

2025 Illinois High School Dual Swim Meet Tournament

• Tuesday, December 30, 2025
• Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois
• SCY (25 yards)
• Teams: Glenbrook South, Hinsdale Central, Lyons, Naperville Central, Neuqua Valley, New Trier, St. Charles North, Stevenson
• Live Stream
• Results on Meet Mobile: “Illinois High School Dual Meet Tournament”

In a first-of-its-kind eight-team dual meet tournament featuring eight of the last nine schools to win the Illinois boys’ high school state title, Hinsdale Central came out on top last Tuesday thanks to a victory in the meet-ending 200 free relay.

The one-day tournament consisted of a preliminary round, where teams jockeyed for position and determined their seeds for the championship session. Only the top two teams from the prelims would vie for the championship in a head-to-head matchup, while there would also be duals between the #3 and #4 seeds, along with #5 v. #6 and #7 v. #8.

Hinsdale Central claimed the top seed during the prelim session, while host Neuqua Valley ranked 2nd, setting up a dual between the two for the overall victory.

The highlight swim of the prelim round was Hinsdale Central junior Luke Vatev dropping a time of 47.95 in the 100 back, setting a new pool record. His personal best stands at 46.52, set in the prelims at the 2025 IHSA State Championships before winning the title in 46.95.

Vatev 100 Back Pool Record
Courtesy: Parker Ament

During the championship round, the teams battling head-to-head would race each other in each heat of each event:

• Heat 1: #7 Saint Charles North vs #8 Naperville Central (For 7th)
• Heat 2: #5 Stevenson vs #6 Lyons Township (For 5th)
• Heat 3: #3 New Trier vs #4 Glenbrook South (For 3rd)
• Heat 4: #1 Hinsdale Central vs #2 Neuqua Valley (For 1st and title)

Opening the championship session, Hinsdale Central won the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:31.45, setting a new pool record with the squad of Luke Norman (23.92), Matt Vatev (24.93), L. Vatev (21.63) and Brandon Suliga (20.97) combining to top Neuqua Valley (1:34.44) by nearly three seconds.

Neuqua Valley’s Blake Torpey posted the fastest time in the 100 IM two events later, setting a personal best of 51.64, though Luke Vatev quickly grabbed the momentum back for Hinsdale Central.

Vatev, a 16-year-old Stanford commit, won the 100 fly in 48.18, a new season-best and not too far off his personal best of 47.49, while Neququa Valley’s Peter Carroll was the only other swimmer sub-50 in 49.81.

Vatev’s swim was also a pool record.

Vatev 100 Fly Pool Record
Courtesy: Parker Ament

One event later, Vatev was back in the water in the 100 back, posting the second-fastest time overall and going 1-2 with teammate Norman in the dual with Neuqua Valley in a time of 50.59, with Norman clocking 51.27 for 3rd overall.

The fastest performer was AE Stevenson’s Kasper Lee, who clocked 49.76.

Then, Matt Vatev, Luke’s older brother who is committed to Penn for this coming fall, won the 100 breast in a time of 55.47, taking down Neuqua Valley’s Jack Langan (56.39) to give Hinsdale Central a one-point lead going into the 200 free relay.

In the prelim round, Vatev had gone 54.31 in the 100 breast. His personal best stands at 53.49, set at the 2025 NCSA Spring Championships.

Closing things out in the 200 free relay, the Hinsdale Central quartet of Milos Pavlovic (22.05), Teddy Chase (21.18), Suliga (20.53) and M. Vatev (20.62) clocked 1:24.38 to claim the overall championship title, well clear of Neuqua Valley (1:26.34) while Glenbrook South had the second-fastest time in 1:25.10.

The Vatev brothers spoke with Parker Ament after the meet:

Lucas Fernandez-Geddes, who had the fastest split for the Glenbrook South relay in 20.56, also had the top time in the first individual event of the championship session, claiming the 100 free in 46.30, a new season-best.

Head-To-Head Dual Results

• #1 Hinsdale Central beats #2 Neuqua Valley for 1st and overall title
• #3 New Trier beats #4 Glenbrook South for 3rd
• #6 Lyons Township beat #5 Stevenson for 5th
• #7 Saint Charles North beat #8 Naperville Central for 7th