The Evanston Township High School Pool was packed to the brim Friday afternoon for day one of the Boys’ IHSA State Championship, and the preliminary session would see characteristically fast swims in nearly every event. Normal University High School is looking to become the first downstate team in IHSA history to win a state title, but that feat will not come easily.
Day One Prelim Summary:
The first race of the afternoon saw a strong Libertyville quartet of Alex Snarski, Bobby Snader, Matt Harrington and Justin Fu take the top seed in the 200 medley relay heading into tomorrow’s final. Strong splits out of Snarski (23.03 backstroke) and Harrington (21.91 fly) were enough to propel Libertyville ahead of Hinsdale Central (2nd, 1:33.75) and Metea Valley (3rd, 1:34.10). Fenwick’s squad took a fourth place in 1:34.38. All four teams mentioned above earned Automatic All-American cuts in the process.
In the 200 free, Normal University High’s Adam Drury snagged the top seed at 1:40.27. New Trier’s Murphy McQuet had a big time swim in the early heats, touching second in 1:40.31. McQuet took off nearly four seconds from his swim last week at sectionals. Jared Schimmelpfenning of Peoria Notre Dame nabbed the third seed in 1:41.35 while his ND teammate Matt Kamin took fourth at 1:41.44. Andrew High’s Kyle Fitzgerald has the fifth seed (1:41.68) and Bloomington High’s Michael Wolfe will round out tomorrow’s A-Final at 1:41.73.
Tomorrow’s 200 IM final is poised to be a showdown between top seed Jake Miller and defending state champion Jae Park. After being hampered by illness last year, University High’s Miller will be gunning to earn his first IHSA title. Miller took first in prelims with a time of 1:49.98 and Park of New Trier wasn’t far behind in 1:50.48. There is a very good chance we could see Dan Trupin’s 2001 record time of 1:48.15 be taken down tomorrow.
Ryan Held of Sacred Heart Griffin dominated the field in the 50 free, blazing to a first place time in 19.89. His mark was just .9 seconds off of Connor Black’s 2013 IHSA record of 19.80. Glenbrook South’s Jon Salomon will have the second place seed at 20.89 and Quinn Risley of Riverside Brookfield will have the third seed at 20.99.
The 100 fly A-Final will be loaded tomorrow, with all swimmers having sub-50 second times. Steven Tan of IMSA will have the top seed at 48.41 followed by Libertyville’s Matt Harrington at 48.74. Justin DeDianous of Normal Community West rounded out third at 49.13.
SHG’s Ryan Held continued his sprinting dominance in the 100 free, touching first in a new pool record time of 44.09. His time was just .03 seconds off of Kevin Overholt’s IHSA record of 44.06 set in 2009. Held will look to defend his 2013 title tomorrow. Hinsdale Central’s Brian Portland will have the second seed at 45.56 and Mossimo Chavez of Whitney Young has the three seed at 46.01.
Michael Wolfe of Bloomington High School solidified the number one seed in the 500 free at 4:28.13 after taking seventh in the discipline last year. Jake Miller of U-High took the second seed at 4:29.18 and Peoria Notre Dame’s Jared Schimmelpfenning will have the third seed at 4:32.89.
A strong Hinsdale Central squad has the top spot in the 200 free relay, touching in 1:23.66. Normal University is just behind with a number two seed of 1:24.12. Glenbrook South has the third seed at 1:24.49.
Libertyville’s Alex Snarski put down a clutch 100 backstroke time of 48.67, taking down the pool record of 49.25 previously held by Sean Lehane. His time was just .46 seconds off of Andrew Jovanovic’s IHSA record of 48.21 set in 2012. Steven Tan of IMSA has the second seed at 49.46 and Lake Forest’s Dan Smith took third in 50.51.
Jae Park of New Trier will look to defend his IHSA title in the 100 breastroke after taking the top seed in 55.99. Jordan O’Brien of Matea Valley will have the third seed at 56.01 and his teammate Matt Salerno has the third seed at 56.54.
The final event of the night, the 400 free relay, saw a big time swim by Normal University to grab the top seed in 3:06.33. The squad consisting of Adam Drury (46.43), Steven Fishman (46.65), John Remmes (47.76) and Jake Miller(45.49) was just over a second ahead of New Trier who took second in 3:07.34. Evanston grabbed third at 3:07.89.
Finals are slated to begin tomorrow at 1:00 PM, and live results can be found here.Â
1. Because it’s awesome how it is. Great environment.
2. Yes.
3. Boards are just tilted up. They’re not all the way removed.
4. Magic 🙂
5. If I remember right, one host pool has one and the other doesn’t. Don’t quote me on that though.
Here’s my take on the Illinois pool situation – I could name two-dozen states where half the kids blow off the state championship meet, because they’d rather shave and taper for a sectional meet or junior nationals.
But in Illinois, everyone goes for it. So it’s the best of both worlds. Kids who want to rest for this meet wind up going really fast, probably because of the environment. Kids who don’t because they’re so focused on getting a certain time – well then, that makes the state meet sort of a special environment aside from the meat grinder that is USA Swimming meets, and if they’re not focused on best times anyways, then who cares?
As a former competitor of that meet for four years, it’s a love-hate relationship. Yes, the atmosphere of the meet is great and few meets can compare. But the pool situation for both the swimmers and the spectators absolutely sucks. I realize good pools are few in IL, but the fact that IHSA continues to stick with Evanston and New Trier sends the message that swimming is second rate in IL and the old boy’s club has a complete stranglehold on the politics that surround the meet. It’s 2014, how are they still using a 6 lane pool and advancing only the top 12? There’s not enough room for everybody in either pool, on deck or in the stands. It’s… Read more »
I have always wondered the following about the Ilinois High School Championships:
1. why isn’t it held in a larger facility? Deck-wise and lane-wise
2. Do parents have to rotate in and out to watch their swimmer(s)?
3. How is diving competition held? (I see that the diving boards are removed)
4. How can the officals walk up and down the pool side?
5. Is there a warm-up/cool-down pool?
One comment – as a swimmer, it must be so cool to feel that the crowd is right on top of you as you swim, the roar must be deafening!
Indiana high school swim meet was faster
Simpsons did it.
Without running the numbers it Looks like Libertyville and Hinsdale Central in a tight race for the title.
Lets open our eyes and stop with the I80 ignorance.