Josh Bey And Hinsdale Central Shatter IHSA Records En Route To 2nd-Straight State Title

2024 ILLINOIS BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING & DIVING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 23-24, 2024
• FMC Natatorium, Westmont, Illinois
• Short Course Yards (Prelims/Finals)
• Full Results
• Results also available via Meet Mobile: “IHSA Boys State Championship 2024”
• Team Scores

Top 10 Team Scores: 

1. Hinsdale Central — 337.5 points
2. New Trier — 210.5 points
3. Waubonsie — 154 points
4. St. Ignatius — 150 points
5. Stevenson — 143 points
6. Marmion — 117 points
7. West Chicago — 94 points
8. Maine South — 91 points
9. Naperville North — 67 points
10. Barrington — 65 points

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) held its boys swimming & diving state championships on February 24th at the FMC Aquatic Center. Hinsdale Central defended their title from a year ago, winning by a significant margin of 127 points. It marks their 20th state title ever, a major milestone for the storied program. They scored 337.5 points throughout the finals session, with New Trier (210.5 points) the only other team to score above 200 points.

Waubonsie (154 points) took 3rd place honors, with St. Ignatius (150 points) and Stevenson (143 points) giving them a tight battle the whole meet. Stevenson claimed the 2022 IHSA state title, before taking 2nd last year to Hinsdale Central.

The first event of the day was the 200 medley relay, where Hinsdale Central wasted no time getting things rolling. They hit the wall in 1:29.13, shattering their school and IHSA record (1:29.40) from last season. Josh Bey (22.27), Matthew Vatev (25.11), Jeffrey Hou (21.31), and Brody Marcet (20.44) comprised the winning relay, as they stopped the clock in 1:29.13.

Bey would go on to claim two individual event wins, smashing IHSA records in both events. He led a 1-2 finish with teammate Jeffrey Hou in the 200 IM, with both dipping under the previous state record of 1:46.02. Bey touched in 1:44.89 to Hou’s 1:45.75, seven years since anyone’s officially challenged Sam Iida‘s 2017 record mark, and two swimmers did it in the same race. Officially was emphasized because Sam’s brother, Max Iida, actually posted a time of 1:44.86 as a high school senior in 2021. The state meet was canceled that year due to COVID-19, so it doesn’t count in the record book since it was done at the CSL South Conference Championships.

Sam Iida went on to have a successful collegiate career at the University of Arizona, where he focused more on breaststroke than IM, but still lowered his 200 IM best time down to 1:43.65. His brother Max is currently on the Virginia men’s swim team.

Hou won the race over Bey last year, but both improved significantly in just one year’s time. Hou’s winning time was 1:47.49 last year with Bey checking-in at 1:48.91 for 2nd, with both athletes dropping multiple seconds from those marks at this year’s meet. Bey, only a junior, is committed to swim at Indiana University.

Splits Comparison:

Bey double up in the 100 breast, breaking the state record with the first ever sub-53 IHSA performance. He put his hands on the wall in 52.98, erasing Charlie Scheinfeld‘s 2018 state record of 53.60. Bey scared the record in prelims (53.74), where he qualified 1st for the final, just missing the mark by 0.14. Scheinfeld swam for New Trier before swimming collegiately for the University of Texas, where he lowered his best time to 51.41.

Stevenson senior Colin Zhang was runner-up to Bey in the final, also breaking the previous record in 53.30. He challenged Bey through the first 50, turning through just 0.07 behind before losing a bit more ground (0.25) on the closing 50. Regardless, it was still a huge swim for the Penn commit, who heads to Philadelphia in the fall.

Splits Comparison:

West Chicago senior Brady Johnson was also a double event winner, snagging titles in the 100 free and 100 back. He broke the IHSA record during the 100 free prelims, stopping the clock in 43.15 before winning the final with a time of 43.29. The previous record was held by Camden Taylor, who broke Ryan Held’s record last year with a time of 43.72. Taylor is currently a freshman at the University of Texas.

Johnson was faster on both the first and last 50, in both prelims and finals, compared to the previous record.

Splits Comparison:

Johnson completed a similar feat in the 100 back, where he broke the IHSA record in prelims before nearly re-breaking it during the finals. This time, he broke a six year old record, which Lyons’ Spencer Walker (47.22) set in 2018. Johnson recorded a time of 46.65 during his preliminary heat, before backing that up with a 46.82 in the final.

Splits Comparison:

Earlier in the meet, Johnson showcased his versatility, splitting 23.76 on the 50 breast leg of West Chicago’s prelim relay, before splitting 24.33 in the final.

The 200 free featured four 1:37 swims, led by senior Szymon Mieczkowski (1:37.16). The Kentucky commit was 10th last year, and he posted a best time of 1:40.61 in prelims. Mieczkowski defended his 2nd place finish in the 100 back from last year, touching in 47.04 to join Johnson under the previous IHSA record.

Maine South’s Dominic Mazurek was 2nd to Johnson in the 100 free (43.95), but claimed 50 free gold earlier in the session. There, he stopped the clock in 20.21, clipping Willem Huggins (20.25), Stephen Grud (20.28), and Carter Fask (20.34) at the touch.

Jacob Gramer, a senior at DeKalb, held off a late charge from Jeffrey Hou to win the 100 fly. Gramer flew through the first 50 in 21.72, with Hou turning at 22.16. Gramer would get the touch by just 0.03 at the end of the race, with Hou closing in 25.29 to nearly overtake Gramer, who finished in 25.70 on the final 50. Gramer’s final time of 47.42 was just off his best of 47.32, which he produced a day earlier in the prelims.

Neuqua Valley senior Alex Parkinson was golden in the 500 free, touching in 4:22.33 for the win. The South Dakota commit defended his title from last year, and checked-in with a time that was about 7 seconds quicker. His winning time was 4:29.39 in 2023, where he won by just 0.04.

Highland Park senior Noam Kulbak walked away with the 1-meter diving win, scoring 531.30 points. Naperville North’s Cooper Kosanovich (508.85 points) and Rolling Meadows’ Kyren Whiting (502.30 points) placed 2nd and 3rd, and represented the only other competitors to score above 500 points.

Hinsdale Central completed their sweep of the relays, narrowly missing the state records in both free relays. Their 200 quartet consisted of Nojus Bertulis (20.80), Josh Bey (20.34), Nate Harris (20.46), and Brody Marcet (20.36), who combined for a time of 1:21.96.

Bertulis (45.86) and Harris (44.72) would team up with Henry Guo (44.67) and Jeffrey Hou (44.62) on the 400 free relay, where they finished in 2:59.87 to narrowly miss the IHSA record of 2:59.61 by 0.26.

Ryan Eidelman, a junior at Glenbrook South, swept the para-class events. Eidelman’s first win came in the 200 free (2:03.04), before he touched 1st in the 50 free (25.48), 100 free (56.61), and 100 breast (1:14.59).

Eidelman’s swims are much improved from a year ago, where he also swept those four races with times of 2:06.44 in the 200 free, 26.37 in the 50 free, 57.34 in the 100 free, and 1:16.19 in the 100 breast.