2022 Como Invitational
- September 24, 2022
- Mizzou Aquatic Center, Columbia, Missouri
- Results
High school swimming & diving seasons are underway in some parts of the country, including in Missouri, where an early-season invitational in Columbia posted a handful of nation-leading times in boys events.
The invite is a traditional early-season harbinger for the state championship meet, which will be held in St. Peters in November (the girls swim in the winter season).
This year’s Como Invitational included the boys from Rockhurst, who are the defending Class 2 (bigger school) State Champions in Missouri.
In fact, the top four teams from last year’s Class 2 State Championship meet were all in attendance last weekend in Columbia. So too was Parkway Central, which finished 4th at last year’s Class 1 (small school) championship meet.
Leo Kurucz, a senior at Lee’s Summit West, kicked off his season with a new personal best in the 200 yard freestyle. The Arizona State commit swam 1:40.57 in prelims and 1:39.53 in finals, both of which cleared his previous best of 1:40.35 from his team’s season-opening invite at the beginning of September.
Race Video:
Kurucz was 4th at last year’s Class 2 State Championship meet in the 200 free, where he swam a best time of 1:40.85. He has now been more than a second better than that in the first month of the 2022 season. With the top two finishers in that event having graduated, Kurucz and Ian Everett (junior, Liberty High) are the front-runners to take this year’s title in the event.
He also posted a new best time in the 500 free. Kurucz won that race over the weekend in 4:34.21. His best time coming into the met was 4:34.57 from a Sectionals meet in March of this year.
Kurucz isn’t the only Lee’s Summit swimmer off to a hot start in the 2022 season. Jack Ailshire swam a personal best time of 48.17 in the 100-yard fly in early September, kicking off his junior season.
He wasn’t quite as fast last weekend, but still posted a 49.03 that is more than two seconds faster than the 50.85 he swam for 5th place at last year’s State Championship meet.
Watch Ailshire’s 48.17 here:
Other Highlight Results from the COMO Invitational
- Parkway Central junior William Jost won the 100 free in 45.79. While not a personal best, that time is more than a second faster than the 47.16 that earned him 4th place at last year’s Class 1 State Championship meet.
Final Team Scores (Top 10)
- Rockhurst – 289
- Park Hill South – 279
- Parkway Central – 252
- Saint Louis University High – 212
- Lee’s Summit – West – 196
- Rock Bridge – 118
- Marquette – 98
- Ladue Horton Watkins – 88
- Chaminade College Prep – 83
- Blue Springs South – 82
