Boys Swimming: New Trier swims to state title
Updated: February 25, 2012 7:26PM
New Trier certainly knows how to celebrate a centennial.
The Trevians capped their 100th season of boys swimming by capturing their 22nd state championship Saturday at the state finals at Evanston. It was the 49th time in the 81-year history of the state finals they’ve won a trophy.
New Trier dominated the meet in historic fashion, racking up 250 points, the fourth-highest total ever and the most since Hinsdale Central’s record 307 in 1975. Naperville North was a distant second with 130 points, while Warren took third with 80 to win its first trophy.
“We are hoping that we can be national champions this year,” New Trier senior Max Grodecki said. “But I didn’t expect us to be the best ever.”
In winning their second straight title and sixth in the past nine years, the Trevians captured four individual events and all three relays. Grodecki had a hand in four of them, taking the 100-yard freestyle for the second straight year and the 50 free for the first time.
The quartet of Sam Skinner, Reed Malone, Jack Mangan and Grodecki capped the meet by winning the 400 free relay in 3:00.22, just off the national record of 2:59.76 they set the night before during the preliminary round. They are the first high school squad to swim under three minutes.
“It’s all awesome,” Grodecki said. “The national record is sick.”
Malone won his first individual title when he took the 200 individual medley in 1:48.35, just .20 off the state record set in 2001 by Champaign Centennial’s Dan Trupin.
“It feels good,” Malone said. “It’s really humbling to be in the same category as guys like Dan Trupin and [former Peoria Richwoods star] Matt Elliott and all these great guys.
“It’s bittersweet because I was going for the record, but I missed it by two-tenths. But I can deal with that.”
New Trier senior Jordan Sacks won the diving with 444.25 points, beating Loyola senior Michael Nash by 24.5 points by hitting all of his dives.
“Over the past two days I worked on consistency,” Sacks said. “My coach told me you’re in for the long haul, not one dive is going to make this meet. It was pretty nerve-wracking, but I went up there and try to be as smooth as possible and put a smile on my face. That’s how I’ve done my best.”
New Trier also won the 200 medley relay in 1:32.80 behind Mangan, Grant Smith, Malone and Nels Snyder and the 200 free in 1:23.01 thanks to Skinner, Snyder, David Schriesheim and Grodecki.
Hinsdale Central senior Danny Thomson capped a tremendous prep career by winning his fourth and fifth championships. He repeated in the 200 free in 1:37.47, missing the state record by .23.
Thomson then came back and broke his own record again in the 500 free, lowering it to 4:18.86 from the 4:19.28 he swam in prelims. That allowed him to beat Malone by 2.16 seconds.
“A lot of it was Reed,” Thomson said. “I definitely couldn’t have gone that time without him. Reed’s a great guy and I’m excited to see what he can do next year.
“It still hasn’t hit me that high school is done, but it’s been an amazing four years. I won’t ever forget any of it.”
Neither will Naperville Central senior Sean Lehane, who finished his career with back-to-back titles in the 100 backstroke. His personal-best time of 49.25 was only .48 shy of the state record held by former Lake Forest star Matt Grevers and .42 faster than Mangan.
“I felt really fast in the water,” Lehane said. “My legs kind of gave out at the end but it definitely felt great to get that win. It’s definitely a great feeling o win back-to-back championships. Hopefully my school is very happy with me.”
Loyola junior Andrew Jovanovic overcame illness to win his third title and second straight in the butterfly as he timed 48.78, .59 off the state record.
“I think yesterday I was a lot closer,” said Jovanovic, who timed 48.53 in prelims. “The time doesn’t really matter to me. I would just like to feel better, but I was happy about the race.”
In other results, Young freshman Mossimo Chavez finished 10th in the 50 free to become the first Public League swimmer to win a state medal since Kenwood’s Brandon Johnson, who took third in the butterfly in 1998.
“No, I didn’t [expect it],” Chavez said. “I think I can do well in the next three years.”
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