Barrington's pair finish at weekend meet

Two senior swimmers conclude their high school swimming careers with this weekend's state meet at New Trier High School, and without them, the swimming landscape in the Mid-Suburban League will be drastically different.

Barrington's Justin Yu and Fremd's Varun Shivakumar are the kind of athletes who will be remembered not only for their best performances, but for their legacies of hard work and achievement.

Yu will compete on Barrington's medley and 200-yard freestyle relay and as an individual in the 100 free and 100 breast stroke.

Shivakumar leads off Fremd's medley relay and has a leg on the 400 free relay, and he will race individually in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke.

What's most interesting about them is the extraordinary range they have as swimmers.

Shivakumar has competed in just about every race available, and even swam the 500 freestyle at the state meet two seasons ago. Yu also has the rare ability to excel in the sprints as well as the 200 free and 200 IM.

This will be Yu's fourth straight state meet, and Shivakumar's third straight.

They are both elite competitors, the rare kind that could afford to hold some energy in reserve through last weekend's qualifying meets and get poised for their top performances in front of a packed pool this weekend - with the eyes of the swimming community upon them.

As seniors, both seem up to the task. After all, they planned it just this way.

Early in the season, Shivakumar was asked about his goals for the end of the season.

"Top three at state," he said. "I feel like I can get there. It will be tough, but I think it's a possibility."

And he's right - it will be tough. Shivakumar's seed time in the 100 backstroke puts him sixth, with nothing but seniors seeded ahead of him.

But if anyone can come up with the intensity and focus needed to excel in the state meet, it's Shivakumar.

We're talking about someone who has had the nickname of "Vrrrrrroooom" - and if you listen closely, some of the Fremd faithful will still call it out before his races.

At 6-feet-7, Shivakumar is hard to miss on the pool deck. And that lanky frame might be part of the reason he will continue his swimming career at Northwestern.

"I have a feeling he might have a whole different level ahead of him," said Fremd coach Nicole LaBeau after watching Shivakumar win the 100 backstroke in a Barrington sectional record of 52.64. "He's competing at such a high level, but I still look at him and see all this potential."

Northwestern coach Bob Groseth was in attendance at the Barrington sectional to watch Shivakumar. After watching him win it, Groseth, rubbing his hands together and grinning, said, "I can't wait to get my hands on this guy and see where things go."

Yu's collegiate future is uncertain, but he says he will keep swimming no matter what, calling swimming "a sport you can do your whole life."

For now, he's focused on scoring points at the state meet. That will be difficult, but all of Barrington's relays have a chance, and Yu has a legitimate shot to final in both his races.

Another Barrington senior, Eric Clement, is one of the higher seeds in the 50 freestyle. According to Yu, it's no coincidence the two of them are positioned to succeed.

"We had a special thing, just the two of us," Yu explained of a ritual they shared during dryland workouts throughout the season. "Every morning we'd do 100 extra chins - we're seniors, and we wanted to make sure we were doing something extra."

That work is done now, with nothing left but racing. Yu's choice of events is so wide-ranging, he didn't know for sure which events he'd be swimming at season's end until after the conference meet.

On the pool deck, after the MSL meet, when Broncos coach Jim Bart informed Yu he'd be racing in the 100 free and 100 breast stroke, Yu smiled ear to ear and said, "Yes."

Asked if he had any special plans for Yu and the Broncos, Bart simply said: "Just swim faster, that's all."

One more weekend of positive thinking like that and the performances of Yu and Shivakumar will become the best kind of history.