Boys swimming: Hinsdale Central, Waubonsie Valley, Naperville North take top three spots at Neuqua Valley invite

Hinsdale Central won the boys swimming state championship last season, its first crown since 2015.

Henry Guo, as a sophomore, was an integral part of that title-winning team, taking the third place medal in the 100 freestyle.

He’s a junior now, and he’s looking to head back to state this year and make an even bigger splash.

Saturday at the 23rd annual Neuqua Valley Varsity invitational, Guo won the 100 free and the 100 backstroke.

His inspired performance helped lead Hinsdale Central to the meet win. The Red Devils won 10 of the 12 swimming events, earning 664 points.

Waubonsie Valley finished second and Naperville North was third.

Guo, who took the 100 free in the time of 46.98 and the 100 back with a 51.98, actually credited his experience at state last year as the impetus for his wins Saturday.

“Obviously I’ve been pretty good at the 100 free, but this season I fell like I’ve kind of lacking,” he said.

“I don’t know why, but something just turned on today.”

Guo added that the prestigious 12-team Neuqua invite is an important one, because it gives his squad a chance to size up the competition.

“This meet is a good experience for us because we’re going up against teams that we’ll see at state, teams that will be competitive at state,” said the junior.

“It’s nice to see them now, and see what type of potential they have, so when it comes time for the state tournament we’ll know what to expect.”

The diving competition was held Friday night, and senior Jake Scalise of St. Charles East was victorious with a point total of 451.50.

Individual swimmers from Hinsdale Central who triumphed in Naperville included Matthew Vatev in the 200 individual medley; Nojus Bertulis in the 50 free; Jeffrey Hou in the 100 fly; and Josh Bey, who won the 100 breaststroke.

Hinsdale Central also won all 3 relay events, the 200 medley, 200 free and 400 free.

Scoring the relay wins for the Red Devils included swimmers Nate Harris, Brody Marcet, Brandon Suliga, Luke Vatev, Matthew Vatev, Bey, Hou and Bertulis.

Senior Alex Parkinson of host Neuqua Valley was also a 2-time winner at the Wildcats pool.

Parkinson took the 500 free (4:36.78) and the 200 free (1:44.37).

He is the defending state champion in the 500, and took time out after his victories Saturday to reflect on last year’s impressive state win - something he said came as somewhat of a shock.

“It was very nerve-inducing,” said Parkinson. “I actually wasn’t focused on beating everyone else - I was more focused on my own time.

“I sort of realized really close to the finish that ‘wait a minute, I’m first’. I was ecstatic, and I really didn’t know how to react, honestly.”

The senior added that it was almost the same reaction for him Saturday regarding his upset win in the 200 free.

“I didn’t expect to win,” said Parkinson. “Especially at the end, I saw everyone around me, and to me it felt like they were ahead. I barely out-touched them, so I’m pretty happy with how it went.”

Wildcats coach Chad Allen indicated that Parkinson, who will swim for the University of South Dakota after graduation, will have an extremely tough test in his attempt to win back-to-back 500 free state titles.

“He’s a great distance swimmer,” said Allen of Parkinson, “and last year he had a great race to win it.

“But 6 of the top 8 guys (from last year’s state 500 free) are back, and 5 of them were a little ahead of them at junior nationals - so he’s got to make sure he’s focused for the end of year - and he’s been doing great.”