Boys swimming: Vernon Hills leaves them smiling at state; Hersey’s versatile Mabry dazzles again
Jim Pardun’s face must still hurt.
Yours would too if you had smiled as hard and as often as Vernon Hills’ coach did at Saturday’s boys swimming and diving state meet at FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
“How about that kid!” Pardun exclaimed minutes after Cougars sophomore Yury Plaksin silvered in the 100-yard freestyle in a personal-record 44.24. “The split he got (meet-best 22.93) in his second 50 . . . I went up to him and asked, ‘Where did that come from?’
“Yury,” he added, still beaming, “didn’t know.”
Plaksin had set a program record in event two on Saturday, finishing third in the 200 free in 1:37.76. VH grad Jason Mitchell’s fifth-place result in the 100 free stood as the highest state finish by a Cougar since 2005.
“I like pressure, I like racing, I like going against swimmers who push me,” said Plaksin, who also zipped to an A-Final-best lead-off split (44.61) for the team’s sixth-place 400 free relay (3:05.94). “Seeing Luke (eventual winner Luke Vatev of Hinsdale Central) ahead of me after 50 yards got me going, I guess.”
VH seniors Dan Berke and Will Rendall took fourth in the 50 free (20.71) and 13th in the 100 breaststroke (57.22), respectively, helping Pardun’s crew place a program-best eighth (106 points) at state.
“I told them all before we got here today, ‘You have nothing to prove to me, or to your parents, or to anybody else,’” said Pardun. “Then I added, ‘The hard part is over. Go out, take risks and have some fun.’”
Hersey senior diver and decorated multi-sport athlete Nathan Mabry, meanwhile, vied to emerge as a three-sport state champion. He finished 10th (459.2 points), meaning he’ll graduate as a state champion in gymnastics (all-around, 2023) and in soccer (2024) and possibly as an All-American in diving.
“Nathan is a generational athlete, with unbelievable talent and a work ethic as strong as I’ve ever seen in 50-plus years in coaching,” Huskies diving coach Tom Schwab gushed.
“I’ll always be grateful for the opportunities I had to compete in sports and to represent my school,” Mabry said.
Stevenson gifted retiring coach Doug Lillydahl another top-10 state finish with a sixth-place (127 points) showing behind international transfer student Kasper Lee’s third-place 48.77 in the 100 free and the Patriots’ fifth-place 1:24.24 in the 200 free relay (Sirui Wang, Kyler Chou, Joshua Wang and Matthew Oakes).
Lee, a sophomore, had lived and swum in Sweden before enrolling at Stevenson in January.
“How Swede it is,” Lillydahl said after Lee bronzed from lane 1 in the 100 back. “Great talent, great focus. He’s the real deal.
“When it’s time to compete, Kasper rises to the challenge,” added Lillydahl, who guided Pats teams to nine top-five state finishes — including the program’s lone state championship in 2022 — since 2001.
Schaumburg enjoyed its best state performance ever, scoring 41 points to take 17th ahead of fellow Mid-Suburban League members Buffalo Grove (18th), Barrington (19th), Fremd (31st), Hersey (33rd), Prospect (35th), Conant (36th) and Rolling Meadows (40th).
Saxons senior Dennis Bobiv touched ninth in the 50 free (20.76) and swam on a pair of top-11 relays (10th, 200 medley; 11th, 200 free). Classmate James Bredfield placed 14th in the 50 free (21.12) and joined Bobiv as a two-time relay medalist.
Schaumburg senior Andrew Spencer’s 13th-place 50.92 in the 100 back upped the team’s point total from 37 (the program's previous-best state total, set last season) to 41.
“All our guys were locked in from the start of the season,” said Saxons coach and Prospect graduate Sam Gabriel. “I’m so proud of them, so happy for their many accomplishments. Our quote this year was, ‘When you see the invisible, you can do the impossible.’”
Maine South diver Caleb Lakin placed fourth in diving (518.25 points) after opting to compete solely as a club diver last winter. The Hawk’s most consistent plunge in 2024-25, inward two-and-a-half, was also a hard one (3-plus degree of difficulty).
Other top-eight finishes by swimmers and divers in the Daily Herald’s Cook and Lake coverage areas: Stevenson’s Sirui Wang (sixth, 200 IM, 1:51.66; sixth, 100 breasts, 55.64)) and Allan Zhu (seventh, 200 IM, 1:51.82); Buffalo Grove’s Nolan Smith (seventh, 50 free, 20.93; seventh, 100 free, 45.93) and Michael Surowaniec (eighth, diving, 482.5); and Barrington senior and Notre Dame-bound Lucas Bucaro (fourth, 200 IM, 1:49.88; and seventh, 500 free, 4:37.03).
Rolling Meadows senior Emanuel Anguelov — seeded 32nd (21.61) in the 50 free after sectional action last weekend — placed 13th in the sprint Saturday with a 21.02.
Additional top-eight relay members included Stevenson’s Lee and Felix Wang and Vernon Hills’ Rendell, Edgar Chan and Will Blackmer.
Hinsdale Central captured its third straight state in dominant fashion, amassing 338 points to runner-up Marmion’s 190 and third-place New Trier’s 156.
In Athletes With Disabilities races at state, Conant sophomore Trevor Hanson earned a trio of gold medals. Hoffman Estates junior Conor Nestler placed third in the 100 breast, two spots ahead of RM freshman Evan Kalweit.
Among the top-16 finishers in individual events: Maine East’s David Rosenbergas (ninth, 100 free, 45.49; 10th, 200 IM, 1:52.45); Fremd’s Tyler Franke (15th, 50 free, 21.23) and Marcus Witkowski (10th, 100 back, 49.88); Maine South’s Alex Wiacek (16th, 50 free, 21.28); Libertyville’s Hayden Cook (13th, diving, 450.15); Vernon Hills’ Coady Blumenthal (15th diving, 432.5); Prospect’s Augustus Lapys (12th, 100 fly, 49.91); and Stevenson’s Joshua Wang (16th, 100 breast, 57.85).
Top-16 relay legs: Schaumburg’s Spencer and Ivan Romanchuk; Prospect’s Lapys, Alex Verdet, Max Dembowski and James Moreth; Maine South’s Wiacek, Ben Przekota, Reed Kuczura and Nick Drcha; Stevenson’s Timothy Rhee; Conant’s Alex Seeman, Michael Ryba, Ayden Woo and Dominik Kurek; and Barrington’s Bucaro, Quinn Bennet, Payton Cotner and Will Pinchot.