Team-first strategy propels Neuqua Valley to sixth place at state
As individuals, Neuqua Valley's boys swimmers might have sacrificed a bit by going along with the plan to compete in three relays and only one individual event during this year's IHSA postseason.
But by the end of Saturday's state meet in Evanston, the Wildcats' strategy proved to be a sound one after the team finished in a three-way tie for sixth place. The Wildcats finished knotted with St. Charles North and Marmion, all well behind state champion New Trier, but also in a strong position in the final standings.
"It can always be a tough call. It depends on the makeup of the group. We're always trying to put the team first, and the guys understand that," Neuqua Valley coach Chad Allen said.
In his four years at Neuqua Valley, John Ruan has been the main exemplar of such selflessness and how successful one can be with a team-first attitude. Including his medals for finishing ninth with the 200-yard medley relay and sixth with the 200 freestyle relay and sixth with the 400 freestyle relay, Ruan finished his high school career with eight state medals.
"In the end I think it's all worth it because I bonded with my team and I'm really happy with how we did today. It feels great to see the way everyone worked together and performed today," Ruan said.
The Wildcats were a largely experienced group but with some exceptional youth as well at this year's state meet. Ruan and Kyri Chen were seniors, Sathya Subramanian and Jack Hiss were juniors while Connor Boyle was that rarity in boys swimming, an impact freshman.
"If it weren't for those seniors, (Boyle) probably wouldn't have been as strong as he was. He learned a lot from these guys," Allen said.
Individually, Chen was seventh in the 50 freestyle, Boyle placed sixth in the 100 freestyle and Hiss was 11th in the 500 freestyle.
"To pull off some Top 10 finishes without any superstars has been fun, but hopefully we've got a rising superstar on Connor Boyle," Allen said.
Waubonsie Valley's meet started well enough, with its 200 medley relay claiming fourth place and Jared Simpson claiming third in the 200 IM. The Warriors kept that good run of results through the rest of the meet and finished ninth.
"Having a lot of swims is important and having a lot of guys who have stepped up big for us this weekend is huge for us," Arens said.
Aayush Deshpande was eighth in the 100 butterfly, the 200 freestyle relay finished 11th and Simpson returned to the water and was seven in the 100 backstroke. Bryan Ellig followed with a sixth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke and the Warriors' 400 freestyle relay was 10th.
"We have a great senior class, with guys like Jared Simpson and Bryan Ellig," Arens said. "We had some younger guys, like (Deshpande, a sophomore) and this all worked with other guys on the team whose role kept changing. It's exciting to see the work these guys have put in."
Ellig said the key to Saturday's success came with one of the team's strongest prelim performances.
"Seniors like myself and Jared Simpson wanted to make a mark and leave a legacy," Ellig said. "We told the other guys that this was it for the season and to make the best of it. We showed up (Friday) and as a result, we're throwing it down pretty well."
Naperville North finished 12th in the meet, and the Huskies' top finish came from Horace Qiao, third in the 100 butterfly.
"I knew this was going to be my last race of the season, and I wanted to give it everything I had. I'm really happy with the results," Qiao said.
The 100 butterfly featured a rare tie for first place between St. Viator's Michael Balcerak and Lyons' Henry Claesson. Qiao was in the mix with that pair halfway through the race but faded a bit in the back half of the race.
"I new I had to take it out fast and then try to keep it up. Unfortunately, I was not able to hold on, but I did give them a race and I'm happy for both of them," Qiao said.
Naperville North's 200 medley relay finished sixth and George Tak was 10th in the 100 breaststroke.
"Naperville North is a pretty storied team - we've had a lot of success in the IHSA meet. Coming into this year, the other seniors had a lot of fun, but we also knew that we'd have a chance to make a run at something," Qiao said.
Lake Park finished 19th and had two swims in Saturday's finals. Benjamin Kimmel was fifth in the 100 butterfly and later finished sixth in the 100 backstroke.
Naperville Central was 24th in a meet where coach Mike Adams said his swimmers gained experience. The Redhawks' 200 freestyle relay was ninth, the 400 freestyle relay was 12th and Andrew Dai was 12th in the 200 IM.
"We got a whole lot of experience this weekend. Some of it was good, and some of it not so good. We brought a young team here, a lot of whom will be back. Our relays will be terrific today. But what we do over the next nine months will determine how well we do next year," Adams said.
West Chicago-Batavia's Keegan Hawkins was ninth in the 200 IM and Metea Valley's Janssen Gamilla was 11th in the 100 butterfly.
Hinsdale Central, meanwhile, claimed its sixth straight state trophy, The Red Devils were third behind state champion New Trier and runner-up Lyons. The team's 200 medley relay was sixth, its 200 freestyle relay was first and the 400 freestyle relay placed seventh. Donovan Lahmann was ninth in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the 100 freestyle; Cole Grosshans finished second in the 50 freestyle while Billy Leader and Trystan Lundgren were third and fifth in the 100 breaststroke, respectively.