McHenry sends handful to state meet

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LAKE FOREST – The last event of the IHSA Lake Forest sectional was just a topper to a thrilling day of swimming for McHenry’s boys Saturday.

With four state qualifying times in the first 11 events, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Kyle Braun, Dan Brucki, Lucas Matthys and Reilly Shanahan each swam under 50 seconds to give the Warriors one more.

McHenry’s time of 3:16.72 in the 400 eclipsed the state qualifying standards by .024 seconds. The Warriors shaved more than six seconds off their seed time of 3:23.48, to place fourth.

The state meet starts Friday at Evanston High School.

“When Reilly touched, it looked like a 3:19 on the scoreboard,” Braun said. “When I saw that it was a 3:16, I didn’t believe it.

“I thought I had let everyone down with a 49.8, but Reilly, Dan and Lucas really came through big.”

The same team of Warriors also advanced in the 200 free relay (1:28.06) with a third-place finish, edging the qualifying standard of 1:29.58.

Overall, McHenry finished seventh with 101 points, and Woodstock (31) placed 10th.

Lake Forest won the sectional with 250 points.

“They’re already geared up for state, and the boys are probably most excited about getting out of school early on Friday,” joked McHenry coach Craig Fowles. “I’m just really happy for these kids, and it’s a great showing for Warriors swimming.

“The 400 [free relay] was a bit of a stretch, but I told them that I thought they could do it, and they proved me right.”

In individual events, Shanahan qualified with a third-place finish in the 50 free (21.83) and a fifth-place finish in the 100 free (48.29). Braun also qualified in the 50 free with a seventh-place finish of 22.19, just under the qualifying time of 22.21.

“I’m not really shaven or tapered yet, but the other guys really held their own today,” Shanahan said. “All my teammates did a phenomenal job.

“I’m going to give it my hardest at state, and it would be great to get a top-12 finish in something. It’s going to be tough, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Senior Zach Zankle had the best showing for Woodstock, finishing eighth in the 100 backstroke (58.04) and 11th in the 200 individual medley (2:08.84).

The Blue Streaks’ 400 relay team of Billy Busch, Morgan Hofmann, Trevor Nomm and Dylan Peterson finished eighth with a time of 3:33.57.

Although Woodstock didn’t advance any swimmers to state, Blue Streaks coach Ian Shanahan said he was glad to see a lot of individual time drops.

“Our team was really young this year,” Shanahan said. “On our sectional team we had four freshmen, and they all stepped up and had good showings.

“The future definitely looks good for us. I’m encouraged by the way we continue to compete no matter what, and next year shouldn’t be any different. There’s no reason why we can’t get better.”

Grayslake North’s James Landry finished third and qualified in the 100 backstroke (54.61) by beating the qualifying time of 55.07.