PREP BOYS SWIMMING: Concord wins NLC for school record fifth-straight time

Jan. 28—MIDDLEBURY — For the first time in school history, a Concord sports team has won five-straight conference championships.

That distinction now belongs to the Minutemen boys swimming program, which backed up its unbeaten regular season dual meets record with a win in the Northern Lakes Conference championship meet Saturday at Northridge High School. Concord scored 441 team points to beat second-place NorthWood by 143.

"We're really proud of our men," Concord coach Tom Johnson said. "We raced hard. It wasn't quite perfect, but it's as good as we've ever been at this meet. I'm really pleased with our effort and intensity across the board. The seniors brought great leadership and some really strong performances."

Concord had a good start to the day, winning the first three races contested. First, the team of seniors Brayden Sollars and Austin Zimmerman and sophomores Reid Sollars and Cole Stevenson were victorious in the 200-yard medley relay (1:38.37). The Minutemen then followed that up with two individual wins from senior Tommy Brunner in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.00) and Stevenson in the 200-yard individual medley (1:55.66).

Concord's next win came in the 100-yard butterfly, with freshman Ivan Blystiv winning with a time of 53.03 seconds. Johnson has been impressed with the way Blystiv has performed so far in his first high school season.

"He's just a highly coachable athlete," said Johnson of Blystiv. "He learns quick. He's a hard worker. He's really talented, but really disciplined in the way he approaches what we do."

Brunner then picked up wins in back-to-back events, one individually and the other on a relay. He won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4:49.64, then anchored the final leg of the 200-yard freestyle team of Zimmerman, Brayden Sollars and Will Delio, winning that race with a time of 1:28.78.

While it was mostly all good news for Concord Saturday, it wasn't a perfect performance. Although they finished in spots 2-4 in the 100-yard breaststroke, defending conference champion, Stevenson, was edged out by Warsaw senior Ian Wihebrink to win the race.

"Maybe not today, but tomorrow, it might be the best thing that happened to (Stevenson)," Johnson said. "Sometimes it takes that to learn and to do what we need to do to get better. Ian is a really, really good swimmer, and you can't make a mistake. ... To go 2-3-4 in that event is still pretty outstanding."

Most boys teams don't compete again until the sectional meet, which will take place on Feb. 16 and 18 at Concord High School this year. Johnson shared what his team's plan will be for the next few weeks.

"We have a little more work to do, and then we'll start resting some people," Johnson said. "We're excited. This is a team that's done everything we've asked them to do, and we're very confident in what they can achieve at the end of the season."

NORTHWOOD SETS NEW MEET, SCHOOL RECORDS

NorthWood coach Sheryl Hawkins let out a loud scream once the results of the 400-yard freestyle relay had become official.

With the teams situated in spots 2-6 in the standings within 30 points of each other going into the final race of the day, whoever won the relay was going to have a good chance at a second-place team finish.

The Panthers did just that, as the quartet of seniors Joe Hahn and Skee Mishler, junior Andrew Williams and sophomore Ty Stankovich won a dramatic race in a time of 3:17.12. The mark broke the old school record by more than three seconds, which had been held since 1989.

"The 400 relay is something we've been waiting for all season," Hawkins said. "The record on the board is extremely old. That's one they wanted to take down, and we finally did it. We knew it was going to happen this weekend."

The relay victory vaulted NorthWood into second place, finishing with 298 team points. Wawasee, who was runner-up in the relay, placed third in the final team standings with 293 points. Warsaw was fourth with 288, Goshen fifth with 279 and Northridge sixth with 257.

It was a banner day for NorthWood, who saw Hahn set two meet records as well. His wins in the 50-yard freestyle (20.65 seconds) and 100-yard freestyle (46.35 seconds) broke NLC championship records that had stood for 10 and 14 years, respectively.

"He's an amazing kid and amazing athlete all the way around," said Hawkins of Hahn. "He's a good leader. He pushes hard every day and sets the example, and the kids love him. He's a good person to have in the pool."

Hahn was also part of another school record, accomplished alongside Mishler, Stankovich and senior Logan Beachy in the 200-yard medley relay (1:41.07). Stankovich then set another school record in the 500-yard freestyle with his time of 5:01.23 in the event. The medley relay finished second, while Stankovich was third in those respective races.

Because of the rewriting of the school record books all season, Hawkins was voted as the NLC's Coach of the Year for the second-straight season by her peers.

"The boys earned it; they're the ones that gave this to me," said Hawkins of the Coach of the Year selection. "They've just set so many records this season, and we're not even done yet."

Warsaw senior Jayce Sawyer won the diving competition with a score of 488.25, more than 100 points clear of second place. The other event winner on the day was Wawasee sophomore Nathan Harper, who repeated as conference champ in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.20 seconds.

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2023 NLC BOYS SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP MEET — Event winners and final team standings

1-meter diving: Jayce Sawyer, Warsaw, 488.25 points

200-yard medley relay: Concord (Reid Sollars, Brayden Sollars, Cole Stevenson and Austin Zimmerman), 1:38.87

200-yard freestyle: Tommy Brunner, Concord, 1:45.00

200-yard individual medley: Cole Stevenson, Concord, 1:55.66

50-yard freestyle: Joe Hahn, NorthWood, 20.65 (meet record)

100-yard butterfly: Ivan Blystiv, Concord, 53:03

100-yard freestyle: Joe Hahn, NorthWood, 46.35 (meet record)

500-yard freestyle: Tommy Brunner, Concord, 4:49.64

200-yard freestyle: Concord (Brayden Sollars, Austin Zimmerman, Will Delio and Tommy Brunner), 1:29.78

100-yard backstroke: Nathan Harper, Wawasee, 53:20

100-yard breaststroke: Ian Wihebrink, Warsaw, 57.46

400-yard freestyle relay: NorthWood (Ty Stankovich, Skee Mishler, Andrew Williams and Joe Hahn), 3:17.12

Final team standings:

1. Concord, 441 points

2. NorthWood, 298

3. Wawasee, 293

4. Warsaw, 288

5. Goshen, 279

6. Northridge, 257

7. Plymouth, 148

8. Mishawaka, 76

NLC Coach of the Year: Sheryl Hawkins, NorthWood

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.