Waubonsie Valley boys swimming head coach Chris Hagenbaumer said he believed this was a team that would finish Top 5 in the state, and he was right. The Warriors finished third at the IHSA Finals at New Trier High School in Winnetka on Saturday.
The Warriors opened the final day with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a 1:32.90 from senior Brian Daugherty, sophomore Brian Knothe, junior Aayush Deshpande and senior Jake Darlinger. That set a new record, surpassing the old one from the 2018 relay team by :00.02.
Deshpande followed that up with a second-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley with a 1:49.65. His performance bested Jared Simpson’s 2018 record of 1:50.40. He also placed second in the 100-yard butterfly with a :49.44. That time beat Michael Schwers 2015 record of :49.47.
Daugherty returned with a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a :20.66.
In the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Lucas Conrads finished ninth with a 4:35.46. His performance topped Steve Lalka’s 2004 record of 4:38.05
The relay team of Daugherty, Knoth, Ryan Ruhde and Darlinger placed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a 1:25.52, then ended the evening with a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:04.44 from Daugherty, Desphande, Conrads and Darlinger. That time set a new record, eclipsing the 1997 record of 3:07.84.
It’s the best team finish since the 1997 team that finished second with five individual state champions.