Iron boys swim team falls short of Sectional title, secure State meet spots for five swimmers

Inkspot Staff and Pranathi Ganti • Feb 22, 2024

Josh Svob, Wade Pyle, Kenneth Wills and Logan Goss win the 400 freestyle relay, one of the team’s seven first-place finishes at Sectionals. Ultimately, Washington took home the Sectional title. The Panthers scored 17 points in the diving competition, while Community does not have a diver rostered.

Five members of the boys swim team will compete at this weekend’s IHSA State Swimming and Diving meet after earning seven first-place finishes at the Pekin Sectional on Feb. 17.

The Ironmen fell just short of a third consecutive Sectional title, trailing the Washington Panthers’ 261 to 246.5.

Senior Kenneth Wills returns to Westmont’s FMC Natatorium for the third consecutive season, with sophomores Wade Pyle and Sam Grojean and Josh Svob earning their second trip to the State prelims.

Sophomore Logan Goss will make his first appearance in Friday’s opening round of competition.

Wills returns to the state’s biggest stage to compete again as an individual in the 500 freestyle (4:42) and the 200 individual medley, after championing them both with 4:42.59 and 1:55.91 finishes, respectively.

In last season’s State meet, Wills placed 9th in the 500 free finale with a time of 4:34.92.

Pyle showcased his prowess with two individual victories, clocking in at 1:42.83 in the 200 freestyle and 47.29 in the 100 free.

Goss earned first place honors in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall at 54.53.

The trio of Wills, Pyle and Goss, topped the podium again after first-place relay finishes in the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle.

The Iron trio secured their trip to State in the 200 medley, with Grojean swimming second, with a t1:37.84 finish, just .29 off of last season’s school record setting pace.

The team’s Sectional time bests last year’s State performance in the even, where the team of posted a 1:41.52 finish for 36th place.

Wills, Pyle and Goss were joined by Svob in the 400 freestyle advancing to State clocking in at 3:15.03.

Last season at State, Wills and Pyle were part of a record-breaking 400 relay performance, besting the school’s standard by just over a quarter-second with a time of 3:10.65.

Despite the performance, the relay, rounded out by graduates Josh Fujimoto and Kamden Malinowski, placed 17th in the state.

The State preliminary round begins Friday at 3:30 p.m, this season, the top eight finishers in each prelim event advance to Saturday’s finals and the nine-16 finishers race in the consolation finale.

Preliminary and final results will be available on IHSA.org.

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About the Contributors

Inkspot Staff

Stories published under Inkspot Staff are unattributed to a single reporter because they: have been produced through a collaborative staff effort; individual staff member contribution is not easily distinguishable; and/or the story was disseminated from announcements or press releases.

Pranathi Ganti, Staff Writer

Pranathi Ganti is a senior at Normal Community High School and serves as the President of both FBLA and Key Club chapters. She is a staff writer in her first year working with the Inkspot. A random fact about me is I sneeze when I look at the Sun. My best advice is to live to impress your 6-year-old self.