Sophomore Wade Pyle broke the 100 and 200 freestyle school records at the IHSA Swimming and Diving State Finals this weekend, earning him two of Community’s three State medals.

Pyle finished the 100 freestyle in 46.22 during Friday’s preliminary round, shaving .31 seconds off Tyson Tucci’s (’22) 2018 record. Pyle broke one of Tucci’s other school records—a 1:40.83 200 freestyle—with a time of 1:40.68 during Saturday’s finals competition.

Pyle’s performance, earning 15th and 13th in the 100 and 200 freestyle finals competitions, respectively, marked a significant improvement from his State placements last year as a freshman.

At 2023’s State preliminary round, Pyle took 30th in the 50 freestyle and 33rd in the 100 freestyle, failing to break the top 12 and make finals in either event.

Although IHSA has since altered finals to include the 16 fastest swimmers in each event, qualifying would have been impossible had Pyle not made alterations of his own.

Replacing the 50-yard swim with the 200-yard race this year, Pyle said, made all the difference.

“I just felt more comfortable with the events I swam this year,” Pyle said, “especially with the type of training we put in throughout the entire season.”

That training, Pyle said, is designed to produce strong distance swimmers.

Although “high-intensity short swims” are sometimes included in the Community training regimen, Pyle said, Coach Heather Budak “likes to do a lot of yardage.”

But Pyle wasn’t the only State medalist from Community who benefitted from the high yardage in practice.

Senior Kenneth Wills earned his second consecutive ninth-place State finish in the 500 freestyle—the longest State event—when he finished the race in 4:31.60 Saturday.

Despite closing his final season with a familiar State placement, the race was a 3.31-second improvement from last year’s performance at finals—a round that was more competitive this year, Wills said.

With faster winning times and multiple state records broken at this year’s meet, qualifying for the ‘A’ Final—Wills’s goal, requiring a top eight placement—proved difficult.

“It was definitely rough,” Wills said of being on the cusp between the two final rounds. “Before the meet started, I knew it was going to be a bit of a stretch just because of how fast the event was looking to be.”

Still, the University of Illinois Chicago commit earned the fastest time in the ‘B’ Final to bring home a ninth-place medal for the team—the highest placement possible after failing to make the ‘A’ Final in Friday’s preliminary round.

Although Community’s four other State qualifiers failed to qualify for finals like Wills and Pyle, Pyle is optimistic about the team’s future—even without strong seniors and State relay contributors Wills, Josh Svob and Caleb Vogel swimming for the Iron next year.

“The freshmen and sophomores have really stepped up and contributed well at Sectionals and Conference,” Pyle said.

Alongside this year’s underclassmen State qualifiers, Logan Goss and Sam Grojean, Pyle would “love to get some new names” on the relay record board moving forward.

That’s in addition to individual goals: improving those 100 and 200 freestyle records and making the top eight to qualify for the ‘A’ Final at State in 2025.

And until the 24-25 season begins for teammate Wills, marking his college swim debut, he has a Community swim career to look back on with pride.

The swimmer boasts three consecutive seasons of IHSA State qualifications—and times that would have qualified him for the competition had COVID not canceled it his freshman year.

More than qualifications or improved times, though, Wills will remember the relationships he formed—between practices and trips to IHSA State with relays.

In addition to Coach Budak’s support, friends and “role models” like Josh Fujimoto (’23) and Tyson Tucci (’22) have “shaped [Wills’] love for the sport.”

Those individuals, Wills said, are the main reason the senior chose to swim collegiately.

“I really appreciate the friends I made along the way,” Wills said, “and I’m super excited to compete at the next level.”