High school boys swimming: McHenry's Kevin Braun takes 2 fourths at state, best in school history

EVANSTON – McHenry senior swimmer Kevin Braun strives for perfection. It’s what pulled him to short-distance events, where breathing is a luxury and fractions of seconds decide champions.

“Everything has to be perfect,” Braun said. “If you mess up one thing, there goes your whole race.”

At the IHSA boys swimming and diving state finals Saturday at Evanston High School, Braun swam to fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.24 seconds and fourth in the 50 freestyle with a 21.05. He ended his career on top, with a pair of medals and a trip to the state meet.

“Everyone here was awesome,” Braun said. “There were a lot of fast swimmers here.”

Braun also made history with his results. The best previous finish by a McHenry boys swimmer at state was seventh in the 200 individual medley by Ryan Shanahan in 1991.

Still, for an athlete who relentlessly pursues perfection, Braun admitted he wasn’t completely satisfied with the result in the 50 freestyle. Friday, he swam a 20.71 in the event, the fastest time of his life, to earn the top qualifying spot. But he credited a slow start for partially allowing Champaign Central's Payton Woods to take first place in the finals with a 20.94, just 0.11 seconds faster than Braun's time in the finals.

“I would have liked to do better in the 50,” Braun said. “My start was horrendous. I probably would have gotten it if I had a better start, but, oh well, what can you do about it?”

Cary-Grove co-op’s Cooper Langanis also finished his high school career with a medal around his neck. The senior raced to second in the consolation finals of the 200 freestyle to finish eighth overall with a time of 1:42.95.

Langanis swam the 200 freestyle in 1:42.78 in Friday's preliminaries, 11th best overall. But with a strong final race to end his senior season and his career, he moved up to eighth.

“I wasn’t really expecting much,” Langanis said. “I was seeded second to last, so moving up three spots was a pretty big gain for me. I was just happy to finish off the last race of my high school career with a good finish.”

Langanis got his start in swimming through triathlons. The 800-yard open-water swims were initially his weakest of the three links. Over the years, he evolved into a swimmer and then began honing his speed in middle distances.

“I wish I would have made a finals, but I can’t really ask for much more," Langanis said. "I had a great race and a great time here. I’m glad I can be happy with my overall performance.”

Local results

50 freestyle: Kevin Braun, McHenry, 21.05, fourth

100 freestyle: Kevin Braun, McHenry, 46.24, fourth

200 freestyle: Cooper Langanis, Cary-Grove, 1:43.95, eighth

EVANSTON – McHenry senior swimmer Kevin Braun strives for perfection. It’s what pulled him to short-distance events, where breathing is a luxury and fractions of seconds decide champions.

“Everything has to be perfect,” Braun said. “If you mess up one thing, there goes your whole race.”

At the IHSA boys swimming and diving state finals Saturday at Evanston High School, Braun swam to fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.24 seconds and fourth in the 50 freestyle with a 21.05. He ended his career on top, with a pair of medals and a trip to the state meet.

“Everyone here was awesome,” Braun said. “There were a lot of fast swimmers here.”

Braun also made history with his results. The best previous finish by a McHenry boys swimmer at state was seventh in the 200 individual medley by Ryan Shanahan in 1991.

Still, for an athlete who relentlessly pursues perfection, Braun admitted he wasn’t completely satisfied with the result in the 50 freestyle. Friday, he swam a 20.71 in the event, the fastest time of his life, to earn the top qualifying spot. But he credited a slow start for partially allowing Champaign Central's Payton Woods to take first place in the finals with a 20.94, just 0.11 seconds faster than Braun's time in the finals.

“I would have liked to do better in the 50,” Braun said. “My start was horrendous. I probably would have gotten it if I had a better start, but, oh well, what can you do about it?”

Cary-Grove co-op’s Cooper Langanis also finished his high school career with a medal around his neck. The senior raced to second in the consolation finals of the 200 freestyle to finish eighth overall with a time of 1:42.95.

Langanis swam the 200 freestyle in 1:42.78 in Friday's preliminaries, 11th best overall. But with a strong final race to end his senior season and his career, he moved up to eighth.

“I wasn’t really expecting much,” Langanis said. “I was seeded second to last, so moving up three spots was a pretty big gain for me. I was just happy to finish off the last race of my high school career with a good finish.”

Langanis got his start in swimming through triathlons. The 800-yard open-water swims were initially his weakest of the three links. Over the years, he evolved into a swimmer and then began honing his speed in middle distances.

“I wish I would have made a finals, but I can’t really ask for much more," Langanis said. "I had a great race and a great time here. I’m glad I can be happy with my overall performance.”

Local results

50 freestyle: Kevin Braun, McHenry, 21.05, fourth

100 freestyle: Kevin Braun, McHenry, 46.24, fourth

200 freestyle: Cooper Langanis, Cary-Grove, 1:43.95, eighth