Boys Swimming: Historic day at state for Riverside Brookfield diver Harrison Nolan, York’s Connor Groya

WESTMONT – Harrison Nolan and Connor Groya attend different schools and compete in different disciplines.

Yet the two seniors turned in similarly historic performances at the state swimming finals Feb. 26 at FMC Natatorium.

Nolan, a Kentucky commit, became the first diver from Riverside-Brookfield to win a state championship, setting a state record with 569.50 points.

Groya doubled his pleasure in the swimming races, winning the 50-yard freestyle and 100 freestyle to become York’s first state champion in the sport.

For Nolan, it was the end of a steady climb and a long quest to break the state record of 555.40 set by Marian Catholic’s Joey Cifelli in 2015. Cifelli broke the previous mark of 518.25, which had stood for 34 years.

“I remember my first day joining Windy City Diving,” Nolan said. “Joey was there, and I always looked up to Joey Cifelli because he was a star.

“He was consistent, he was the best on the team, he was always motivated. It couldn’t mean more to be able to have his record. That’s something I’ve been shooting for since I saw it be done.”

Only three R-B divers had ever medaled – and none had done it twice – before Nolan. He placed fifth as a freshman in 2019 and second in 2020 before his quest was delayed by the pandemic.

The IHSA did not have a state meet in 2021. That did not stop Nolan from improving.

“This year I did a lot of personal work with Susan Bromberg, my coach at Windy City Diving,” Nolan said. “I did a lot of dry land practice, a lot of weightlifting to get my legs into the best shape they could be to get the most strength.

“I’ve been working on a lot of explosiveness training.”

It paid off. Nolan led throughout the two-day state meet and was never really threatened. He beat Stevenson senior Jack White by a whopping 36.4 points, ending the competition by sticking his forward 1 somersault with two twists.

“It’s already awesome to be a Bulldog,” Nolan said. “And it’s certainly more awesome to be the first Bulldog to win.”

Groya had similar feelings after winning his first title in the 50 free.

“I’m so happy,” Groya said. “I’m still kind of taking it all in.

“This was definitely the goal coming into it. I originally swam the 200 free in previous years and decided to switch it up this year because my coach thought my 50 was looking a little stronger.

“So we just kept working super hard, lot of early mornings, lot of grinding in practice, but just trusting in myself and it all worked out in the end. It’s such an honor to be York’s first state champion.”

The Minnesota-bound Groya was timed in 20.27. He beat Niles West junior Nikola Tadic by .20, which is a healthy margin in such a short race.

“The only strategy I have is my kicks off the start and the wall and when I take my one breath,” Groya said. “Other than that, it’s just swing those arms and kick those legs and see if you can get to the wall the fastest.”

Once he did, Groya looked back at the scoreboard and saw his name at the top.

“I was just thrilled, so overtaken with emotions,” Groya said. “I looked up to my parents and my coach and everyone and I was so happy.”

The happiness grew after the 100, which he won in 44.69, equaling his time from the prelims. It was .17 faster than Rockford East junior Camden Taylor.

Groya’s performance is a boon to a program that had produced only three previous state medalists, none of whom had qualified for a top-six championship heat.

“It’s been a great year for York,” said Groya, who noted that the boys soccer team won its first state title and the girls cross country squad also won state last fall. “It’s such an honor to be York’s first state [swimming] champion.”

Fenwick senior Mike Flynn won the 200 free and 500 to become just the fourth double state champion in program history. The Notre Dame recruit joins Robert Ramoska (1979), Ed Pierce (1991) and Steve Vongluekiat (1994) in winning two individual titles in the same year. Ramoska and Pierce also accomplished the feat in the 200 and 500. Vongluekiat took the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.

“It’s a surreal moment,” Flynn said. “When I was a freshman, I had Liam Hutchinson [as a teammate] and he won state in the 500, so to bring that back to Fenwick is great.

“There’s a lot of history in our program, so to be able to add on to that is just awesome.”

Hinsdale Central finished second in the team competition with 117 points, 50 points behind Stevenson. Lyons was third with 99.