LHS Qualifies First Relay Team For Boys Swimming State Final

LEMONT, IL — The Lemont High School’s boys’ swimming program will send its 200 freestyle relay team to the 2020 IHSA boys swimming state finals after their first place finish at sectionals. The school said the team also finished third in the team standings at the IHSA Sandburg Sectional Feb. 22, its best finish ever in sectional competition.

Juniors Nate Bielanski and Joey Kibbon, sophomore Colin Treanor and freshman Brandon Johnson became the first relay team in program history to qualify for state finals competition. The four will compete at the state finals, which will be contested at Evanston Township High School Feb. 28-29.

Bielanski, Johnson, Kibbon and Treanor teamed to touch the wall in the 200 free relay in 1:29.13, establishing a new school record in the event for the fourth time this season, the school said.

According to LHS, the 200 free relay school record is one of many that fell in sectional competition. Bielanski, Johnson, Kibbon and sophomore Luke Knutte teamed for a third place finish in the 400 free relay, breaking the school record for the fourth time this season in a time of 3:17.24.

Kibbon placed second in the 200 freestyle in a school record time of 1:44.92, and missed qualifying for the state finals by less than seven-tenths of a second, the school said. He also established a new school record in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:47.57 while placing third. Johnson was the runner-up in both the 100 free and 100 backstroke, and established a new school record time of 53.45 in the latter. All swimmers who equal or surpass an established minimum qualifying time in sectional competition advance to the state finals, as do event winners at each of the state’s 16 sectionals.

Head coach Josh Dunn’s team also won the program’s first-ever South Suburban Conference-Blue Division title this season, the school said. Bielanski (50 free), Johnson (100 free, 100 back), Kibbon (200 free, 500 free) and Treanor (100 breaststroke, 200 individual medley) all earned SSC championships, as did the 200 free and 400 free relay squads, LHS said.

Single-session tickets for the IHSA State Finals are $10; tickets may be purchased at the event. Swimming preliminaries will begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday, while finals competition will start at 11 a.m. Saturday. Consolation finals will be swum immediately prior to the championship finals in each event.