L-P/Ottawa, Princeton swimmers look to advance to second day of state meet

La Salle-Peru/Ottawa boys swimming coach Rob McNally said senior Ryan Nelson has the right mentality entering the IHSA state meet this weekend at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.

Preliminaries are Friday with the top 12 swimmers advancing to Saturday’s finals – the top six in the championship finals and the next six in the consolation finals.

“Ryan has a very, very strong personality with regards to attitude of what he thinks he can be capable of,” McNally said. “Any sport is just as much mental preparation as it is physical preparation. Ryan is confident, and he’s not afraid to tell me he’s confident that he’s going to be better at state.”

Nelson will swim at state in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 freestyle.

He placed second in the 50 freestyle (21.52 seconds) at the United Township Sectional and won the 100 freestyle (47.74 seconds).

Nelson is seeded 20th in the 50 freestyle entering the state meet and is seeded 43rd in the 100 freestyle.

“He’s two-tenths of a second off the 12th seed, so that’s how tight the field is in the 500 freestyle, which it’s always that way,” McNally said. “It would not surprise me if he continues to improve and goes a little faster simply because of the magnitude of the meet and the mental preparation he’s done.”

Along with Nelson, two other area swimmer will compete at state this weekend in L-P/Ottawa senior Joe Ovanic and Princeton senior Caden Brooks.

“Swimming is a one-class system in the state of Illinois, and Illinois is a very, very strong swimming state,” McNally said. “Anytime you can make the state meet at the high school level, it’s an honor. I think the fact both [Ovanic and Nelson] did it their senior years is a wonderful way to end their careers.”

Ovanic won the 100 butterfly in 50.77 seconds and placed second in the 100 backstroke in 52.1 seconds at the sectional.

Ovanic is seeded 13th in the 100 butterfly, one-hundredth of a second shy of the 12th seed.

“Joe is in better shape this year than he was a couple years ago when he went to state in the 100 fly,” McNally said. “He set the pool and sectional record at East Moline, so he swam a really, really good time. He told me at practice he wants to go faster at state than he did at the sectional, and I think he’s capable of doing it. I expect him to make the finals in the 100 fly.”

Ovanic is seeded 24th in the 100 backstroke.

Princeton’s Brooks, who swims for the Illinois Valley YMCA Dolphins during the season since PHS doesn’t have a team, won the 100 backstroke at the sectional with a time of 51.13 seconds and won the 500 freestyle in 4:43.03.

“Compared to all the other guys there, he was not tapered or rested,” Dolphins coach Patty Redig said. “I only gave him one day of lightening up. That shows how much he likes to compete to do that well without being tapered. This week I will taper him, so hopefully he will drop a good amount, especially in the 500 free.”

Brooks is seeded 11th in the 100 backstroke and 26th in the 500 freestyle. Redig said he is aiming to advance to Saturday in both events.

“Just because he’s 11th doesn’t mean he’s going to stay 11th,” Redig said. “If he wants to make it [to Saturday], he’s going to still have to drop a good amount of time. The state meet is interesting because with sectional times some people are tapered and some aren’t. Some are halfway through their taper. Some people drop a tremendous amount [of time at state], and some go up because they were already tapered. It’s kind of a crapshoot, but he knows what my best guess of times he needs to make it in both events is. Do I think he could do it? Yes.”

Flanagan junior Nolan Deats, who swims with the Pontiac co-op, will compete in state in four events – the 200 medley relay, the 200 freestyle relay, the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.

He is seeded eighth in the 100 butterfly.