By Gena Jones

Swim caps, pom-poms and medals galore — Whitney Young High School hosted a roaring crowd at the 2025 CPL Boys Swimming Championship last weekend. The pool deck was jam-packed with the city’s talented high school swimmers on Saturday, all gathered to put their season-long efforts to the test in the pool. 

Lane Tech dominated instantly, setting a new meet record of 1:34.49 in its first event of the afternoon, the 200-medley relay, swam by Owen Huynh, Alexander Ivascu, Aidan Kaplan and Alec Arsic. 

The Champions’ success only continued from there. Lane Tech left with 18 medalists, 3 new meet records and its first city title in over 16 years. 

“This has been about 4 years in the making,” coach Matt O’Hagan said. “We’ve been on a slow grind back up. Doing the right things, working hard, being mentally tough were the things that coach Saylor and I have been preaching to the boys, and it paid off.”

Kaplan had a standout day in the water, breaking a nine-year record with his performance in the 50 free (21.08) and taking home a second first-place medal in the 100 fly (50.92). 

“I love helping the team out, you know,” he said. “It’s just another victory to add to Lane Tech’s winning streak. We’re just starting at city’s. I’m really looking forward to state.”

The wins kept rolling in for the Champions. 

Brothers George and Alexander Ivascu took home a combined five gold medals between them, even competing against one another in the 500 free and finishing first and third, respectively. George broke the previous year’s record by one-tenth of a second with a time of 4:41.43.

“It’s a lot of fun to watch them in practice, joking around with each other and pushing each other,” O’Hagan said. “George doesn’t want to lose to Alex and Alex doesn’t want to lose to George.”

“I feel like all the hard work I did this season just mentally prepared me for this and then it showed,” George said after swimming his 200 free (1:44:03). 

“For this race today, I think I’m taking off faster than I normally do. I’m a distance swimmer so I know I can back half it, so I just have to be very aggressive today.”

Alexander received his first individual medal of the day for the 200 IM (1:58.99). The Champion has been swimming for eight years and has unshakeable confidence in his abilities. 

“I felt really good entering that pool,” Alex said. “I think when you’re fast, you kind of just know.”

Lane Tech junior Arsic placed second in the 50-free (21.26) and the 100-free (48.17). He thanked his coaches for their dedication to improving the team. 

After a 16-year drought, working tirelessly towards achieving another city title, Lane Tech finally reached the promised land on Saturday. 

But why now? 

What makes this team so different from the competition this year?

“Grit,” Kaplan said. “We practice in a 100-year-old pool. Every day, we kind of complain a little bit to our coach, and he tells us we’re a gritty team, you know. We practice in a three-foot deep pool every day, that’s what sets us apart.”

Investing in their younger swimmers and collaboration between JV and Varsity coaching was a key strategy that finally pushed the Lane Tech program to the forefront this year. 

“It’s a lot of joy,” JV coach Heather Saylor said. “Every swimmer on the JV team did a personal best today. For me, that’s even more important than whether or not we came in first.”

There’s still more to come for this gritty team.

“Our goal this year was also to do well in state,” coach O’Hagan said. “We are going to be much faster at sectionals and then the goal is to be even faster at state. We’re hoping to do top 10 this year at the state swimming competition.”

Jones-Payton Co-Op was the runner-up of the meet, leaving with 19 medalists and two new meet records. Senior Rayburn Kohl was at the center of that success. 

Kohl broke a nine-year record in the 100 free (45.84) and bested his 2024 record in the 100 backstroke with a finish of 50.44 seconds. Despite being a beacon of achievement on his own, teamwork remains a primary value of his.

“We’re all brothers, that’s the thing,” Kohl said. “A lot of these teams just swim for themselves, but we swim for Jones. We’re always there for each other. That’s what makes us such a great team: we never back down.”

Whitney Young’s Miguel Pintor, who placed second in the 100 fly (52.57), held a similar sentiment for his own team. 

“We’ve been planning to work all week,” Pintor said. “At practice, everyone’s putting in the work. Everyone’s pushing each other to be better. It’s just a great team environment.”

The South Side had its time to shine on the podium, too, thanks to Brooks’ Israel Bratton, who placed third in the 50 free (21.85). 

“I love my team, I love my community that I’m in. I’m south side, I love the south side. That’s all I can be,” Bratton said. “The energy and the love we bring to each other, regardless of what place we make or however we may do, we always bring that high energy to each other and we love each other as a team. We build together, we practice together. It’s just that team energy.”

Diving

Jones College Prep packed a tight natatorium of the city’s high school diving fans on Friday evening as five divers from across CPL competed for the 2025 Boys Diving Championship. 

Ultimately, Lane Tech’s Owen Lee took home his fourth straight city diving title for his outstanding performance on the board. Lee was joined on the podium by Jean-Luc Nazaire of Whitney Young and Aiden Lish of Jones-Payton in second and third place, respectively.

The Champions’ senior diver broke the 500-point threshold for the first time in his career, jumping from 451.94 points in 2024 to 563.90 points on Friday night. 

“I’m pretty excited,” Lee said. “I wasn’t entirely expecting it, especially today. I wasn’t even sure if it was gonna happen this year, my last year, so I’m really excited I was able to get it.”

Lee is one of those divers who looks like he’s found the secret to human flight. When he soars into the air in perfect form, it is a sight to behold. In the moments before he takes off, Lee says only one thing is on his mind: the team.

“Really, this would not have been possible without all the support I’ve had throughout four years. When I first came in, Lane didn’t really have a diving team,” Lee said. “We don’t even have a diving board or a deep enough pool, so I feel like Lane is really the only place I could have gone where they would have accommodated me so well, so that I can keep on doing what I want to do.”

“I think of his drive and his commitment to what he’s doing,” Coach Heather Saylor said. “The thing about Owen is that he is a competitor in whatever he does. He’s not just someone who goes to state in diving, he went to state in pole vaulting last year. He is a very well rounded athlete and a dream for a coach to have.”

Though he just won his fourth consecutive first-place city title, Lee and Saylor know his work on the board isn’t over yet. Between sectionals and state competitions, Lee is looking forward to accomplishing a goal of becoming one of the top 16 divers in the state this year.

Photos by Andrew Rosenthal/OSA

Photos by Zoe Davis/OSA