The Gladstone Community Center was lively as boys swim became Red Conference champions for the first time in school history. The Northmen outscored their next closest opponent, St. Joe Central by 128 points.

With seven swimmers placing at conference, the Northmen have a balanced team with other swimmers who may not have placed also contributing points for a 371-point effort at the competition.

The 100 back held three conference swimmers. Junior Ben Place earned third, freshman Tynan Meyer fifth, and freshman Jack Salyer sixth. 

Northmen flooded the podium in the 200 fly with Place earning second and freshman Ty McKinnis earning third. This also occurred in the 100 breaststroke with sophomore Xavier Cavanaugh becoming conference champion and freshman Niko Nakahodo taking third.

In the 100 free, Nakahodo earned fifth and Meyer third. Lynn and Salyer earned fourth and fifth in the 200 free. Lynn also earned fourth in the 500 free, McKinnis third in the 200 IM, and Cavanaugh in the 50 free.

This effort marked this team as trailblazers in Oak Park history as they took first in swimming for the first time in school history.

“It’s really gratifying, everybody on the team has been putting in crazy amounts of work from day one, so I’m really proud of my team,” Place, the team Blue Blood, said.

This crew will be together for the long haul as the team consists of one junior, four sophomores, and five freshmen. So, the Suburban Red division has not heard the last of this squad in the next couple of years. 

“This is just the start, we’re gonna continue this next year,” Place said.

These swimmers look to build on their success as Place, McKinnis, Cavanaugh, and Meyer take on State in the 200 medley relay. Lynn and Nakahodo will attend as alternates this weekend.