Identical twins Ryan and Patrick Gridley joined fellow junior Charlie Scheinfeld on the victorious 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays.
In both races, the three were joined by a senior concluding his high school career. Philipp Srivastava swam the third leg of the 200 medley relay and Patrick Drake represented New Trier in the second leg of the 400 free relay.
“I was glad I didn’t give up the lead and did well,” Drake said.
New Trier won the 200 medley in 1 minute, 31.51 seconds and it won the 400 free in 3:03.00 on Saturday in Winnetka.
Drake, who suffered a stress fracture in his back last summer, said the Trevians were united by a common goal.
“I think it is the different types of swimmers we have on the team,” Drake said. “We have water polo players, we have swimmers. We all understand the goals of this season and that goal is to trophy on this day, which we did.”
New Trier finished third on Saturday, the highest finish for the Trevians since their last state championship in 2013. New Trier finished with 120 points, trailing champion Lyons (156.5) and Hinsdale Central (142).
Srivastava looked back fondly on his last effort for his high school.
“It’s like all four years coming into one day,” he said. “It is the pinnacle of everything. Going into the race was like going into a trance. That’s what I love about this sport.”
Patrick Gridley said he was “super happy” for his senior teammates.
“This is a great way to end especially for Philipp and Patrick. I’m just so happy we were able to end so well for them,” he said.
In addition, senior Jakob Kaminsky took ninth in the 100 breaststroke, earning four points for the Trevians.
“It was a great way for him to end,” New Trier coach Josh Runkle said.
Gridleys shine
As for the Gridleys, besides their efforts in the relays, they made their presence known in individual races. Ryan Gridley was eighth (1:51.65) in the 200 individual medley. He was followed immediately by Patrick Gridley in ninth (1:52.57).
Later on, Patrick Gridley grabbed third (50.36) in the 100 backstroke and Ryan Gridley finished fifth (45.71) in the 100 free.
While they have some club races ahead of them in the next few weeks, they are already focusing on 2018 when they will be the leaders of the team with Scheinfeld.
“I’m honestly thinking about the future,” Ryan Gridley said. “We did great this year. Our coach always tells us to be happy, but never satisfied. We did what we had to do at finals, but I’m not satisfied.”
Echoing that sentiment was Runkle, who shaved his head and beard in advance of the state meet to show solidarity with his swimmers. He said he will enjoy the third-place finish for a while, but like his team, he is anticipating a strong 2018 season.
“We have a really strong junior class (Class of 2018) so I’m ending this excited for next year because we have a lot of guys who I think are going to step up and perform really well next year,” Runkle said. “The goal is to win next year.”
Home-pool advantage
Srivastava added that he did not want to disappoint the crowd gathered at New Trier’s pool and mentioned how one of the coaches had told the team they do not lose at home.
“That just stuck in my head,” Srivastava said.
Ryan Gridley also noted the excitement of swimming in familiar territory.
“The energy is palpable. It is awesome,” he said. “That really helps.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
