Schools
Rodriguez Stars at State Swim Meet
Buffalo Grove junior finishes seventh in 100-yard backstroke, earning enough points to place his team 31st in Illinois.
Ian Rodriquez single handedly gave a 31st place finish in the Illinois High School Association Swim Meet on Saturday at New Trier when he captured the seventh place medal in the 100-yard backstroke.
The Bison junior was Buffalo Grove’s only participant in the final day of the State Meet. He completed the four lengths of the pool in 50.95 to shave more than a second off his 52.52 time from .
“I gave it all I had,” Rodriguez said. “I couldn’t have done any better.” He finished the preliminaries with the 11th best time and improved to seventh in the consolation finals pitting the seventh through 12th highest finishers.
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Actually, Rodriguez’s time was the fifth best produced in the 100 backstroke on the final day of competition.
Since Rodriguez swam in the consolation round, he could place no better than seventh. Even though his time was better than two athletes ahead of him swimming in the championship flight, a better time will not improve a competitor’s finish. Swimmers can only improve within their group.
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“This is awesome,” he said. “I’m so happy. This is my best swim ever.” He said he hopes to return as a senior in 2012 with a first-place medal.
Rodriguez was the only Bison competing in the meet.
sent a contingent of six individuals and three relay teams to the State Meet. None qualified for Saturday’s finals.
