As the most accomplished individual in Section III boys swimming this winter, Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA senior Chris Bushnell carried high expectations into last weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.
And somehow, Bushnell exceeded them, breaking all kinds of records and nearly claiming the overall title in the 100-yard backstroke while posting the best finish of any local swimmer, while teammate Lucas Dekaney had a top-10 finish in diving.
Bushnell had swam the backstroke in 52.50 seconds this winter, making him the 13th-fastest qualifier as races got underway last Friday at Long Island’s Nassau County Aquatic Center.
Then, in the qualifying round, Bushnell dazzled, breaking his own personal and program mark by more than a full second by finishing in 51.42 seconds, placing him fourth overall going into Saturday’s finals.
Even the best swimmers can go slower in finals than in heats, but not Bushnell, who again lowered his time to 51.34 seconds. That put him third overall, but second in the NYSPHAA standings behind only Hauppague’s Trenton Burr, who won in 50.30 seconds.
Also, Bushnell swam in the 100 butterfly, where with his time of 52.25 seconds he stood at 19th in the state. Maybe all the energy he put in into the 100 breaststroke cost him here, as in 52.97 he missed advancing to Saturday by less than a tenth of a second.
Meanwhile, Dekaney represented Section III in the state diving competition. Entering the event, he was 21st out of 42 competitors with his best season effort of 491.10 points.
But from the outset, Dekaney performed well here, sitting 11th after the opening round with 215.75 points and then moving up to ninth place in the semifinals with 339.75 points.
In Saturday’s final round, Dekaney remained steady, and by earning 477.60 points kept ninth place. Blomfield’s Alex Kenyon claimed the state championship with 541.55 points.
Bushnell, Conlan Rourke, Liam Kaplan and Nathan Chen swam for J-D/CBA in the 200 medley relay, looking to improve upon 1:39.72, but in 1:40.89 settled for 34th place as Fordham Prep won in 1:33.37 and Great Neck South (1:34.18) was the NYSPHAA champion.
Fayetteville-Manlius junior Tanner Eisenhut also swam in two events, looking to improve upon the 1:57.15 in the 200 individual medley that put him in 21st place going into the state meet, only to finish here in 2:04.76 for 45th place.
Ranked 23rd in the 100 breaststroke (59.83 seconds) as the meet started, Eisenhut again finished 45th in 1:01.70. Eisenhut, Nate Montgomery, Lucas Wieres and Nico Foster were in the 200 freestyle relay, having swam it in 1:30.23 in the sectional state qualifier to make it here, only to go 1:32.04 here to finish 35th overall.