Northwestern’s Ryan King Takes Men’s 800 Free on First Night of IL Senior Champs

2022 IL LCM Senior Championships

• July 28-31, 2022
• FMC Aquatic Center, Westmont, IL
• Hosted by Illinois Swimming
• LCM (50m)
• Results on MeetMobile

Team Scores (Top 5)

MEN

1. Fox Valley Swim Team – 57
2. Nasa Wildcats – 22
3. Waves Bloomington/Normal Y – 19
4. St Charles Swim Team – 18
5. Scout Aquatics – 16

WOMEN

1. Lake Forest Swim Club – 22
2. Hinsdale Swim Club/Academy Bullets Swim Club – 21
3. –
4. Patriot Aquatic Club – 18
5. St Charles Swim Team – 17

The Illinois Swimming Senior State Championships kicked off last night in Westmont, IL at the FMC Aquatic Center. The first night of the meet featured the men’s and women’s 800 freestyles.

The men’s 800 free was won by Northwestern’s Ryan King, who finished in 8:25.37. King got out to an early lead in the fastest heat of the event, leading wire-to-wire. Swimming out of lane 9, Waves Bloomington/Normal Y 17-year-old Josh Fujimoto began pushing King through the middle of the race, cutting the lead to within 2 seconds from the 400-600m.

Fujimoto would finish 2nd in 8:28.85, taking 28.81 seconds off his previous best, which was set in May. For King, the 8:25.37 was off his personal best of 8:16.34, which he set at the 2019 Summer Junior Nationals when he was 18. The performance was, however, King’s fastest of the year by over 13 seconds.

In the women’s 800 free, Lake Forest Swim Club 17-year-old Mary Grace King got out the lead in the fastest heat and never looked back. Pulling away from the field, King posted a dominant victory with a 9:18.29, finishing 7 seconds ahead of the runner-up. The swim was off King’s personal best of 9:11.03, which she set at the 2019 Futures Championship in Des Moines, when she was 14. Like Ryan King, however, Mary Grace’s time last night marked her fastest of the year by a whopping 12 seconds.