Bloomington South state champ David Kovacs tops All-Area boys swim team
David Kovacs found out last year that everything has to be just right to win one state title, let alone two.
So the Bloomington South senior made absolutely sure that was the case this time around, capping off a terrific career with his two long-awaited gold medals in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley. And for the fourth year in a row, Kovacs is the Herald-Times Boys Swimmer of the Year.
Kovacs wasn't quite 100% last year, so he made the changes necessary to give himself the chance to come out on top.
"Last year, he was cramping a lot," South coach Phil Cole said. "I really felt like he was primed to go in there and possibly win the back and have a career meet a year ago. He struggled but still managed a second and third.
"He came back this year in a lot better place. We changed some things as far as training and his meet routine and nutrition. He was experiencing those issues cramping off and on all year so we did some different things with hydration and did some different loads on weights this year, especially in the later part of the season. And it got rid of the cramping."
Kovacs heads for Indiana University's powerhouse program having won 11 state medals overall, seven individually. That's likely the most productive career the program has seen since the legendary Mike Kearney won seven from 1970-73, including six individual state titles after taking second in the butterfly as a freshman.
"You'd probably have to go back to the 1970s to find someone who scored more points (at state) than him," Cole said. "The performance he's had at state, we haven't anyone recently with more success consistently than David. It's pretty remarkable and not many kids from any school can say that.
"And during that time, he's been to junior nationals and other big meets, so he's become a much more seasoned competitor."
And that made for a different looking Kovacs at this year's state meet.
"You look at him now and you couldn't tell if he was having a good meet or a bad meet," Cole said. "He was focused. At that meet, you're amped up but he was in a real good spot, confident and focused and what ever happens was going to happen.
"Mentally, he was a completely different swimmer. In terms of presence and how he carried himself, like a seasoned veteran this year."
And so he didn't allow any doubts that might have crept in after last year's problems. He handled all the variables within his control, starting with a bad turn that slowed him down in the medley relay. He shook that off and raced to his plan in the IM.
"Winning the IM gave him a big boost," Cole said. "Going into the meet, he knew who he had to beat in the back. The IM was a wide open event so we felt like whoever was leading at the 150 mark would be tough to beat.
"And when he made the turn, I was pretty confident he was going to get back to the wall first."
2024-25 HERALD-TIMES ALL-AREA BOYS SWIMMING TEAM
Kian Kadlec, South, Sr.
Member of all three state bound relays, with all three breaking the school records and two winning state medals. Freestyle anchor for medley relay that broke the sectional record (1:32.33) and the school record in the state prelims (1:31.48) with a 21.59, before taking fourth. Had a 21.64 when the 200 free relay shattered the school record with a 1:21.11 and a 21.36 in the prelims at state as the squad took 10th. Helped the 400 free relay to a sectional title and then had a 47.75 leg when the Panthers broke the school record in the state prelims (3:03.00) and eventually took second. Fourth in the 100 free at sectional. Repeat All-Area.
Kenji Kitano, South, Fr.
Area's top diver, took sixth at sectional with a 235.90. Fourth at Conference Indiana with a 247.05.
David Kovacs, South, Sr.
Four-time H-T Boys Swimmer of the Year capped a terrific career with two state titles and four more state medals for a dozen in all. State champ in the 200 individual medley in a career best 1:46.64. Sectional champ and Conference Indiana champ. State champ in the 100 backstroke in a school record 47.63, winning by just .08. Set the sectional record with a 48.27 and broke the CI mark as well. Member of the 400 freestyle relay that finished second and broke the school record in the prelims with a 3:03.00 and won a sectional title. Member of the 200 medley relay that broke the sectional record (1:32.33) and lowered the school record to 1:31.48 in the state prelims before taking fourth behind his 22.86 leadoff. Four-time All-Area. Will swim at Indiana.
Peter Kovacs, South, Fr.
Four-time state medalist in his first trip, topping out with a second place finish in the 100 freestyle in a career best 44.85 that's just .41 from the school record. It was the best finish for a freshman at state since Zionsville's Will Modglin was second in the backstroke in 2020. Took sixth in the 200 free lowering the school record to 1:39.07 in the prelims. Initially broke the mark with a 1:40.30 while also breaking the sectional record in the final. Conference Indiana champ in both events. Had a 20.71 start in the state prelims for the 200 free relay (1:25.86) that went on to take 10th. Had 20.66 start when Panthers broke the school record with a 1:21.11 late in the season. Had a 45.09 leg in the prelims of the 400 free relay at state when it broke the school record (3:03.00) before placing second in the finals.
Botond Kun, South, Sr.
Double state qualifier again in the 200 and 500 freestyles with state cuts after runner-up finishes at sectional. Went 4:38.52 in the 500 free then 4:38 in the state prelims and finals for 12th place. In the 200, had a career best 1:42.63 at sectional and ended up 18th at state. Helped the 200 free relay to a sectional title and had a 21.63 split in the state finals as South placed 10th. CI champ in the 500. Three-time All-Area.
Leo Nelson, South, Sr.
Handled the breaststroke leg for the 200 medley relay team that won a sectional title and took fourth at state after recording a school record 1:31.48 in the prelims. Also a member of the 200 free relay adding a 21.63 anchor as the Panthers placed 10th at state (1:25.94). Placed fourth at breaststroke (59.75) and fifth in 50 free (22.42) at sectional. Honorable mention last year.
Lukas Paegle, South, Sr.
Added four more state medals to his collection to finish with 10 and helped break all three school records in the relays. Placed third at state in the 100 butterfly in 48.52. Broke the sectional record with a 48.21. In the 50 freestyle, bottomed out at 20.66 in the sectional final (as a runner-up) and state prelims before finishing fourth. CI runner-up in both events. Leaves with school records in the fly (47.85) and 50 free (20.52). Had a 21.04 fly leg for the fourth place medley relay at state and had a 45.44 leadoff for the 400 free relay when it broke the school record in the state prelims (3:03.00) before taking second in the finals. Had a 19.70 anchor when South broke the school record in the 200 free relay with a 1:22.11. Four-time all-area. Will swim at Indiana.
Jay Stewart, North, Sr.
Had the big breakthrough he was looking for this season, winning North's first state title since 2013 when he took the 50 freestyle by .01 with a school record 20.08. In the 100 butterfly, lowered his career best to 48.31 in the state prelims before taking fourth in the finals. Sectional champ in the 50 free, runner-up in the fly, CI champ in both events while setting both meet records. Also broke the school record in the 100 free with a 45.74 at the Counsilman Classic. Leadoff for the 200 medley relay that got a call-up after taking second at sectional and placed 20th at state. Also leadoff for the 200 free relay that placed 14th with a 20.59 in the prelims (1:26.66). Four-time All-Area. Will swim at Illinois-Chicago.
Landon Yake, North, Sr.
Area's top finisher in the 100 breaststroke, taking third at sectional after a career best 59.19 in the prelims. Finished 11th in the 200 IM at sectional after a 2:05.91 in the prelims. Had a 27.42 breaststroke leg for the 200 medley relay that got a call-up to state and took 20th.
HONORABLE MENTION: Bryan Huang, North, Fr. (breast); Jacen Madeira, North, Jr. (500 free); Ty Mayer, North, Sr. (500 free); Tucker McCarty, Edgewood, Sr. (breast, medley relay, 400 free relay); Luke Miller, North, Sr. (medley relay, 200 free relay); Landon Mobley, North, Sr. (50 free, 100 free, medley relay, 200 free relay); Wyatt Norrick, North, So. (50 free, 200 free relay); Cameron Seidenfaden, South, So. (back, 200 IM); Easton Xiao, South, Fr. (200 free, back).
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: South double state champ David Kovacs tops All-Area boys swim team
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