SYRACUSE – Northridge entered Monday night’s boys swim meet at Wawasee with one goal in mind: take care of business.

Northridge’s Jon Stoller takes command in the individual medley against Wawasee Monday night. (Photos by Mike Deak)

The boys from Middlebury carried on its tradition of winning conference swim meets, blasting Wawasee 149-37 to run its mark to 7-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference. While Wawasee stole the show in the girls competition, Northridge quietly went about its goal to finish its NLC round robin on a high note.

And, boy, did the Raiders put on a show. Seven of the 12 events were Northridge sweeps, including the final four events of the night putting a stamp on the team’s quest to win its 15th straight conference swim title later this month.

Jon Stoller and Takoda Friesen each won a pair of individual events. Stoller was king in the individual medley (1:59.06) and also the breaststroke (1:00.71) as the senior prepares to make a run at state. Friesen won the 50 (23.30) and swam another two lengths just as well to claim the 100 at 51.35 in another event Northridge swept. Both of Stoller’s wins frontlined Raider sweeps.

Jeremy Burbrink was tops in the fly (56.09) and Camden Koch led the charge in the backstroke at 55.48.

Wawasee’s Danny Allen competes in the 200-yard freestyle against Northridge.

“I thought the boys looked pretty good, and was happy they kept their focus with all the atmosphere we had going on tonight,” said Northridge head coach Joe Keller. “We had some pretty good swims, and we just want to keep getting stronger for the postseason.”

In the only two events Wawasee challenged for honors both had Logan Brugh pushing his way to the front. In the 200, Brugh and defending NLC champion Seth Cripe were even in the final 25 yards, but a longer reach from Cripe brought the winner at 1:48.41 to Brugh’s 1:48.83. In the 500, Raider freshman Spencer Lehman sizzled to a 4:45.15 winner while Logan Elijah and Brugh battled for second. Elijah would outlast Brugh for a 4:56.93, but Brugh’s 4:58.14 was the sophomore’s first sub-five time this season, and a talking point for Wawasee head coach Julie Robinson.

“Logan went a lifetime best in his 200 free and looked really good,” said Wawasee head coach Julie Robinson. “We had a lot of our boys swimming really well, it’s just hard to notice some of that when you are swimming against the level that Northridge is at.”

Wawasee’s Austin Krizman quiets his mind ahead of the start of the individual medley against Northridge.

Completing Northridge’s dominance was a 1:43.17 in the medley relay, a 1:34.16 in the 200 free relay and 3:31.20 in the 400 free relay, all three races having Northridge also finish second. Diver Taylor Berkey opened the night with a sharp six-pack of dives, scoring a 275.85 without close opposition.

Wawasee also swam the meet without its senior star, Zac Hershberger, as he left the natatorium minutes before the meet and later was checked into the hospital. No official word was made on his reason for heading to the hospital or how severe the ailment.

The loss leaves Wawasee 3-4 on the season as well as its final mark in the Northern Lakes Conference. The team will have three weeks to begin its taper for the NLC championships, which begin Jan. 30 with preliminary rounds at Northridge. The NLC finals are Feb. 1, also at Northridge. Robinson wasn’t worried about the result, rather shifting focus to what’s to come.

“It’s one day at a time and we’re going to try to set them up so they can have a really good conference meet heading into their sectionals,” offered Robinson.