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EspañolSpringfield High senior Andrew Kotner proved he belongs.
The 1-meter diver – in what has been a memorable season – finished in 26th place in the preliminaries at the Illinois High School Association Boys State Swimming and Diving Finals in the Chicago suburbs on Friday, Feb. 27.
Kotner finished with 190.85 points at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. Senior Nate Jackson of Frankfort Lincoln-Way East ended the preliminaries in first place with a score of 258.15. The top 20 divers advance to Saturday’s semifinals and then the top 16 scores with the highest total move on to the final round.
Even though Kotner didn’t advance, he produced the highest placing for a boys diver from the Springfield area since Chatham Glenwood graduate Levi Vorreyer took 10th place in February of 2020.
Kotner came into state as the 34th seed after a second-place finish with a score of 432.30 at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center of the Edwardsville Sectional on Feb. 21. Two weeks prior, he stacked up 476.85 points to win the Central State Eight Conference meet at Eisenhower Pool.
Kotner etched his name in the Senators' history books when he broke two school records in one week. He broke the 6 and 11-dive records that were held by graduate Andrew Harmon from the 2017-18 season.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield High diver Andrew Kotner reaches 26th at state swim meet