EVANSTON – Plainfield North co-op senior swimmer Ryan Netzel finished fifth in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyles Saturday to make some history at the boys swimming and diving IHSA state finals.

The two individual medals give him seven for his four-year career, four in the 500 freestyle and three in the 200 freestyle. Five of his medals were earned in the championship finals, where the top six from the preliminary round compete. The seventh through 12th finishers in the preliminaries compete in the consolation finals.

In Friday’s preliminaries, Netzel was fourth in the 500 freestyle (4 minutes, 29.79 seconds) and sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:39.47). In the finals, his times were 4:20.20 and 1:39.76, respectively. His total of eight medals overall will rank him second in the area to Lincoln-Way East’s and North’s Kyler VanSwol, who won 11 medals from 2007 to 2010.

VanSwol also won seven medals in individual events. He and Netzel as the only two area swimmers to medal four straight years in individual events. Lincoln-Way East’s Kevin Kubik captured six medals over four years from 2006 through 2009.

Other medals Saturday went to Lincoln-Way East junior Bryce Wyma, who was 10th in the 50 free (21.44) after finishing ninth in the preliminaries (21:16), and Lockport junior Jack O’Connor, who was 10th in the 200 individual medley (1:53.82) after a preliminary 1:55.07. Wyma made it a fifth straight year that the Griffins have had an all-stater.

Netzel and his teammates just missed being in a position to earn another medal. In the 400 freestyle relay, sophomore Alex Dvorak, sophomore Marc Avery, Netzel and junior Ryan Crafton were 13th (3:10.78), only .01 of a second behind the 12th and final qualifier, Naperville Central.

Plainfield’s Dvorak also fell a bit short in the 200 IM (1:55.39, 16th) and the 100 freestyle (47.5, 17th) while Lincoln-Way Central freshman Joe Bozzi came up a little shy in the 500 freestyle (4:41.54, 16th).

Lincoln-Way East’s 200 medley relay of Wyma, senior Dante Smith, Rhode and senior Kellen Bachler was 18th (1:36.73).

Others who finished among the top 30 were Lemont senior Owen Ganzer in the 100 freestyle (47.9, 24th), Plainfield’s Avery in the 50 freestyle (21.72, 22nd) and Lincoln-Way East’s Wyma in the 100 backstroke (52.72, 24th) and Lincoln-Way East’s Mason Rhode in the 100 butterfly (51.66, 26th) and the 200 IM (1:56.29, 21st).

Relays that also posted top-30 preliminary times were Plainfield’s Dvorak, Crafton, junior Merek Avery and Netzel in the 200 freestyle relay (1:27.86, 24th) and East’s Wyma, Rhode, senior Colin Brady and senior Trevor Horn in the 400 freestyle relay (3:15.88, 24th).