The 2023-24 Herald Cup: No. 1 Hinsdale Central
Editor’s note: Now that the high school sports year is over, we devised a points system based on team state finishes to measure which of the 85 high schools from the Daily Herald circulation area had the best athletic year in 2023-24. Last week we announced the top five small schools. This week we’re unveiling the top large schools, one per day, starting with No. 5 on Monday through No. 1 on Friday.
The dozens of state championship banners lining the rafters in Hinsdale Central High School’s gymnasium show the athletic dominance through the decades.
The Red Devils showed it again this school year.
Hinsdale Central finished first in the 2023-24 Herald Cup standings for large schools with 131 points that were calculated by weighing team finishes throughout the fall, winter and spring.
State titles in boys tennis and boys swimming and diving were just the start of another successful school year on fields, courts and in pools.
How they did it
Hinsdale Central’s boys swimming and diving team won its 20th state title while the boys tennis team won for the 29th time.
The girls and boys golf teams both notched second-place finishes. The girls tennis team and girls swimming and diving team were fifth while badminton was sixth.
Girls lacrosse reached the state semifinals again and finished third.
Who made it happen
Joshua Bey won four titles in the state swimming meet, including individual titles in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. He was also part of two of the Red Devils’ three championship relay teams.
Alex Kotarski was runner-up in Class 2A state tennis while Nathan Hernandez was fourth. Barry Zhu were Nicholas Marringa were fourth in doubles.
Caroline Owens shot 147 to finish third in Class 3A golf while Elyssa Abdullah was seventh. Alex Rasmussen took sixth for the boys.
Key stats
Kotarski’s runner-up finish marked his third straight top four finish at the state tournament. He was third in doubles as a sophomore in 2022 and second in singles last year and this year.
The boys swimming and diving team won its second straight state title. Before that, the Red Devils hadn’t won it all since 2015.
With its two state titles in 2023-24, Hinsdale Central now has 110 in its history.
The girls lacrosse team has finished in the top four in the state in every season since the sport became IHSA sanctioned in 2018.
Key fact
Seventeen athletic programs have won state titles for Hinsdale Central. The first was won by the boys basketball team in 1909. Next came boys track and field in 1925.
Boys tennis tops the athletic program with 29 titles. The girls tennis and boys swimming programs each have won 20. Boys golf has won 10 titles and boys gymnastics nine.
They said it
“We played our best tennis in late May. (Zhu and Marringa) beating the two seed in Thursday’s third round was huge. Huge. It catapulted them and us.” — Retiring boys tennis coach John Naisbitt.
“I did not play my best. But I’m not that guy who makes excuses. Mitch outplayed me today. This was absolutely Mitch’s day.” — Kotarski after losing to Hersey’s Mitch Sheldon in the title match.
“Months ago, at a meet in Israel (at Junior Worlds), I went out hard and was in second place in the 200 breaststroke. Then my body broke down as I fell to sixth. My body didn’t break down today. I’d faced my fears.” — Bey after his epic run at four state titles.