Kevin Obochi can cross off one New Year’s resolution. He does what no Highland Park swimmer has since 1986.

When Highland Park senior Kevin Obochi made his New Year’s resolutions, one was particularly bold.

It had nothing to do with the ink he used to write it.

“January 1st this year, I wrote down goals I had for swimming, and winning a state championship was one of them,” Obochi said. “So I’m going to go back home to my notebook and cross it off.”

Indeed, it was mission accomplished for Obochi, who won the 50-yard freestyle at the state meet at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont on Saturday. That race is the sport’s version of track’s 100-meter dash, with the winner generally considered the fastest swimmer in the state.

“It feels great,” Obochi said. “I’ve been swimming since I was 5, and I’ve just always dreamed of winning high school state.”

Obochi’s time of 20.34 seconds put him 0.16 ahead of West Chicago’s Brady Johnson in a speedy race where the top five finishers hit the wall within 0.20 of each other. Obochi took the lead on the back half.

“He was incredible coming off that wall,” Highland Park coach Tim Sirois said. “I think he went into the wall a close fourth, but he exploded off the wall, and his first few strokes were great.

“He’s always come up big in big moments.”

There hasn’t been a moment as big as Obochi’s victory in a long time at Highland Park. He is the sixth state champion in program history but just the second since 1959.

Bill Merkle was the last Highland Park swimmer to win a state title when he prevailed in the 100 backstroke in 1986.

The meaning of the historic achievement was not lost on Obochi, who later added a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly and swam on two medal-winning relays. He helped the Giants score 89 points and finish fourth in the team standings, their best showing since taking fourth in 1959.

“It feels incredible,” Obochi said. “It’s just great to shine light on Highland Park and show that Highland Park is a great program.

“I think that’s due to our training and our hard work and also our coach. I’d like to thank him. He’s been there for me all four years swimming in high school.

“He’s been a wonderful coach, and he’s retiring this year.”

Indeed, the state meet was the final one for Sirois. He has coached for 33 years, the last 21 at Highland Park. He goes out with a 12-man senior class that has been swimming together for more than a decade.

“Kevin is a state champ, and I’m super proud of him,” Sirois said. “But every one of our seniors, they like working hard, they enjoy working hard and they have great character. We’ve got a 3.98 team GPA, and those seniors lead the way.

“I’m super proud of all of them. It’s a really special way to go out.”

Obochi led off the 200 free relay team that finished second and the meet-ending 400 free relay team that placed fifth. Ilya Rivkin, David Daniels and Danny Castle joined him in the 200 relay, and Aron Fridman, Daniels and Castle swam with him in the 400 relay.

Obochi’s four medals increased his career total to six, making him the most decorated swimmer in program history. Not bad for someone whose parents weren’t thinking about sports when they took him and his older brother Tobe to the pool.

“My parents kind of pushed me into it,” Obochi said. “They wanted their kids to be safe in the water. I was playing a bunch of other sports, too, like tennis and soccer, and then I focused on swimming because my parents wanted me to be really good at one thing. Here I am.”

Tobe Obochi, who was fourth in the 50 free and 10th in the 100 free as a senior in 2020, swims at MIT. Kevin Obochi will swim at Columbia, where he is planning to study economics.

They’ve made their parents proud.

“My brother got fourth in the 50 free, so it’s good to get a win in the family,” Kevin Obochi said. “I’m very, very excited and happy.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.