Boys swimming / Northwest roundup

Fresh off final exams, Conant’s boys swimming team is midway through a different kind of test, this one in the pool.

Call it a pre-final.

Coach Brian Drenth used Friday night’s dual against visiting Palatine as a way to help determine who will be swimming which events, and at which levels, in the season’s championship meets in just a few short weeks.

Part II of the pre-final is today at Olympic Pool in Arlington Heights for the Hersey Invitational, which begins at noon. And much has yet to be decided for the Cougars.

“Tomorrow is big for us,” said Drenth, who’s trying to sort through some 45 swimmers and find the best combination to swim at varsity and JV conference meets, not to mention which specific meet to target for each swimmer’s end-of-season peak. “We’ve got a lot of decisions to make — a lot of those decisions will be made by the performances.”

There were plenty of good ones Friday night, and Conant powered past Palatine 123-62.

Freshman Jonathan Burke had a personal-best in the 500 free, winning in 4:54.66. He also won the 200 free.

Alan Wojciechowski won the 100 fly in 56.83 and had a leg on the Conant’s winning medley relay (1:44.66).

Brandon Grzgorek, Matt Nagorzanski and Nick Rzuczkowski produced a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 breaststroke, and Rzuczkowski also won the 200 IM.

Chad Woytus won the 100 free and had legs on the medley and 400 free relays.

And senior Palmer Lynch won the 50 free in 22.64 — a swim which would convert to about 22 flat from a starting block and would place him among the state’s top sprinters.

Many of the same swimmers who provided the depth to lead Conant to the MSL West Division crown last season are now providing the quality at the top of the lineup.

“It’s really exciting,” said Lynch, who hopes his season finishes with a top-six placement in the 50 free at the state meet. “It’s competitive within our team, and everybody’s really pulling for one another.”

How competitive is it? Martin Pozniak set a sophomore team record in the 100 backstroke, winning the varsity event in 57.24. His record may be short-lived, as another soph, Alex Shozda, gets a shot at breaking the record today at Hersey. Shozda placed second on Friday in 59.06.

Most impressive is that both Pozniak and Shozda competed on Conant’s winning 200 free relay just moments before the backstroke.

“Tonight was all about us trying to find out who’s where,” said Drenth. “Our guys are challenging themselves, and probably more importantly, they’re challenging each other.”

Palatine’s challenge of late has been staying healthy, as illness has taken its toll since holiday training concluded. But coach Kyle Sorenson is pleased with both the individual and collective gains he’s seen from his group.

“My guys have been getting better all season long,” Sorenson said. “They’ve been working really hard and we’re making progress.”

Though Conant was a winner in every event, the Pirates were quite competitive in spots. Kamil Mulawa placed second in both the 200 and 100 freestyles, Dylan Weissmann was second in the 50 free and Dan Sommerfeld was second in the 200 IM.

Beyond that, the Pirates, who will compete today in Hinsdale Central’s Invitational, are making strides that don’t always show up against a quality opponent like Conant. In the 100 backstroke, for instance, Conant’s Pozniak, Shozda and David Wollschalger finished 1-2-3, but the event was still a success from Palatine’s standpoint. The Pirates’ top finisher was Robert Hank in 1:00.63

“At the start of the season, our backstrokers were in the 1:08 range,” said Sorenson. “Now we’ve got a couple of guys that are routinely down around 1:01, 1:02. The work they’re putting in is making a difference.”

Hersey d. Wheeling: The Huskies kept their string of MSL East victories alive by hanging on for a 99-87 victory over host Wheeling.

Hersey sophomore Jeff Ruffin won the 200-yard free (1:50.11) and the 100 free (50.96) and had legs on the winning 200 and 400 free relays. Other Hersey winners included Alex Roznai (200 IM, 100 fly) and Jamey Hill (500 free, 100 back).

Wheeling won the medley relay with Bryce Maczko, Shane McDade, Scott Lunardini and Andrew Eiter. Individual winners for the Wildcats were McDade (50 free and 100 breast) and Clark Jensen (diving).

Schaumburg d. Fremd: Fremd’s Andrew King won the 200-yard free (1:53.65) and the 100 backstroke (1:00.56) as the visiting Vikings earned a 103-81 victory.

Barrington d. Hoffman Estates: The visiting Broncos had too much depth for the Hawks in a 120-65 victory.

Sophomore Kyle Ujiye had legs on all three winning relays for Barrington, which also had winners in Connor Kobida (200 IM, 100 breaststroke), Leo Hayden (100 fly), Tommy Clement (100 back) and Nolan Presmyk (diving).

Hoffman Estates’ Nick Jessee won the 200 free and 400 free, and the Hawks’ Adam Pasnicki won the 400 free.

BG d. Rolling Meadows: Ian Rodriguez won the 50 free (22.84), 100 fly (55.38) and had legs on host Buffalo Grove’s winning 200 and 400 free relays to help the Bison past the Mustangs 122-62.

Kevin Fitzsimons was a double winner for Rolling Meadows (200 free, 500 free).

Prospect d. Elk Grove: The visiting Knights got a 1-2 finish in the 200 medley relay and went on to a 118-65 victory over the Grens.

Carl Sugihara won the 50 free (22.29), the 100 free (48.82) and had legs on the Elk Grove’s winning 200 and 400 free relays.