Fab four smashes relay record in Meadows' victory

The record-board rearranging continued for Rolling Meadows' boys swimming team on Saturday.

Probably the most important change didn't have anything to do with time, but rather final placement. Never before in coach Monika Chiappetta's 17 years had the Mustangs taken top team honors in the Wild Stallion Jamboree.

But there was Rolling Meadows, 3 points ahead of defending Mid-Suburban East champ Prospect on Saturday, and well ahead of strong teams from Hersey, Cary-Grove and Lane Tech.

The Mustangs finished with 189 points and the Knights with 186 in a relay-based meet which factors a frosh level into the final team score and includes just one individual event, the 50-yard freestyle.

“It's satisfying because this is a meet where you have to work together, and I feel like my guys really did that,” said Chiappetta. “It's not so much winning that makes it a good day for us, it's seeing these boys work so well with each other.”

Case in point: The 400-yard freestyle relay.

Kuba Debkowski, Filip Pancerz, Jake Barson and Josh Dellorto each delivered sub-50-second splits toward a winning time of 3:19.00, lopping more than 3.5 seconds off the team record set in 2002.

“I've been looking at that record a long time — too long,” said Chiappetta.

Key to the quartet's development has been Barson's improvement in the freestyle. Already one of the state's elite breaststrokers, he's found another gear to give Rolling Meadows four first-rate freestyle sprinters.

Debkowski and Pancerz are making steady gains after breakout years last winter, and the arrival of Dellorto, a freshman, gives Rolling Meadows depth few in the Mid-Suburban League can match.

Barson also split 26.94 on Rolling Meadows' winning 200 medley relay (1:42.63) and had a leg on the winning 200 breaststroke relay. The Mustangs added a victory in the 300 free relay.

“We really felt pretty sure we'd get the relay record today,” said Barson. “We're hoping it's the first of a bunch of records to go down this year.”

That's roughly the same goal for Elk Grove senior Colin Williams, who already got a good taste of record-breaking last season on his way to an all-state finish in the 100 fly.

One of the team records he's after this year is the 50 free, and he came darn close to it on Saturday. Williams won it in 22.36, just a couple of tenths off the program-best mark.

Elk Grove coach Keith Kura likes the intensity he's seeing from Williams, who just the night before had broken the team record in the 500 freestyle after getting matched up with Dellorto in an MSL East dual.

On Saturday, Williams found himself next to another freshman standout, Hersey's Michael Petro, as they both took 100 butterfly relay legs. It finished roughly even, and a potential rematch in an upcoming dual would be well worth watching.

“That,” said Williams, “will be a good race.”

Petro took second place in the frosh 50 free (22.61), but in a time that would have placed him second in the varsity event. And he helped Hersey coach Dick Mortensen extend a sprinting tradition, as the Huskies won the 100 free relay in 43.47 — the sixth straight year they've done so.

Petro also led Hersey's 200 fly relay and 4 x 100 IM relays to victory. The Huskies finished third in the team standings with 167 points.

Prospect's strong showing is the result of good balance throughout the lineup. Senior Sam Gabriel has been a bright spot in the early going for the Knights and he's already improved up on his best time in the 100 back, his best event.

Gabriel is helping that overall team balance by bringing some top-end sprint speed, too. Gabriel finished fourth in the 50 free (23.30).

“Everything's feeling good right now,” said Gabriel. “I think with the 50, I've just been able to generate a little bit more arm speed, and that's been making the difference.”

Prospect won the 400 medley relay (3:51.79) and the class 200 medley relay (1:49.84) and was consistently among the top three finishers throughout the meet.

Knights coach Alfonso Lopez was pleased with the outcome, if not entirely delighted by the dress code. Many of his swimmers raced while wearning caps which featured a dorsal fin.

“Kind of my idea,” said Gabriel, with a smile. “We had some fun with it — and this is a meet where you should have some fun.”

Cary-Grove finished fifth with 116.5 points and got a tie for seventh place in the 50 free from Scott Eibel (23.70).

Jacobs, led by returning state qualifier Francis Ogaban, won the 200 backstroke relay in 1:49.28. Ogaban placed second in the varsity 50 in 22.68.