Numbers favor West leader Fremd

The Fremd boys swim team has a decided numbers advantage over much of its Mid-Suburban West Division brethren.

That means it can turn on the jets when it needs to and pull away, leaving opponents in its wake, literally and figuratively.

It happened again Friday, as the Vikings used that depth to defeat host and crosstown rival Palatine 101-85 on the Pirates' senior night.

Fremd, now 7-1 in dual meets, took three of the top four spots in five events, and went 1-2 in two of them. They also did it without Dylan Assmann, a top butterfly and relay performer, who was ill.

Contrast that with the Pirates, who took first in seven of 12 total events and like the Vikings took the top two spots in two of them. Palatine fell to 5-1 in dual meets this season.

"Today was a fantastic day," said Fremd coach Kristen Newby. "You can't come to a meet like this as a coach and not be excited, no matter how it works out. This is what competition is supposed to be, this is what a meet is supposed to look like, this is what it's supposed to feel like."

Things looked and felt pretty darn good for Newby, who had to make some late lineup changes to make up for the under-the-weather Assmann.

One of those who picked up the slack was Roshan Rajan, who won the 50-meter freestyle (25.28) and the 100 freestyle (55.95), and led off Fremd's 400 relay team that took second in 3:45.03. Joining Rajan in that foursome was Nick Nevins, Arnas Maciunas and Danny Konishi.

"Roshan really stepped it up today," Newby said. "He knew the pressure was on, and he definitely stepped up to the challenge. The whole team knew, we weren't going to win this with stud kids. We were only going to win this if everybody did what they were supposed to do."

Rajan also led off Fremd's 200 freestyle relay that won in 1:41.40 and extended the Vikings lead to an insurmountable 84-56 with three events to go. Rajan was joined by Yurasek, Kenny Benjamin and Nevins, but the real dagger was the fact that Fremd's B and C teams took second (1:46.70) and fourth (1:51.09).

"This was a really important meet for us," Rajan said. "This is one of our last steps before conference to show how deep our team is and where we are as a team. Today, really, the meet was about how the team can do in terms of coming together, because Palatine is a really good team."

Fremd also got a lot of help from its divers, led by Zach Mega, who scored 233.95, while Chase Jauch (218.60) and Ben Sammons (174.45) finished third and fourth, respectively.

"It felt good to contribute to the win against Palatine," said Mega, who carded scores of 7-8-8 in his first and fifth dives. "I'm excited to be part of such a great program."

Palatine coach John Schauble was in no way discouraged by the efforts of his charges. The Pirates were led by Alex Bartosik, who won the 200 individual medley (2:14.57) and the 100 breaststroke (1:10.56). Bartosik also anchored Palatine's 400 freestyle relay team that ended the meet with a flurry by placing first with a time of 3:43.47. Bartosik was preceded in that event by Jacob Klein, Jacob Baran and Marcus Carter-Buckman.

"It was exciting … we had some really unbelievable swims," Schauble said. "Alex Bartosik's anchor in that 400 free relay was amazing. I never look at the team score and think that's the most important thing in the world. We're looking forward to conference, we're looking forward to Barrington next week. I'm happy, and the kids swam well."

Like Newby, Schauble was scrambling with lineup changes minutes before the meet got underway due to sickness, most notably captain Conor Ehrenstrom, who was scheduled for four events.

"Luckily we haven't had any injuries, but we thought we were done with the sickness," Schauble said with a shrug. "We had to do a lot of reordering the lineup."

Another top individual performer for Palatine was Klein, who took first in both the 200 freestyle (2:01.73) and the 400 freestyle (4:21.36). Carter-Buckman, nicknamed "The Hammer," was just that in the 100 backstroke, winning in 1:01.82, well ahead of Fremd's Joey Carlisle, the runner-up at 1:04.13. Jordan Kalina prevailed in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.36.

Even though it was a loss, Bartosik was able to focus on the big picture.

"All that really mattered was swimming our hearts out and trying to beat our own goals," he said, adding that the next steps this season are clear. "(It's) Barrington, conference, sectionals and state."