Koto, Stevenson take winning position in NSC
He was understandably a little tired after having just competed in the 200-yard freestyle, and then the 500 freestyle a few events later.
Upon reflection, though, it's definitely a position Stevenson senior boys swimming team co-captain Nick Koto has no issues with.
"Yeah, a bit tired but I swam good swims," said Koto, who posted season-best times in finishing second in both the 200 free (1:43.88) and 500 free (4:45.65). Koto also had a season-best split time of 22.26 when he anchored the 200 free relay, which also finished second. There, he joined forces with Alex Kapecki, Viktor Makarskyy and Dimitriy Pelutis.
"I was 12th in 200 last year (at the state meet) and 11th in the 500 the year before," said Koto. "I really want to finish in the top six this year, so I've been concentrating on not on getting caught up in the actual race, but rather just swimming my race and at a pace I'm happy with."
Koto's performance was one of many good ones by the Patriots, who edged out Lake Forest for a sixth NSC title in seven years. The Pats collected 337 points, while the runner-up Scouts tallied 317.
"It's always fun to beat a rival (Lake Forest)," said Stevenson head coach Greg Hartman. "The NSC meet is good for your team's depth-check. We're a young and hungry group and this team is a lot of fun to watch. Our goal is to obviously get as many guys through to state next week."
Freshman Nick Baginski also had himself a terrific meet after posting a winning and personal-best time of 53.42 in the 100 butterfly. That was followed by a second-place effort in the 50 freestyle, where he swam a 22.09. Alan Fang was Stevenson's other conference champion, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.76.
Libertyville had a solid meet, finishing third with 176 points. The Wildcats have several state hopefuls, including senior Matt Harrington, who picked up a pair of championship medals. Harrington first won the 200 in a school and conference record time of 1:40.33. He later followed that by anchoring the first-place 200 freestyle relay team, joining Justin Fu, Eric Turner and Noah Jamieson.
"I'm still doing 10 practices a week and don't get speed until I'm rested," said Harrington, who heads to Princeton next fall. "I'm looking to have all guns firing next week (at sectionals)."
Libertyville's Mark Boynton picked up second-place medals in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.04) and the 200 medley relay, where he teamed with Jamieson, Fu, and Turner to swim a 1:40.49.
"I'm really happy for the kids. They've been working hard and they're swimming fast," Cats coach Mike Cunningham said.
Look out for Vernon Hills next week at sectionals. The Cougars have one of their strongest lineups ever and look to qualify for state in multiple events.
"We're super-excited about sectionals," said coach Adam Lueken. "We're tapered and will be blistering next week and rockin' ready. We're also really excited because this is the first time we've beaten Mundelein at the NSC meet."
Jeffrey Zhang is definitely one of the Cougars to watch out for having posted four personal-best times. Zhang's afternoon was highlighted by third-place finishes in the 100 backstroke (55.64), and then the third-place 200 medley relay, where his split was 25.97 after joining forces with brother Derek, Brian Rabinowitz, and Conrad Kocoj. Kocoj also swam a personal-best 49.10 in taking second in the 100 freestyle.
And speaking of the Mustangs, Mike Ward was the highest finisher after picking up a second-place medal in the 100 backstroke (55.32).
"We're young and right at the edge, and we have to do better," Mustangs coach Rahul Sethna said.
Sethna said another standout for Mundelein on Saturday was Brand Kavanaugh, who dropped major times in both the 100 freestyle (52.50) and the 200 individual medley (2:12.54).
Mundelein earned 142 points to finish fifth behind Vernon Hills, which tallied 143.
Warren was sixth at the meet, finishing with 139 points. The Blue Devils' highest finisher was Tanner Nash, fourth in both the 100 freestyle (50.08) and 200 freestyle relay, where he was accompanied by Matthew Rastovac, Patrick Stingle, and Sean Stockwell.
Libertyville, Warren and Mundelein will be at the Vernon Hills sectional next weekend, while Stevenson will compete for state spots at the Barrington sectional.