Fine relay finish helps Fremd tie Barrington
When asked what the difference would be in his team's big showdown Friday with Fremd, Barrington boys swim coach John Valentine didn't hesitate.
"It's going to come down to the relays," he said.
How right he was.
Fremd's 400-yard freestyle relay team of Nick Nevins, Conor Dunne, Nick Seroni and Arnas Maciunas had to come from behind to win the event. That, coupled with the third-place finish of teammates Alexander Nicholas, Pranith Bottu, Joe Mayer and Alex Schillinger, allowed the Vikings to tie Barrington 93-93 in a thriller.
Both teams are now 2-0-1 in West duals, and 4-0-1 overall. Barring an upset over the next few weeks, they should tie for the division title.
"Every coach will tell you that the 400 free relay is probably the most exciting event of a swim meet," Fremd coach Kristin Newby said. "And we as coaches, we knew what was coming up. We knew our kids had to tie it, or we were going to lose. So we asked them to give us everything they can."
"We look at this is as just another dual meet, and it kind of prepares us for what we need to make changes for going into conference," Valentine added. "So with that in mind, we accomplished our objectives today."
It didn't take long to see this meet would be a see-saw affair.
Barrington's Mitch Gavars (4:48.95) and Jeremy Kleinjan (4:54.42) went 1-2 in the 500 freestyle, which broke a 55-55 tie and gave the Broncos a 65-61 lead with four events to go.
That lead didn't last long, as Fremd's 200 free relays finished first and third, with the tandem of Nevins, Yoochan Lee, Benjamin and Nicholas winning in 1:29.93, thus giving the Vikings the lead back at 71-69 with three events to go.
Fast-forward to the 100 breaststroke, and Barrington reclaimed the lead at 89-83, with Colin Cross winning in 1:00.51 and teammate Max Gersten taking third in 1:02.90.
That set up a contentious - and loud - 400 free relay to close the meet. Barrington's John Lagoni and Gavars staked the Broncos to a slim lead. But then third leg Seroni managed to seize the lead in lap 12, and he and fourth leg Maciunas held it, giving Fremd the event win - and, as it turned out, a meet tie that almost felt like a victory.
Emphasis on almost.
"I said earlier, I'm not disappointed (in the tie), but I'm also not satisfied," said Seroni, who won the 200 IM (1:59.06) and took second in the 100 butterfly (52.68). "As a family, we just kept talking about this meet and kept hyping it up, and I think we're really proud of ourselves."
The Vikes got a big boost from diving, as Zach Mega 226.85 led a 1-2-3 Fremd finish.
Lagoni, who won the 200 free (1:44.82) and the 100 free (48.56), preferred to look at the big picture instead of the tie.
"I think this is an awesome starting point for our end of season," he said. "This is a big competition meet for us. There are a lot of good swimmers on Fremd. We're in good shape."