Fremd topples Palatine on shared senior night

A small part of the high school experience ended Friday for Marcus Carter-Buckman, and he didn't mind tearing up just a bit.

Carter-Buckman, a senior on the Palatine boys swim team, saw the dual-meet portion of his career come to an end Friday, as the Pirates fell 127-59 to crosstown rival Fremd on a shared senior night for both teams.

But it was the memories he preferred to dwell on, instead of the defeat.

"It's so weird … I was feeling like a freshman yesterday," said Carter-Buckman, who won the 100-yard freestyle (49.12) and 100 backstroke (55.62) Friday. "I can't believe this is the last one.

"There's not anything like it," he said. "The teamwork and how close we are, I've never experienced anything like it, and I'll never forget it."

Fremd senior diver Chase Jauch echoed those sentiments.

"I'm really happy with where I left off," said Jauch, who finished second with 234 points, behind sophomore teammate Zach Mega's 273.35. "This season has been so progressive, I've done so much, and as a team we've accomplished so much, and it's been a great experience being able to dive here for four years."

Fremd finished the dual-meet portion of its schedule with a 6-0-1 overall record and a 4-0-1 mark in the Mid-Suburban League West Division, tying the Vikings with Barrington for the West title.

And while Jauch and his fellow seniors were big contributors, it was the underclassmen that won the day for the Vikings.

Take freshman Conor Dunne, who battled Palatine senior Adam Smith neck and neck in the 500 freestyle before finally prevailing in the final few yards to win 4:58.84, just .12 ahead of Smith.

Then there was freshman Yoochan Lee in the 100 breaststroke, who led the entire way and won in 1:02.06, just .28 ahead of sophomore teammate Alex Schillinger. Palatine senior Oleksiy Korniychuk checked in third at 1:03.07.

Or how about junior Nick Seroni, who won the 200 individual medley in 1:59.07, edging Palatine junior Alex Bartosik (2:01.79) and Korniychuk (2:03.60). Seroni also won the 100 butterfly in 52.42, with junior teammate Arnas Maciunas (54.81) and senior Dylan Assmann (55.60) in second and third, respectively.

"We have an amazing group of seniors, but we have a young team," Fremd coach Kristen Newby said. "That senior leadership has really trained them well for the future, to be ready to take this on when they're gone, and that's what we saw tonight."

For Palatine coach John Schauble, it was gratifying to see his seniors play a prominent role Friday. Carter-Buckman, Bartosik, Korniychuk and senior Jordan Kalina took second in the 200 medley relay in 1:41.38, while Carter-Buckman, Smith, Korniychuk and Bartosik did the same in the 400 freestyle relay (3:20.39).

"Marcus had a great night," said Schauble, whose team finished 5-2 overall in duals and 3-2 in the MSL West. "He did very well. He's coming down with a cold or something and he did great. Adam Smith, amazing night. He broke 5 (minutes) in the 500, his 200 was awesome, his relays were awesome. All the seniors had some really good times."

Now that the dual-meet season is over, the ante is upped significantly for both teams, with the varsity conference meet at Barrington Feb. 13, and sectionals and state the subsequent weekends.

"We've got to finesse," Newby said. "We have to fix the little things we're doing wrong. We're not perfect. Tonight we had mistakes and at Barrington we had mistakes, but we have to try to trim the mistakes down."

Buffalo Grove d. Hersey: The Bison wrapped up their East duals with a 100-86 victory over the visiting Huskies.

Mark Poirier anchored the winning 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays, and he also claimed individual wins in the 50 free (23.01) and 100 fly (57.06).

Kris Donov was a double winner for Hersey (200 IM, 100 back), and BG's Jack Delattre won diving with a fine score of 257.40.

The teams combined for a big win, too, raising more than $1,400 for non-profit organization "A Soldier's Journey Home." The funds go toward a project for Lance Corporal Cody Evans, who suffered multiple injuries while serving in Afghanistan and needs to have his home modified.

Barrington d. Schaumburg: Colin Cross, Colin O'Leary and John Lagoni each won their individual events to help the visiting Broncos past Schaumburg 137-49. Barrington completes it MSL West duals with a 4-0-1 record and shares the divisional crown with Fremd.

Wheeling d. Elk Grove: The Wildcats wrapped up a second-place MSL East finish with a 114-54 victory over visiting Elk Grove.

Double individual winners for the Wildcats included Ricky Reeve and Jake Noel.

Conant d. Hoffman Estates: The host Cougars won all the relays and got a strong winning effort in the 100-yard from Justin Lim (55.70) to claim a 122-59 victory.

Hoffman Estates' Andy Hobar took top honors in both the 200 free (1:57.02) and 100 breast (1:03.59).