St. Charles North savors UEC championship
St. Charles North opened and closed the Upstate Eight Conference boys swimming meet in style.
The North Stars won the 200-yard medley relay by over three seconds, then edged out host St. Charles East on the final leg of the 400 freestyle relay to put the finishing touch on a satisfying 301-269 victory Saturday over the runner-up Saints.
The West Chicago/Batavia co-op took third with 202 points while West Aurora tallied 179 points in a solid fourth place showing.
"We had a great meet from start to finish," said North Stars coach Rob Rooney. "It's nice for these guys who are seniors. They started out their freshman year as conference champions and now they're exiting as conference champs."
"We lost pretty badly in the dual meet to St. Charles East this season so we were a little out for revenge. I think we got that today, so it felt really good," said North Stars senior Stephen Hutchinson, who won the 50 freestyle and took second in the 100 butterfly.
St. Charles North senior Joseph Myhre was a double winner in the 100 freestyle (46.76) and 200 freestyle (1:41.64) while freshman William Myhre captured the 100 breaststroke title in 57.95. They also swam together in the 400 free relay.
"I can't say enough about the Myhre boys," Rooney said. "It's so awesome when you can compete not only with your teammates, but with a brother, that's cool. Those things cannot be replaced."
Brad Whitehurst added a second place 4:52.21 in the 500 freestyle and Michael Burke placed second in diving behind St. Charles East senior Andrew Lewarchick, who broke the conference record with a 461.10 total.
After a third place effort in the 100 butterfly, St. Charles East sophomore Mitchell Milosch powered his way to a 1-2 finish with teammate John Tarpey in the 100 backstroke.
"I started off pretty slow. I needed to get into the meet a little bit. The team really pulled me through," Mitchell Milosch said.
Matt Nagler, John Cranfill, Nick Boryk and Mitchell Milosch also teamed for a winning 1:28.21 for the Saints in the 200 free relay.
"We missed in a couple of spots, but it's something we're working on. We're trying to get all the parts to mesh together a little better," Saints coach Joe Cabel said. "Mitchell winning the 100 back and winning the 200 free relay-that was pretty cool.
The West Chicago/Batavia co-op made its mark as sophomore Garrett Clasen posted a conference record 1:54.07 in the 200 IM and placed second in the 100 breaststroke.
"I saw the heat sheet going in. I saw 1:55 and thought that was definitely doable for how I've been doing this season," Clasen said.
"At the conference level, the is the first time we have a record, so it's exciting," coach Nicole Cleveland said. "Garrett's looking strong and hopefully he'll be looking stronger in the next couple of weeks."
Ryan Sego collected the 100 butterfly title at 52.98 while Keegan Hawkins was a winner (4:51.46) in the 500 freestyle. The 200 Medley relay team finished second and Cooper Hawkins placed third in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.
"We had some season-best times and some lifetime best times. There are a few things to work on, but overall it was a very successful meet," Cleveland said.
West Aurora highlights included third place performances from Tyler McLaren in the 500 freestyle and Owen Zant in the 100 backstroke.
Ethan Wahl and Martin Ambre joined Zant and McLaren for a third place Blackhawk finish in the 200 medley relay.
"To finish fourth overall is great," said West Aurora coach Chris Ranallo. "It's a young team, but we're working hard and doing an excellent job. I told the guys that some of their times might not be really close, but they still got the opportunity to race against great programs."
The Bartlett/Streamwood co-op took fifth (145 points) with Ryan Griffin notching third in the 50 free (22.73) and fourth in the 100 free (50.91). The Sabrehawks also took third in the 200 free relay.
South Elgin (93 points) and Elgin (86 points) rounded out the field.