Naperville Central qualifies in numbers
Postseason winning is all about the process for the Naperville Central boys swimming team.
"Don't look too far ahead and don't rest on current success," said the Redhawks' Scott Pieper. "Live and train in the moment."
On Saturday the Redhawks seized the moment and took a giant step forward toward next week's state meet by winning the loaded Metea Valley sectional.
It was the fourth year in a row the Redhawks came away with a sectional championship.
"Most of the boys did a really good job of getting out there and racing today," said Naperville Central coach Mike Adams. "But you always want more. Today, they got some success for all the hard work they did, but this is only a good start. We cannot be satisfied with what we did today. We have to be better next week."
In winning the title the Redhawks won both the 200 medley and the 200 freestyle relay and qualified for state in the 400 freestyle.
They also qualified 11 individual swims and took first place in the diving behind Jake Ryor's 432.35-point performance.
Jimmy Fox won the 500 freestyle in 4:37.90 swimming in the penultimate heat.
Teammate Michael Stern also qualified from the same heat.
"This year Mike Adams is giving us a lot of harder distance sets," Fox said. "Michael (Stern) and I are working really hard together. We're kind of rivals, but we're good friends. It's nice to have someone to train with."
Piper gave the Redhawks the win in the 200 IM, swimming a 1:53.85. He also qualified in the 100 backstroke by finishing second to Metea Valley's Connor Mitsch.
"Connor and I are teammates on Mavericks, so I was happy to see him go that fast," Piper said. "As a team, we had a lot of good swims today. But we're looking to what we can do to improve next week."
Piper also led off the victorious 200 medley relay, which finished in 1:35.03. His mates in that race were Kyle Jackson, Eric Gerlach and Phillip Sajaev. And it was Sajaev, Nick Walker, Jackson and Gerlach who completed the 200 free relay in 1:25.36.
The Redhawks scored 264 points over second-place Neuqua Valley, which earned 233.50 points. Metea Valley was third with 194, followed by Naperville North with 153, Waubonsie Valley with 147.50 and Marmion was sixth with 112.
Neuqua Valley's Joey Dalesandro was another big winner at sectionals, setting school and pool records in taking the title in both the 50 and the 100 freestyle.
He did the 50 in 21.28, finishing ahead of his teammate runner-up Matt Ciezczak.
Dalesandro's time in the 100 free was 45.76. Naperville Central's Gerlach and Nick Rosenstiehl were second and third. And JP McAveeney of Benet qualified for state by finishing fourth in the 100, and he also qualified in the 100 breaststroke.
Neuqua's Jacob Cunningham was also outstanding with a 1:42.86 to win the 200 freestyle. He finished second to Fox in the 500 free.
The Wildcats' Cunningham, Kyri Chen, Ciezczak and Dalesandro outraced the competition with a time of 309.12 in the 400 freestyle relay.
"Our relays are looking good," Dalesandro said. "Our guys are getting hot now, so our goal is to make a run at a trophy next week."
Metea Valley's Alex Dillman was the host Mustangs' other winner in addition to Mitsch, taking the 100 butterfly in 51.32.
Marmion's two freestyle relay teams qualified for state, and the Cadets also received qualifying swims from sophomore William Kamps in the 200 IM and the 500 free, Nolan Fergus in the 100 butterfly and Gary Rockwood in the 100 breaststroke.
"Kamps is our stud," said Marmion coach Bill Schalz. "We expect big things from him. Next year, if he gets the wind in his sails a little bit, he can go top six in both events."
Tyler McLaren's 1:57.75 in the 200 IM gave West Aurora its first swimming state qualifier since 2006 (the Blackhawks qualified a diver in 2010).
"Tyler has worked his butt off," said West Aurora coach Chris Ranallo. "He missed by a second last year, so he came back really determined. His goal is to score by his senior year."