Boys swimming and diving: Big fun as Hersey tops Prospect
There was no doubt the boys swimming and diving teams from Hersey and Prospect were both taking Thursday's showdown dual meet seriously.
It may have benefitted Hersey, however, to keep mixing in heavy doses of pure fun.
"Every time I've tried to get serious with this group of guys, it's kind of backfired on me," said Hersey coach Dick Mortensen.
Keeping it light seemed to help as the Huskies enjoyed a most satisfying outcome in a matchup of two Mid-Suburban East teams who'd yet to lose a divisional dual this season.
A terrific first half of the meet, including a pool record from the 200-yard medley relay of Michael Petro, Spencer Burkhalter, Gavin Hill and Jack Blumenfeld, helped Hersey get an edge. They maintained it the rest of the way despite a strong finish from Prospect, the MSL East's two-time defending champs.
Hersey won 100-86 and is a single victory away from gaining its first divisional title since 2011. The Huskies have their final MSL dual next week against Elk Grove.
Petro was a force, as usual. In addition to the winning medley leg, he anchored another pool-record effort in the 400 free relay as Hill, Blumenfeld, Ethan Marunde and Petro finished in 3:23.31.
On senior night for the Huskies, the LSU-bound Petro also had wins in the 200 IM (1:57.32) and 100 fly (51.34). Another key for Hersey was sophomore Gavin Hill, who won the both shortest race (the 50 free, in 22.89) and the longest (the 500 free, in 5:05.11).
Also essential for the Huskies was senior Josh Irvine, a winner in the 200 free (1:52.53) and second in the 100 fly (55.44). Hersey secured wins from Blumenfeld in the 100 free (50.70) and in diving with a sharp 277.80 score from junior Nick Nocita - and it needed all those points thanks to protect against Prospect's surge at meet's end.
The Knights' bounce-back started with the winning 200 free relay of Jake Kosinski, Nick Lagowski, Chris Partipilo and Reidar Erbe (1:33.32). Freshman Kevin Soltys had the top 100 backstroke (56.72), and Kosinski won the 100 breast (1:02.13) before Hersey closed it out with the 400 relay victory.
"We had something like 19, 20 season-best times tonight," said Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez. "I know it's disappointing on one level for our guys, and we lost a bunch of close ones tonight. But even in the close races that didn't go our way, the performances were good."
The younger classes were well represented by both squads too. Prospect's Soltys was second in the 500 free (5:10.85), and Partipilo was second in the 200 IM (2:12.73) and third in the 100 free (52.08) in what Lopez called "break-out efforts."
Hersey's youth movement was led by Marunde, second in the 200 free and third in the 100 breast, and Dylan Kase, who came up with a key third-place finish in the 500 free.
Adding to the competitive element was the fact that both teams' home pool is Prospect.
No points were awarded for the extremely enthusiastic support shown by both teams during diving, but the creativity and diversity of those demonstrations - along with the sheer decibel levels generated during what is normally a sedate portion of a dual meet - ought to have won both teams something.
"That's what's great about this meet," said Mortensen. "You know there's going to be good races, and it's not just for who's going to win - it's for those third-, fourth- and fifth-place points, because everybody knows there's no margin for error."
Prospect's Kosinski, a two-time state qualifer in the 100 breast, is swimming faster than ever and seems poised for a big finish to his high school career. As Hersey celebrated its big win with a teamwide immersion in the diving well, he saw one thing he'd like to take away from the outcome.
"Credit to Hersey - they swam really well and deserve it," Kosinski said. "For us, I think sometimes we let negativity creep in a little bit too much. When we keep everything positive, we're fine."
For Hersey's seniors, the positivity demonstrated by Petro, Irvine, R.J. Quinn, Cameron Kasper, Colin Russell and Nickolas Koutris just might have made the difference. A program that has always been competitive in the MSL East as Petro's top-end talent has developed sure looks like the best team in the division in his final go-round.
"It's absolutely fantastic," said Irvine. "For us, tonight was a dream come true."
• Benet Academy eked out a 49-45 victory over host St. Viator on the Lions' senior night in a meet which featured a pair of winning efforts from senior standout Michael Balcerak.
The defending state champ in the 100 free, Balcerak on this night won the 500 freestyle in 4:36.93 and the 100 back in 54.03. Other Lions winners included Michael Ruben in the 200 IM (2:05.27) and 100 fly (56.71) along with the 200 medley relay of Adam Domagala, Hunter Reed, Michael Wendling and Balcerak (1:45.74).