Boys swimming: Cary-Grove sets a record-breaking tone at Buffalo Grove

Buffalo Grove's Fred Palffy Invitational served two main purposes for a fine blend of 16 high school boys swimming and diving teams on Saturday afternoon.

To the elite competitors, the meet serves as a nice simulation of what they can expect in the upcoming conference, sectional and state meets.

For those aspiring to one day become among the elite, it's a last chance to earn a relay spot or an individual event in the end-of-season championship meet lineup.

And for the Cary-Grove Dist. 155 team, the BG Invite was also an excellent opportunity to demonstrate its freestyle sprinting skills.

The Trojans set a pool record in winning the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:28.26. They also won the 400 free relay in 3:17.61

Though those were the only victories of the day for coach Scott Lattyak's team, they led the way to a decisive team triumph.

C-G finished at 283 points to lead Prospect (225) and Rolling Meadows (200) in the top three. Next came the West Chicago-Batavia co-op (180), followed by the Glenbard North-East co-op (178) and St. Viator (170).

Lattyak's record-breaking 200 quartet - Connor Dolezal, Cameron Castro, Kolin Fadden and Omid Babakhani - were scheduled to reassemble for the 400 free relay. But Dolezal hyperextended an elbow on a hard finish and was unavailable, so Nick Gerstbrein took that spot.

"We're a sprint freestyle team this year, and we had our eye on the pool records with the free relays," Lattyak said. "Those are definitely the ones we get pumped up for."

Other key finishes came in the medley relay, where Noah Siegmeier, Hunter Jackson, Peyton Richardson and Fadden took third in 1:42.40, and from Babkhani in the 50 free (third, 22.82) and Richardson in the 100 fly (third, 56.48) and 200 IM (fifth, 2:05.40).

Consistency was the key for Prospect, which got top-six efforts in the medley and 200 free relays, and a seventh-place finish from the 400 free relay, which featured a key 50.26 anchor split from Dan Macina.

"He's been in the 52 range all year, so that's a really big step in the right direction for Dan," said Knights coach Alfonso Lopez.

Prospect senior Jacob Kosinski was second in the 100 breast in 1:01.94, freshman Kevin Soltys excelled in both the 500 free (fifth) and 100 back (seventh), and the Knights got a 3-4 finish in diving from the Busiel brothers, Aiden (324.05) and Aaron (332.20).

Rolling Meadows senior Josh Dellorto entered the meet with some concerns over a persistent upper respiratory illness - and ended up dispatching any negative vibes by producing a batch of swims that were, simply, sick.

He started by leading off the Mustangs' second-place medley relay (1:42.40), joining Jake Pors, Lukas Slifierz and Nate Pardini.

Next for Dellorto was the 50 free and a winning 21.62 - a lifetime best, a pool record and the kind of effort that drew gasps as the time flashed on the scoreboard.

Dellorto placed second in the 100 back in a season-best time of 53.62 and wrapped up his day with an exhilarating anchor leg of 46.47 on the second-place 400 free relay with Pardini, Slifierz and Pors (3:23.01).

"He'd been deathly ill all week, so taking that into account those swims were excellent," said Rolling Meadows coach Monika Chiappetta. "We're at the point of the season everyone's really aiming for the end-of-season goals, and today was a great day for us on that level."

St. Viator senior Michael Balcerak won both his individual races and went 1-for-2 in his own pool-record chase.

He first won the 200 free in 1:43.81 - a season-best, but a tenth of a second off the pool record. But in the 100 free, he churned to victory in 46.33 - more than a half-second better than the pool record he'd established in last year's BG Invite.

It's also his best-ever non-rested time in the 100 free, where Balcerak is the defending state champ - in spite of, he says, his technique.

"If you ask the coaches, I'm pretty sure they'd say I have the worst stroke in all of IHSA swimming," he said with a smile.

Fortunately for St. Viator, Balcerak more than compensates with devastatingly effective starts and turns, which helped the Lions to a runner-up finish in the 200 free relay. Marcus Lannie, Hunter Reed, Michael Ruben and Balcerak finished in 1:32.04, with Balcerak supplying a 21.11 split.

Ruben, a junior, had two terrific individual swims as well. He placed fourth in the 200 IM (2:03.83) and then won the 500 free in 4:58.98, both season-best clockings.

Consider Ruben among the newcomers to the elite. Asked if he'd ever won an event in a big invitational before, he shrugged and said with a grin, "I honestly have no idea."

West Chicago-Batavia co-op senior Keegan Hawkins is no stranger to top achievement, and he left his mark here with a pair of winning individual efforts and a relay triumph, too.

In the 200 IM, he won in 1:56.56. In the 100 breast, Hawkins produced a season-best 58.69 and a pool record.

More important to this veteran of the state meet was the medley relay's success, as Kyle Wofford, Hawkins, Teegan Cook and Brian Culloton won in 1:40.83.

"Honestly, this season it's not as much about me," Hawkins said. "I've been to state and I'm pretty confident I'll be able to get back - getting under a minute in the breaststroke today makes me feel pretty secure about that.

"But last year at the state meet, it was just me. I don't want to be going alone this year, so that's the focus."

Even without a relay, Hawkins may have some company at state. Cook, a freshman, produced big West Chicago-Batavia points with a victory in the 100 fly (53.96).

Lake Park got its top finishes from accomplished sophomore Ben Kimmel. Another state meet veteran, he's well ahead of his pace from last year. Kimmel won the 100 back in 51.58 - just a couple of tenths off his lifetime best - and also placed second in the 200 IM (2:00.09).

"I think he's having more fun this year," said Lancers coach Dan Witteveen. "High school swimming is very different from club, and it's a definite adjustment. I can see that he's enjoying it more this time around."

West Aurora's Cael McLaren earned third-place finishes in a pair of races, the 200 IM (2:00.72) and 100 breast (1:02.56).

Peter Andreev was a force for the Glenbard North/Glenbard East co-op, taking second in both the 50 free (22.18) and 100 free (48.06). Bennet Witteveen was second in the 200 free (1:48.87) and third in the 100 free (49.98). Andreev and Witteveen also had legs on the third-place 400 free relay (3:24.71).

Mundelein coach Rahul Sethna applauded the winning diving effort of Kyle Ehemann (362.05) and looked forward to the opportunity to bring the expectations up for his young but improving team.

"Against teams like this, scoring points at all is great," he said. "Next year, getting swimmers into those final-eight heats - that's what we need to be shooting for."

Senior Nick Konstantos had the top finish for Wheeling with fourth place in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.91).

Buffalo Grove coach Tom Cooney had plenty of reasons to be happy, foremost Daniel Verdico's runner-up finish in the 500 free (5:01.47), and said just about every Bison performance was a season-best.

"The last couple of meets, we'd experimented with some different lineups, with kids in events they don't normally swim," Cooney explained. "But today, it was kind of getting back to the things we specialize in.

"And as I told our guys, every heat here is going to be competitive. Either you're going to be pushing someone - or someone's going to be pushing you. I think that brought out the best in us."