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Libertyville's seniors enjoy last dual with Vernon Hills

Some of their fondest memories are insightful, while others verge on hilarious.

With the heaviest of training finished and tapering for the state meet starting in just a couple of weeks, Wednesday night at Libertyville High was a chance to let the hair down and share a few laughs while honoring the seniors as neighboring Vernon Hills stopped by for a nonconference boys swimming and diving dual meet.

Some of these swimmers do some crazy stuff - such as Ben Sutter, who last year gulped pool water at practice in order to induce throwing up because he hadn't felt well.

"I was going to throw up in the pool - but don't worry, I made it to the trash can," reflected Sutter, who won the 200-yard freestyle (2:10.79) in the JV division Wednesday night and was on the second-place 400 free relay, joining Colin McKibben, Jake Humbert and Andrew Yan to touch in 3:56.36. "You have some tumultuous times, but in the end, the thing I'll remember the most is you're all still friends at the end of the day."

Nick Harrington had a more conservative remembrance, perhaps, of his four years swimming at LHS.

"It's been a wild ride but winning sectionals my sophomore year really stands out," said Harrington, who paired with Nathan Valley, Billy Bennett and Colin Miller to win the 200 medley relay (1:43.60). He also won the 100 fly in 56.94. "It's different being a senior because you don't have any more chances. This is it and I'm excited and confident about the work I've put in. It's sad that it's ending but I want to explode!"

The Cats ended up taking a 130-55 decision over the Cougars.

Bennett also won the 100 breast (1:00.35), edging out Vernon Hills' Matt Huse (1:01.38).

Sean Coughlin took top honors in both the 200 freestyle (1:51.23) and the 100 freestyle (49.33). He also swam the third leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:32.28), where he paired with Valley, Jack Otto, and Austin Stevenson.

Coughlin finished the evening by joining Miller, Joe Eads and Stevenson to touch first in the 400 free relay (3:28.73). Eads had pulled ahead during the second leg to help the Cats edge out the Vernon Hills' quartet of Caleb Thomson, David Utsis, Kevin Cronin and Calvin Yoon.

"This is always a lot of fun going against our neighbors. There's a lot of camaraderie," said Cougars coach Adam Lueken. "We're still working and chipping away at it with the hopes of getting our medley relays and some individuals (to state)."

Stevenson also has high hopes of making the state meet next month; he picked up victories in the 50 freestyle (22.62) and 100 backstroke (1:00.16).

Libertyville's Lawrence Wang won the 200 IM after touching in 2:11.62, while William Gordon won the 500 freestyle (5:29.30) and Cam Edmunds won diving (205.30).

In addition to Miller, Bennett, Coughlin, Sutter, Harrington, Otto, Stevenson and Valley, other seniors that bid farewell to the Cats swimming and diving program include Connor Shin, Jack Czajka, Carl Michelotti, Danny O'Hara, Jake Prillaman, Adam Sparks, Max Kratcoski, and Peter Wacnik. Michelotti, Coughlin, and Bennett served as co-captains, while Coughlin earned the team's Sportsmanship Award.

"This has been a great group. They really motivate each other and I can't say enough about them," said Cats second-year coach Amanda Pechauer.

Vernon Hills' seniors were also paid tribute for their dedication and hard work. They include Yoon, Cronin, Bryan Shin, Josh Lopez, Joseph Zhang, Jackson Murrie, Daniel Yang, Kevin Diaz, TaeHo Kim and Albert Madrzyk.

Support and encouragement was plentiful throughout the evening, especially after the Cougars' Charlie Halperin, an athlete with disabilities, swam two regular JV 2 events. Both were the fourth leg of the 200-medley and 200-free relay, where he finished each race to a rousing ovation by everyone in attendance.

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