Boys swimming: Fremd makes some noise at Barrington

Chants filled the halls, breaking the initial calm on the Barrington pool deck.

The atmosphere for both sides seemed to be both excited and relaxed, and you could not look across the deck without seeing smiles on the faces of competitors from both teams.

Both sides knew this matchup for supremacy in Mid-Suburban West boys swimming and diving would be close, and it turns out both teams were up to the task at hand.

Fremd had just enough to pull out a 100-86 victory as the Vikings repeated as MSL West champs. Fremd remains unbeaten in dual meets this season and completed a 5-0 run against the division; Barrington finishes at 4-1.

With diving starting the meet, swimmers from both teams showed great support as Fremd senior Zach Mega took top honors with a terrific score of 287.70.

Senior night festivities quickly followed and set the stage for some fierce competition.

Barrington held on to win the 200-yard medley relay with Steven Fischer, Jack Hoppe, Shawn Ujiiye and Sam Burrell in a season-best 1:38.35. Barrington's deep lineup was effective at the start of the meet, and by the end of the 50 free and a win from Fischer, the Broncos seemed to have momentum.

Not for long, it turns out. After warm-up break, things quickly turned back around for the Vikings. With a 1-2 finish event in the 100 fly from Evan Stegall (54.70) and Yoochan Lee (55.54), the Vikings were making headway.

Fremd continued to snag first places, but Barrington was able to limit the scoring damage with consistent second- and third-place finishes.

Sophomore Dan Emary of Barrington held on to an impressive 500 freestyle victory in 4:57.66. Fremd won the 200 free relay before Stegall took the 100 back in 54.47.

This meet really came down to those fourth- and fifth-place points, and Fremd had just enough of them to repeat as MSL West champs.

"They didn't let the meet slip away from them," said Vikings coach Kristen Newby of Fremd's second-half surge.

Both coaches said they appreciated the showcase for MSL swimming that the Fremd-Barrington dual meet has become.

Newby in particular enjoyed the strong show of support for her program.

"We had many of our girl swimmers, and a very large Viking presence," she said. "It makes our kids feel at home in a pool that's not their own."

The Broncos, too, had great representation, and it created a great, loud atmosphere for the many intense and exciting close finishes.

Alex Schillinger, a Fremd senior co-captain, posted impressive times and helped pave the way with wins in two events - the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.53, and the 200 IM in 2:02.50.

Schillinger said his team's performance was a kind of validation for a young but talented group.

"After last season, everyone was worried how we would do without our seniors, but you often forget the power of the incoming class," he said. "We really worked hard and pulled something together out of this season, and this meet shows it."

John Ponte - like Stegall, a freshman, won the 200 free for Fremd in 1:50.70.

Bad news for the rest of the conference: Barrington is actually a very young team, too, so don't be surprised to see these two programs battling it out for top honors next year as well.

The Broncos finished up with a win the 400 free relay as Burrell, Fischer, Ujiiye and Hoppe won in 3:22.07.

"Every year we look forward to the Fremd meet," said Barrington coach John Valentine. "We always have so much to take away from this meet."

Each team plans to attack technique details as they move into the championship season. Conference is two weeks away, with sectionals and state to follow on consecutive weekends after that.

"They have done the yardage and have done the work," said Valentine. "Now it's time to work on the starts and turns."