Bison reclaim command in MSL East
At one side of the pool you had the seven-time division champs that had only lost two conference dual meets since the Mid-Suburban East was formed in 1998-99. Unified by last season's loss to Hersey and motivated to regain their title.
On the other side you had the up-and-coming team that won only two meets last season. Unified by bleached blond hair and hungry to prove that they belonged among the conference elite.
Both teams entered this 12-event battle at Buffalo Grove with identical 4-0 conference records and looking for a division sweep. But after all the times and dives were recorded and the Senior Night festivities were celebrated and photographed, the final scorecard read: Buffalo Grove 103, Prospect 83.
"Great things that are accomplished are earned," said BG coach Jamie Klotz after getting a celebratory swim in the pool with his team. "Last year after losing the East to Hersey, it was a big downer for the team. They're used to being at the top so they had to dedicate themselves, and they did that."
Friday's victory was redemption for the Bison in another respect. The Knights won their first-ever MSL East title on Jan. 31, 2003, by defeating the Bison 100-86, ending a four-year undefeated streak that began when the conference was formed.
The opening race of the meet was one of the most exciting as Prospect's Matt Reiner, Timothy O'Grady, Andrew Bowman and Charlie Mau won the 200 medley relay in 1:45.81, outlasting BG (1:45.84). But the Bison (6-1, 5-0) were DQ'd, giving the Knights (5-2, 4-1) a 1-2 finish.
"We always try and start our meets fast and I try and load those medley relays," said Prospect coach Dick Mortensen, whose team's only dual meet loss heading into Friday was the season-opener Nov. 30 against Conant (98-88). "That kind of carried the momentum to the 200 free and the 200 IM.
"We swam phenomenal today. I couldn't be more happy with our times."
BG's Daniel Karpiyevich and Mau were locked in a two-man battle in the 200 IM before the Prospect junior won in 2:09.36, three-quarters of a second faster than Karpiyevich, who also took runner-up in the 100 back (59.37).
Buffalo Grove's Brad Lotzer won the 200 free in 1:56.84 after going out in 25.73. Prospect's Tyler Bengsten took second (1:59.06) and BG's Matt Cooney finished third in 2:00.06.
Lotzer also took top honors in the 100 free (52.12), outlasting teammate Jeff Grossich by two-tenths and Reiner (52.58) by less than a half-second.
"In the 200 (free) I didn't get the time I wanted to, but I won the race so that's what really counted to me," said Lotzer, a sophomore. "And the other races they were very tight."
Adrian Sadkowski won the 50 free for BG in 23:43, edging out the Prospect trio of Reiner (24.30), Chris Hoffman (24.59) and Edward Martin (24.59). Sadkowski followed that with a win in the 100 fly, holding off Mau 56.58-56.87, then swimming the lead leg in BG's first place 200 free relay (1:35.25).
"(Lotzer) may have been the swimmer of the meet," Klotz said.
Mike Hausfeld won the 500 free for BG in 5:21.22, ahead of Cooney (5:22.70) and Prospect's Eric Opland (5:30.64), and took the top spot in the 100 backstroke (58.85).
Prospect took 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke as Bowman (1:05.33) finished just ahead of Bengsten (1:08.47).
Buffalo Grove junior Jake Copeland won the diving competition with 171.35 points. Prospect junior Chris Mattes followed with 161.45, and Bison junior Einar Zieske took third (140.50).
The Bison finished off the meet with another first, as Grossich, Lotzer, Cooney and Karpiyevich won the 400 free relay (3:32.01).