St. Viator 4th in ESCC meet

Chris Reyes and his Benet Academy track and field teammates soaked up every moment at meet's end, chanting "3-peat" after their dramatic team title and proudly holding three fingers in the air while posing for a group picture.

Reyes' ear-to-ear smile was proof that he appreciated every snapshot moment, even if he couldn't appreciate every sight.

The speedy senior has 20/450 vision, which makes him legally blind.

"I compare my life to track, actually," Reyes said. "I take my vision as a hurdle, because I love hurdling."

He loves competing. Which was evident as he gave Benet the lead for good on the second lap of the 1,600-meter relay during Thursday's East Suburban Catholic Conference meet at Carmel Catholic in Mundelein.

When Redwings anchor David Gorenz crossed the finish line, more than two seconds ahead of runner-up St. Patrick, Benet had held on for its third straight ESCC championship.

The Redwings finished with 115 points, 3 more than St. Pat's, while Carmel was third with 97 points. St. Viator -- ninth in the 10-team field last year -- finished fourth with 68.5 points.

"I knew it was going to be this close," Carmel coach Jim Halford said. "It's not a total surprise that we didn't win. It's just kind of one of those things where, especially in a meet like this, so much depends on what other teams do."

Benet took a 1-point lead over St. Pat's into the 1,600 relay. John McLaughlin, Reyes, Alex Gasick and Gorenz were jacked, clocking a season-best 3:28.

"I love the 4 by 4 for that reason," Benet coach Patrick Marshall said. "Sometimes it just comes down to the end. You got four guys that are nothing but tired and they put it all on the line."

Few runners could have been more fatigued than Reyes, who had a busy second half of the meet.

After finishing second to St. Viator's Tom Temmerman in the 110 hurdles, Reyes ran the 800 relay and then the 300 hurdles, finishing fourth.

When he grabbed the baton in the 1,600 relay, Benet was in second place behind Carmel, with St. Patrick right on Reyes' heels.

"I was thinking to myself that I could not let St. Pat's pass me," Reyes said.

Within the first 100 meters, however, St. Pat's took the lead. So Reyes changed his strategy.

"I usually don't kick until the last 150 (meters), but I had to kick the last 200 to regain the lead," he said. "All I was thinking about was, conference champion."

Benet boasted individual conference champs, as well. Gasick successfully defended his title in the 800 run (1:58.63, which was nearly the exact time he ran last year). Gorenz captured the 300 hurdles (40.37).

One of the most exciting races was the 400 relay, which St. Viator won thanks to Mac Krzyzewski, who enjoyed a big day.

Krzyzewski was in third place when he snatched the baton.

"I knew I had it as soon as I got the stick, though," said Krzyzewski, adding that his team actually had a bad handoff. "We've been practicing that all year."

The Lions' C.J. Cesario, Patrick O'Malley, Danny Drehbol and Krzyzewski ran 44.08, edging Carmel (44.17) and Marian Catholic (44.48).

St. Viator's time broke an 18-year-old school record.

"That's what we were gunning for all year," Krzyzewski said.

Another great kick by Krzyzewski allowed him to win the 200 (22.57), a hair ahead of St. Pat's Kiante Green (22.58). Temmerman -- who broke the school record in the 110 hurdles at Palatine last Friday -- clocked a 15.43 in edging Reyes in the highs.

St. Viator also won the 3,200 relay (8:22.03) with Mike Krawzak, Dan Kozicki, Richard McLoughlin and Frank Urbanus.

"The good part about my team is, they might not have the raw talent, but they have the finishing drive," Lions coach Rodero Warren said. "That's the key."

Carmel's lone relay win came from its 800 team of Brett Roessler, James Halford, Jimmy Miller and Dan Meegan. The foursome went 1:32.64 to beat St. Viator by nearly a second.

The Corsairs won the event despite running it without Socrates Kaitson and Jordan Nasenbeny.

"We took our two fastest kids out of that, and (the relay) still ran well," coach Halford said.

The runner-up 400 relay featured Halford, Roessler, Meegan and Kaitson.

Nasenbeny won the 400 (50.73). Cameron Rieger cruised to victory in the 3,200. His 9:37.87 was eight seconds slower than his seed time.

"He's really moving to the next level in the state," coach Halford said. "I think he can run 9:20."

Marian Catholic's Mitchell Erickson won the pole vault by clearing 16-feet-10, breaking by 5 inches the meet record he set last year.

Boys volleyball

Buffalo Grove d. Elk Grove: Buffalo Grove defeated host Elk Grove 25-18, 25-18 in the Mid-Suburban East Division.

For Elk Grove (18-5, 5-5), Jonathan Tompary (6 kills), Garret Greaves (5 kills) and Nick Mortensen (4 kills) led the attack, while setter Jon Condon had 21 assists.

Fremd d. Hoffman Estates: Visiting Fremd beat Hoffman Estates 25-19, 25-17 in the MSL West.

Daniel Brophy drilled 8 kills for the Vikings (21-7, 8-2), and setter Benjamin Whitmer recorded 20 assists. Max Martin had 9 kills for the Hawks.

Prospect d. Hersey: Scott Pickle led the way with 10 kills, and Kevin Reed added 8 as Prospect beat host Hersey 25-12, 26-24 in the MSL East. Pickle added 5 aces for the Knights (22-11, 4-6). Jack Welter had 3 kills for the Huskies (13-12, 4-6).

Palatine d. Schaumburg: Josh Rustman pounded 10 kills to help lead Palatine to a 25-18, 25-23 win over Schaumburg in the MSL West. B.J. Boldog had 18 assists for the Pirates. Conner Nelson, Glen Frost and Alex Christy each had 5 kills for the Saxons (15-17, 3-7).

Conant d. Barrington: Dan Aloisio's 15 kills helped spark host Conant to a 25-20, 25-27, 25-21 victory over Barrington in the MSL West. Drew Fisher (18 assists) and Ryan Schraub (16) split setting duties for the Cougars (20-8, 6-4).

For the Broncos (16-17, 5-5), Dan Fommeyer paced the attack with 13 kills, and Chris Michelotti added 9, while setter Christian La Bar had 13 assists.

Wheeling d. R. Meadows: Chris Schaeffer had 10 kills, and Tom Devitt added 7 as host Wheeling rallied to beat Rolling Meadows 12-25, 27-25, 25-19 in the MSL East. Setter Kevin Taylor had 20 assists for the Wildcats (11-14, 4-6).

For Meadows (3-7), Ryan Kedzie had a dozen kills and Matt Vinezeano added 11. Joe Nigliazzo (13 assists) and Nick Marek (11) shared setter duties.

St. Viator d. St. Joseph: St. Viator's road trip to Westchester resulted in a 25-7, 25-12 victory in the East Suburban Catholic matchup. Kyle Hanley had 6 kills to lead the Lions, while setter Kyl Deger contributed 13 assists.

Girls water polo

Make it 23 straight for the Fremd girls water polo team.

The top-seeded Vikings (24-1) won their 23rd straight match with a 14-2 victory over Rolling Meadows in the Hoffman Estates sectional quarterfinal, getting 4 goals from Katie French and 3 from Erika Lauritis.

Emily Lebuhm and Kristen Gierke had the goals for Meadows.

• Conant stopped Palatine 2-1 as Dana Lorsch had 3 goals for the Cougars. Elizabeth Duvall netted the goal for Palatine.

• Barrington splashed past Elk Grove 19-6. The Fillies were led by Cheslea Simon and Megan Clampitt, who each scored 4 goals. Lisa Andrew tossed in 4 goals for the Grenadiers.

• Hoffman Estates received 3 goals from Michele Allen in a 7-6 win over Schaumburg. Katie Cavanaugh and Nicole Mundie each scored 3 goals for the Saxons.

• At the Glenbrook North sectional, Wheeling topped Hersey 7-5, getting 2 goals from Amy Wilson.

• No. 3 seeded Prospect topped Glenbrook North, 11-9.

• New Trier got past St. Viator 12-5. The Lions received 2 goals from Danielle Volpi.