Rolling Meadows puts it all together against Hersey
Monika Chiappetta could get used to this.
In contrast to the previous season, when next to nothing went right for her Rolling Meadows boys swimming team, things are falling into place about perfectly this winter.
More evidence of that was on display Friday night at Elk Grove, where the Mustangs hosted Hersey in a matchup of MSL East squads.
Meadows proved superior on this night, winning 98-82. What was most impressive to Chiappetta was how her team did it.
"This was definitely the best meet we've had," said Chiappetta. "This was the most motivated we've been. Everybody came to race.
"We've got a lot of talent on this team. As a coach, you can talk a lot about having that desire to win, but it's hard to really create that. Today the guys showed me that they have it. They were really focused and supported each other."
The main highlights for Meadows were James Waterloo, who had best times in winning the 100 fly (1:01.44) and the 200 IM (2:21.96), and A.J. Adams, who had season-bests in winning the 50 free (22.84) and 100 free (50.26).
Nick Doyle (200 free, 100 back) was also a double winner for the Mustangs. Another key competitor for Rolling Meadows was Dan Vockeroth, who won the 100 breaststroke (1:07.02) and had a leg on the Mustangs' winning medley relay.
Hersey could also call the meet a success. The Huskies produced a total of 27 personal bests, a rarity for any dual meet in late January and a number that certainly pleased head coach Rick Kerwin.
The Huskies' progress is perhaps best illustrated by their 500 freestyle competitors - John Hill, Mike Gorey and Christopher Workman - who lopped off a cumulative total of 31 seconds from their previous bests.
And Pat Chamberlain continued his consistently strong diving, winning the event with 223.20.
"You can see, Meadows has a really good group of kids - there's a few over there that will probably end up at the state meet," Kerwin said. "But we're doing great. We're doing the things we need to do to get better."
Barrington d. Palatine: The visiting Broncos won every event except diving in a decisive 115-67 win at Palatine. Double individual winners for Barrington were Leo Hayden (200 IM, 100 breaststroke), Justin Yu (50 free, 100 back) and Zak Fischer (200 free, 400 free). Ian McNair won diving for Palatine with a score of 210.35.
Schaumburg d. Hoffman Estates: Aaron Johnson and Chris Corbett both won a pair of races as Schaumburg edged Hoffman Estates 94-92. Keith Brajczewski won the 200 and 400 freestyles for Hoffman Estates.
Fremd d. Conant: It was nearly a clean sweep of first-place finishes for host Fremd on senior night as the Vikings won 117-69. Double winners for the Vikes were Varun Shivakumar (200 free, 100 back) and Jeff Freund (200 free, 400 free). Jacob Jeske won the 50 free for Conant.
Buffalo Grove d. Elk Grove: The host Bison showed superior depth in claiming a 121-62 victory over Elk Grove. Individual winners for Buffalo Grove were Ian Rodriguez (200 free), Adrian Sadkowski (200 IM, 100 free), Johs Morris (100 fly), Kevin Reilly (500 free) and Brad Lotzer (100 back). Elk Grove freshman Carl Sugihara won the 50 free and 100 breaststroke.