New 'do's the rule at VH sectional

Since most swimmers compete at the state meet with shaved heads, it's common to have some fun with their hair style at the sectional meet.

"A lot of guys bleach their hair but I don't think that looks very good," Mundelein sophomore Will Davidson said.

So naturally, Davidson and junior teammate Pat Falconer decided to sport orange Mohawks for Saturday's sectional at Vernon Hills.

"It's Libertyville's color, but I've always liked orange," Davidson said.

The hair style may have been questionable, but you can't argue with success. Davidson and Falconer qualified for state in two individual events apiece. They teamed with seniors Sean Trinka and Mike Begrowicz to win the 200 yard freestyle relay (1:27.33), just ahead of favored Lake Forest (1:27.39).

"This was the best race I've been part of all season," Falconer said. "When Will dove into the water I knew we had it because he knows how to close."

Their performance drew quite a reaction from coach Rahul Sethna. As soon as the boys were out of the water, he greeted each swimmer with a chest bump.

"That hurt a little, but I was jacked up," Sethna said with a smile. "Sean and Mike have never been on a relay before at sectionals. They handled the pressure well."

Despite a school- and pool-record performance by Stevenson junior diver Matt Stiefel, Lake Forest (247 points) edged Stevenson (243 points) for the team title on the very last race. The Scouts' 400 freestyle relay team swam a pool-record 3:10.21, more than three seconds faster than Mundelein. Libertyville (195 points) and Mundelein (158 points) were third and fourth, respectively.

Stiefel's 428-point performance in diving was a school and pool record. One week ago at the North Suburban Conference meet, Stiefel scored 383.80 points.

"I did the same dives in the same order; I just (executed) a lot better," Stiefel said.

Davidson (21.66) won the 50 freestyle and was third in the 100 freestyle (47.91). Initially, he did not realize he was victorious in the 50 freestyle.

"I looked at the clock wrong and thought I was third," he said.

Falconer was second in the 100 freestyle (46:54) and the 200 freestyle (1:40.77). Mundelein sophomore Scott Marthinsen (377.50) and junior David Rieck (371.05) should each qualify in diving. All sectional champion divers and the next 32 highest-scoring competitors also advance. Libertyville sophomore diver Teddy Kelley (385.05) finished second.

In addition to Stiefel, Stevenson's second-place finish was driven by Ryota Kuwahara. The freshman was a double-qualifier in the 100 butterfly (53.08) and the 200 freestyle (1:45.39).

"He's the future of our team," Stevenson coach Greg Hartman said.

Stevenson also qualified Ty Kuper (22.16) in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle (48.27). Senior Brad Feng (48.44) advanced in the 100 freestyle as did two of the Patriots' relays.

"Everybody was swimming fast," Hartman said. "This is exactly the way you want to go to state."

Libertyville senior Ben Glick won the 100 butterfly (52.11), was third in the 200 freestyle (1:43.17) and was part of two of the Libertyville's three relays that qualified for state.

"I can't remember the last time we had three relays going to state," Glick said. "That's a huge accomplishment."

Junior Jamie Landry was the only swimmer from Grayslake North, and he did his school proud. He placed first in the 100 backstroke (54.65) and was the only swimmer in his event to move on.

"We're a new school, so it's pretty exciting to be one of the first state qualifiers," he said.

Vernon Hills sophomore Kevin Lenz's first individual swim was a tad disappointing. He did not qualify in the 50 freestyle.

"My feet missed the wall on the turn," he said. "That's the first time that ever happened to me."

He made up for it by advancing in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.96)

"It would have been a waste after training so much not to come up with a good swim," he said.

In the same race, McHenry senior Jonathan Lesniak (58.86) set a pool record by more than a second.

"I wouldn't have gone as fast without swimming next to him," Lenz said.

Warren freshman Danny Conway (4:50.07) lost his goggles midway through the 500 freestyle but still managed to qualify.

"I had to deal with it," he said. "I kept my eyes open the last 50."