Change is in the air at St. Viator Invitational
The tradition-rich 30th Annual St. Viator Invitational, this time, was mostly about what has changed.
Loyola, normally a force in the meet, didn't take part this time around. That helped open the door for St. Ignatius to win Wednesday with 398 points, ahead of runner-up Fremd (342), Prospect (285), Jacobs/Dundee-Crown 278, St. Viator (226), St. Francis (142) and Notre Dame (90).
For Fremd and coach Nicole LaBeau, the meet was an opportunity to gauge the racing skills of some key swimmers from last year's standout team, as well as several more who are new to the varsity ranks.
Junior Jeff Freund showed he's made distinct progress, winning the 500-yard freestyle in 4:57.08 and take third in the 100 fly in 55.92. Another junior, Dustin Anderson, won the 50 free in 22.75, had the backstroke leg of the second-place medley relay and anchored Fremd's second-place 400 free relay with a fine split of 48.8.
And then there are the new faces, such as James Tokuda, fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.36), and Matt Zhou, who was third in the 200 free (1:56.77) and sixth in the 100 fly (59.89).
"We're swimming tired right now, but that's just what time of year it is," said LaBeau. "We've got a really supportive group of guys this year, so that's made it really nice so far this season. We've got some guys that are seeing their opportunities and grabbing them."
Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez also liked his team's performance in what was the Knights' first meet of the season in a conventional yards pool.
Joe Lakner took second place in the 100 backstroke in 56.96, well ahead of where he was at the same time last year and within range of the team record he hopes to break later.
Ed Martin had solid swims for the Knights in the 100 backstroke and 500 free, and Tyler Bengtsen was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.40).
"I feel good about the team," said Lopez. "We're going to be swimming sore in these early meets, but with these guys, it's great in workouts. They just get in and they go. They really are focused on trying to get to that elite level."
Jacobs/Dundee-Crown bid farewell to a standout group of seniors after last year, leaving the squad with just two seniors this season. But veteran coach Rick Andresen saw bright spots from those seniors - Alec Schmidt and Cody Boehm - and got top-six finishes out of John Jost (100 free, 100 breast), Ryan Krug (500 free) and from freshman Alex Elston in the 100 butterfly.
"For us, it's just a matter of numbers this year," said Andresen. "We've got a very good group of sophomores, but with 20 kids on the team, that's going to work against us."
The change also continues at St. Viator, where first-year Lions coach Mary Ruffin is the program's third varsity coach in as many years.
The longtime club coach opted to hold out versatile senior Eric Primdahl from Wednesday's meet to allow him to continue recovering from a back strain, but she's seeing plenty of positives from her developing team.
Ruffin was pleased with the efforts of senior co-captain James Jensen, plus Steve Jensen and freshman freestyler James Pickering.
"I've got a group of guys that likes to work hard and play hard," she said. "I don't think it's such a big adjustment for them, but it really is a change for me."