Trostrud, Kowalenko sweep for Fremd

Brandon Trostrud takes his diving seriously.

But the Fremd senior is also finding it might be a good idea not to take it so seriously.

"At a few meets this season, I was trying to be really, really intense," he said. "You know, trying to visualize everything and just being very serious about it, all the time. And it really didn't seem to be working very well for me."

A more relaxed Trostrud thrived on Friday night in the Mid-Suburban League championships at Barrington.

"I think it's OK for me to have some fun and relax," he said, "as long as I'm focused and intense once I'm up on the board."

And even then, he found, it pays to be relaxed when, in the 10th round, he needed to have his dive re-read. He quipped to the judges, everyone laughed, and Trostrud proceeded to get 5's on his forward 11/2 with 1 twist in the free position. That was enough to give him a cushion, which Trostrud needed to stay ahead of teammate Mike Kowalenko after a subpar final dive.

Trostrud took top honors at 352.8, with Kowalenko right behind at 344.75 for a 1-2 Fremd sweep heading into today's swimming events (1 p.m. at Barrington).

One unplanned detail that actually might have helped Trostrud was a break in his training, forced by a sinus infection. That kept him off the boards for the better part of a week.

"I think sometimes when you take a step back, it actually makes it a little bit easier to keep your focus," Trostrud said.

Trostrud and Kowalenko both gave partial credit to each other for their successes. They've acted as peer coaches for one another, something first-year Fremd coach Kristin McCoy appreciated deeply as she guided 14 divers through the program.

"I think we really worked as a team this year," said Kowalenko. "We're always trying to improve each other's skills, finding that one rough spot and trying to smooth it out."

"For me, it was really fortunate to have them," said McCoy. "Those two really helped each other out."

Barrington sophomore Nolan Presmyk placed third at 309.4, Palatine Steve Repking senior took fourth at 293.8 and Prospect's Ricky Stodulski was fifth at 272.75. Conant senior John Maevski was on track for a fourth-place finish before at failed dive in round No. 11 sent him to seventh.

Barrington diving coach Mary O'Donnell noted that Presmyk has made huge improvements this season, achieving both his main goals - bettering 200 for 6 dives and exceeding 300 for 11 dives - in just the last couple of weeks.

"I always say that diving is really 99 percent mental," O'Donnell said. "That's the part where he's made the biggest gains."

Presymk showed nice poise on his final dive, a back 11/2 in the pike position.

"To be successful in this sport, you have to have a certain amount of mental stability," O'Donnell said. "He's got that now. The difference is he's really matured and developed the mental aspects."