Stevenson, Barrington make time fly

Time stood still at the Stevenson sectional on Saturday, as mechanical issues with one of the pool's bulkheads forced three separate delays and turned the state-qualifying meet into a much longer affair than anyone expected.

The swimmers, however, still managed to make time fly.

The host Patriots led the way on a day of quality swims, winning two of the relays and qualifying all three of them into Friday's state preliminaries, which will be held at Evanston Township High School.

Stevenson had double individual qualifiers in sophomores Ryota Kuwahara (200 free, 100 fly) and Langston Fitts (200 and 500 free); senior co-captain Josh Hodges advanced in the 100 fly and had legs on all three relays; Chris Hodges made it in the 200 IM and the medley relay, Daniel Shtivelberg made it on the medley relay and co-captain Adam Salzman made it in the 500 free and medley relay.

Their taste of success was made more sweet because of the challenges facing them in the days leading up to the meet. A problem with the pool's heating system made for chilly temperatures, so Stevenson had to rely on the goodwill of neighbors for nearly a week leading up to the big meet.

"We were really fortunate to have some friends at Mundelein who were very generous with their pool time and really gave us everything we needed," said Stevenson coach Greg Hartman, dripping wet on deck after a celebratory dunk in the pool.

"Everybody from our sectional team will swim at state in some way, shape or form," said Hartman. "That what we really wanted, the chance to compete together at the state meet."

Hartman was especially pleased to see his team remained focused through what hadn't been an especially smooth week.

"Josh Hodges and Adam Salzman, they really amplified their value to us by being leaders," he said.

The Patriots finished at 260 points, just edging Barrington (241) for the team title. Fremd placed third at 192, followed by Conant (180), Cary-Grove (127) and Jacobs (94).

Barrington had no complaints and no big disappointments.

Junior Greg Alexander delivered workmanlike state-qualifying efforts in the 200 IM (1:59.43) and 100 breaststroke (1:00.80), and sophomore Leo Hayden was another double individual qualifier (200 free, 100 fly). Dan Comyn made it in the 50 free (21.89) and anchored all three relays, and junior Tom Clement hit the state cut time of 55.07 precisely in the 100 back.

All three Broncos relays - none of which included a senior - advanced, making Matt Lee, Jack Strauss and Alex Anderson state qualifiers as well, and sophomore diver Nolan Presmyk placed third (369.75) and figures to qualify with an at-large berth.

And the lone senior for Barrington, breaststroker Brendan Lesniak, lopped another two-plus seconds off his time from the previous week.

"Our goal in this meet is simply to get as many swimmers as possible through to the state meet, and on that level it couldn't have gone better," said Barrington coach John Valentine.

Fremd senior diver Brandon Trostrud earned an automatic spot in the state prelims, winning with 418.65. Not far behind in second place as senior teammate Mike Kowalenko (380.00). More good news for the Vikes: Dustin Anderson advanced in the 50 (22.02) and 100 (47.92) freestyles, and Jeff Freund easily advanced with a victory in the 500 free (4:42.97).

"It was a very good day," said Fremd coach Nicole LaBeau. "We had good time drops from pretty much everybody."

Conant had a moment of heartbreak early in the meet as the medley relay missed a spot in the state meet by the narrowest possible margin - the Cougars finished one one-hundredth of a second too slow to advance. But individual victories from senior Ryan Chiero in the 50 free (21.55) and 100 free (47.37, a school record), and especially a state meet spot for Chiero, Will Landgren, Chad Woytun and Palmer Lynch in the 200 free relay, helped ease the sting.

"No doubt about it, the medley hurt a little bit, but we knew that would be close," said Conant coach Brian Drenth. "If you look at it, we really did taper well."

Cary-Grove's main highlight was the performance of standout freshman Michael Hamann. He surged to victory in the 200 IM (1:57.35) and placed second in the 100 back (54.28), easily qualifying for state in both races.

Jacobs coach Rick Andresen got a great state-qualifying swim from sophomore Alex Elston in the 100 fly (32.29). He was the only one to advance for the Golden Eagles, but strong performances such as a second-place finish from senior John Jost in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.34) and lifetime bests from Alec Schmidt in the 50 and 100 freestyles made for a memorable day.

"Everything worked out just about as well as it could have for us," said Andresen. "Alex had been right around 54-flat mid-season, so we knew he was a real good possibility to make state. The rest of our guys just had very good swims. We're a very young team, so it's encouraging."

Likewise for Buffalo Grove sophomore Ian Rodriguez. He placed third in the 200 IM and won the 100 backstroke, with both efforts easily under the state qualifying cut, and both excactly one one-hundredth of a second faster than his swims one week previous in the conference meet. As fate would have it, two of the meet's delays came just before his individual races were set to begin.

"It definitely affected me," said Rodriguez. "I just tried to stay focused and be patient."

Palatine didn't get a state qualifier, but senior Brad Ferris went out with a bang, dropping nearly two seconds off his conference time and placing fourth in the 100 backstroke in 55.56, just a half-second off the state cut, and his 200 IM (2:06.27) was a personal best by nearly four seconds. The Pirates also got big time drops across the board, and especially from 500 freestylers (Kamil Mulawa, 5:06.69) and Eric Nielsen (5:27.92).

Of all the state qualifiers from Stevenson, perhaps none was happier than Schaumburg senior Ben Epperly.

A broken elbow in his freshman year, followed by shoulder surgery in his sophomore year had stunted his progression and left him wondering if swimming was in his future.

"I had a lot of doubts," he said. "I just didn't know if I'd ever be able to swim at the level I wanted to - at a high level - again."

At the start of his junior year, Epperly's time in the 500 was six minutes, six seconds.

His time on Saturday: four minutes, forty-nine and three-one hundredths of a second, good for fourth place.

He is, finally, a state qualifier.

"Ben is just an absolute workhorse when it comes to training," said Schaumburg coach Tom Gallagher. "And he got exactly what he deserved."

at Glenbrook North: Prospect seniors Tyler Bengtsen and Joe Lakner will compete in the state meet after bettering the state standards in the 100 breastroke and 100 backstroke, respectively. Bengtsen won the breaststroke in 1:01.73, and Lakner placed third in the backstroke at 55.03.