Central wins state title, Neuqua takes second and North places fourth

Naperville Central's Jeff Depew knew the top three teams in Illinois were so close that the final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay, would determine the state champion.

And that's what happened, as the Redhawks won that race and took the 2010 Illinois Swimming and Diving Championship by a narrow margin.

The Redhawks scored 156 points to 153 for second-place Neuqua Valley and 151 for New Trier, the defending state champion, which was leading the meet going into that last race.

"We knew in the back of our minds that this could be a championship team," Depew said. "But I predicted after the DVC tournament that it would come down to that last race. Everyone helped out today."

Nobody helped more than Depew, who swam the first leg on the medley relay team that finished third and got the Redhawks off on the right foot.

He later finished second in the 200 IM and third in the 100 backstroke.

The Redhawks also got a third-place finish from Danny Tucker in the 50 freestyle, and Nate Weeks finished sixth in the 100 butterfly.

Then the idea of a state championship got serious when the Redhawks' 200 freestyle relay team, which won last week's sectional but faltered for a fifth-place finish in Friday's preliminary, bounced back and won in the finals.

That set up the dramatic last race as New Trier led with 129 points with Neuqua Valley second at 127 and Naperville Central third at 124.

The Redhawks got a little help in the 400 from their fellow Napervillians as Neuqua touched second and Naperville North was third, to keep New Trier in fourth, leaving the Trevians 5 points shy of the champions.

"I can't describe the feeling," said Mark Menis, who grabbed the lead for the Redhawks in the third leg of the 400 free relay. "We're on top of the world. We needed every point. Depew and Weeks just came out of nowhere and gave us a lot of points. Our four seniors stepped up big in the 400. This is the best group of guys I've ever known. They're the hardest workers."

Menis will play water polo in college, while his teammates in the 400 - Tucker, Matt O'Brien and Keith Piper - will all continue swimming.

"Those seniors gave us a lot of great leadership," said coach Mike Adams, who also led the Redhawks to a state championship in 2002. "They led by example every day in practice. And even when we had some disappointments during the season, our entire team continued to work hard and believe that we were where we needed to be to challenge for state."

Neuqua Valley, which also had a great state meet, was led by a winning 200 medley relay team that consisted of Grant Betulius, Kevin Cordes, Brien Gerber and Andrew Bratsos.

Betulius won the state championship in the 100 backstroke.

"He told us at the beginning of the year that he would win the backstroke," said Neuqua Valley coach Chad Allen. "We didn't know he would be that good, but he was and then some."

Cordes, last year's 100 breaststroke champion, finished second in that race this year and Bratsos was fourth in the 100 butterfly.

Hans Peters finished fourth in both the 200 freestyle and the 100 freestyle.

"Naperville Central had a great season and congratulations to them for being the champions," Allen said. "We ended up in second place with a lot more points than I ever dreamed of. Looking back, I'm thrilled."

It was the fourth year in a row the Wildcats won a state top-three trophy. They were the state champions two years ago.

Danny Thomson of Hinsdale Central won the state title in the 500 freestyle, and Jordan Dyson of Hinsdale South won the diving competition.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=362486">Boys state swimming championships</a></li>

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