Lehane, Depew help Naperville Central win invite
Sean Lehane and Jeff Depew of Naperville Central have a friendly competition going in practice and in races.
On Saturday the teammates went head-to-head in the 100-yard backstroke, and the junior Lehane edged the senior Depew, who finished third at state in that event last year.
Depew, however, was the winner in the 200 individual medley as the Redhawks won Saturday's Neuqua Valley swimming and diving invite, by winning six events, including the 200 medley and the 200 freestyle relays.
“We push each other hard in sets,” Depew said. “Especially toward the end of the hard sets. But we also love to have fun. This race today was fun.”
Lehane finished in 54.19 and Depew was right there with him at 54.39.
“We're good friends so the competition is always in good fun,” Lehane said. “We feed off each other's energy.”
In Depew's 200 IM victory he finished ahead of teammate Nate Weeks 1:58.14 to 2:00.34. Weeks won the 100 butterfly in 53.52. Adam Stacklin of Waubonsie Valley was second in 54.00.
Naperville Central's Pat May won the 100 freestyle in 48.62.
The Redhawks also took care of business by winning the 200 medley relay with Depew, Steven van Deventer, Weeks and Tony Zhang making up the team, and then May, Zhang, David Xie and Weeks combined to produce a victory in the 200 freestyle relay.
“The guys are tired, but they're getting up and racing,” said Naperville Central coach Mike Adams. “They're getting a little better every week.”
“Everyone's stepping up huge day in and day out,” Depew said. “We're coming into the Saturday meet knowing we have to perform well to get the consideration we deserve at the end of the year. The four guys who led us to the state title last year on the relays all graduated, so there are a lot of spots up for grabs. Everyone is working hard to get on those relay teams.”
In the lone record-breaking performance of the day, Kevin Cordes of Neuqua Valley, who was the state champion in the 100 breaststroke two years ago and who finished second last year, broke the meet record in that event by swimming a 57.70. He also won the 50 freestyle in 22.44.
“To be more valuable to us this year, Kevin is also going to have to focus on the freestyle events,” said Neuqua Valley coach Chad Allen. “Winning the 50 free today was nice. He's gotten bigger and stronger and he's really improved so much as an all-around swimmer.”
Neuqua's Ted Wagner, who finished seventh at state last year, won Saturday's diving competition with an impressive score of 440.15.
“Today it felt really good,” Wagner said. “I was only 30 points away from my personal best. I'm working hard and I'm setting my expectations a little higher this year. I'm hoping to finish in the top three, maybe even win it. I'm working on harder dives to up the (degree of difficulty) of my list.”
Danny Thomson of Hinsdale Central won both the 200 and 500 freestyle races.
The Redhawks earned 352 points to win the meet, 50 ahead of second-place Neuqua Valley. St. Charles North, which won the 400 freestyle relay was third with 284.50, followed by Naperville North with 226, Waubonsie Valley 195; Lockport 185; Hinsdale Central 183; St. Charles East 180; Metea Valley 127.
The St. Charles North 400 freestyle relay team (Chris Dieter, Nick Kowaleski, Kyle Gannon and Kyle Passini, closed the day with a big win as the Redhawks finished second.
It was a good day for Dieter, who finished second in both the 200 free and the 100 free. He also teamed with Justin Jacobson, Kowaleski and Passini to finish third in the 200 medley relay.
“I was nervous in the 200 fee,” Dieter said. “I kept up with Thomson for most of the race, but he got me in the end. This year I want to score at state.”
“This meet was a huge confidence-builder for our guys, especially the 400 free relay,” said St. Charles North coach Rob Rooney. “We came out of the state meet last year with a bad taste in our mouths. We made a commitment to work and we've done that for the past nine months. Now it's about gaining more confidence every day and they're doing their best in training.”