Fast times at Vernon Hills
Nora Bowers’ paperback copy of “Crime and Punishment” looks as if it had been used as a doormat for at least a decade.
It’s weathered and getting quite squishy, with the pages about to enter The Yellow Years.
“It’s well-loved; put it that way,” Bowers, Grayslake Central’s swim coach/English teacher, said at Saturday’s Vernon Hills swimming and diving sectional. “I have a feeling I’ll be the only coach who will read a book between races today. It’s a wonderful book. It challenges the way you feel about people.
“I’ve read it 20 times, probably.”
One of her favorite times on Saturday: 52.21. Grayslake Central junior Sean Mayfield clocked that third-place and state-qualifying effort in the 100-yard butterfly. The Ram also qualified for next weekend’s state meet at New Trier in the 50 free (22.05, 4th place).
Mayfield’s CATS Aquatics club coach is not a descendent of Fyodor Dostoevsky; his name is Vlad Pyshnenko, a native of Russia. All he did, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, was collect a gold medal (800-meter free relay) as a member of the Unified Team.
“I’ve been working a lot, lately, on my technique,” said Mayfield. “It had been sloppy. Vlad has helped me, a lot. In the 50 free, you have to get psyched up, more than anything else. But having the right technique is also important.”
Mayfield’s Rams teammate, freshman Kyle Dickson, also earned a state berth Saturday, touching fifth in the 100 backstroke (54.02).
“My speech to our boys, before the meet?” said Bowers, a former assistant AD at Grayslake Central. “I wouldn’t call it a speech. I told them, ‘Swim fast.’ The faster you go in this sport, the better, right?”
Saturday’s meet, in a nutshell: Fast times at Vernon Hills High.
Six pool records fell, including the diving mark. Warren senior plunger Sage Stephens supplanted the previous record (439.9, set last year) with a 458.25. His received three 8s (crazy good) for his inward, which is dive No. 4 on his list of 11.
Warren junior Danny Conway left the Cougars’ natatorium Saturday as a two-time pool-record holder. He sped to a 1:54.05 in the 200 IM and a 4:37.64 in the 500 free.
“That 1:54 – it blew my mind,” said Warren coach Chris Bertana, named sectional coach of the year after guiding the Blue Devils to first place (270 points). “It also jazzed me up. I was expecting a time like that at state, not today. He’s had one day of (taper) rest. One day, that’s it. He’s got a lot left in him.”
Mundelein’s marvelous quartet of Bryan Wiener, Sean Falconer, Connor Black and Will Davidson zipped to pool records in the 200 medley (1:35.28) and 200 free (1:25.79) relays.
Daniel Le, a Lakes sophomore, won the 100 breaststroke in 57.29, reducing a pre-meet VHHS mark (58.86, set in 2009) to No. 3 status. Yes, No. 3. The second-fastest pool time in the event belongs to VH senior Kevin Lenz, thanks to his snappy 57.91 on Saturday.
“I was in a good mood for the 100 breast, because of what I did in the 50 free (2nd place, state-qualifying 21.52),” said Lenz. “No way, though, did I think I’d be that close to Daniel in the breast. I’ve been racing against him for a while, sometimes from a (slower) heat. He’s so good.
“I would not have gone as fast as I did today without having him next to me.”
Le took eighth in the 100 breast at state last year, as a lone Eagle. He’ll have familiar company at New Trier next weekend: classmate Kyle Aerne (4th in the 100 breast on Saturday, in 1:00.36).
Warren, co-champion of the North Suburban Conference, amassed 11 state berths. Runner-up Mundelein (201 points) garnered eight, while third-place Libertyville (197) secured four.
Blue Devils junior Sean Conway, Danny’s twin, qualified for state for the first time in his career by topping the 200 field in 1:45.7. His brother, sophomore Matt Conway, advanced in the 100 back (1st place, 52.2) and 100 butterfly (2nd, 51.48).
The three Conways, plus, senior Karter Gagliardo, collaborated for a first-place 3:12.07 in the 400 free relay.
Mundelein’s Black, a swift sophomore, beat the 100 fly field with a 50.65, missing a pool mark by 0.25; Davidson, a Mustangs senior, placed first in the 50 free with a 21.35. (He won the same event at a’09 sectional, also at VH.)
Two years ago, the last one to realize Davidson had won the 50 free at the VH Sectional was … Davidson.
He had thought another swimmer’s time was his, while glancing up at the scoreboard.
“I looked at the right one (Saturday),” Davidson said.
“In my last couple of starts in the 50,” he added, “I got too deep. I stayed shallow today, got on top of the water right away. That helped me.”
Libertyville senior Ben Snader went 3-for-4 on Saturday, gaining state berths in the 200 IM (3rd, 1:58.83) and 100 breast (3rd, 1:00.27) events and as a member of the 200 medley relay (4th place, 1:39.08, with Mitch Boynton, Alex Snarski and Dan Guerrero).
Lake Forest (4th, 196 points) received a championship effort from sophomore Colin Rowe (47.56, 100 free). He was seeded third in the sprint, behind Mustangs Davidson and Wiener. Davidson (2nd place, 47.69) and Wiener (3rd, 47.96) also advanced to state in the event.