Boys swimming: West Chicago, Mundelein go 1-2 at Buffalo Grove invite
An extremely strong field of teams descended on the Buffalo Grove natatorium Saturday for the BG boys swimming invite.
As a matter of fact, meet records were broken in three events - the 100 butterfly (Ben Castro of Cary-Grove, 50.92), the 100 breaststroke (Brady Johnson of West Chicago, 58.34) and the 400 free relay (West Chicago).
It was a talented lineup, and that made the performance of Prospect senior Andrew Tonkovic all the more impressive.
Tonkovic took second place in the 200 free with a mark of 1:46.07, and was runner-up as well in the 100 free at 48.35.
"Andrew has been having a great high school career, and this year he's taken the next step," said Knights coach Alfonso Lopez. "He's just been so consistent in the 100 and the 200."
Lopez also lauded the effort of another senior, Tim Hays.
Hays, who is co-captain of Prospect along with Tonkovic, battled Castro in the 100 fly but was just outtouched. Castro won with a 50.92, with Hays second, racing at 51.20.
"Both Andrew and Tim are extremely talented swimmers," said Lopez. "For Tim, the 100 fly is one the events in which he's aiming for state, and this was his best non-tapered time of the season. The guys need some rest now, as we have a big next two weeks of the season coming up."
West Chicago just outpointed Mundelein 313-310 for the team championship.
Cary-Grove finished third, Highland Park was fourth and Prospect took fifth.
Mundelein won the 200 medley relay behind Cameron Gilbert, Michael Romero, Omar Fathallah and Aaron Anastos, and also took first in the 200 free relay, with Fathallah, Anastos, Romero and Edwin Serrano.
Brady Johnson from West Chicago won the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke, Jacob Drozd from Lake Park was victorious in the 50 free, while Fathallah of the Mustangs took first place in the 100 free.
Host BG excelled in the diving competition, with junior Holden Wheeler (465.20) placing second and classmate Ryan Dumrauf (463.05) finishing third.
Both Wheeler and Dumrauf were state qualifiers as freshmen, the last time the state meet was held.
"They're really talented," said Bison coach Thomas Cooney of the juniors, "and they help us so much in dual meets and invitationals. Holden is an extremely hard worker, and you can say the same about Ryan. They both train hard in season and in the offseason, and they both rise to the occasion, coming up big at the big meets."
Logan Townsend of West Chicago won the 500 free and the 200 free, while Drew Watson of Cary-Grove was fastest of all in the 100 backstroke.
Champion West Chicago also took first place in the 400 free relay, while Rolling Meadows got a great performance from Kacper Pancerz, who was second in the 500 free with a time of 4:58.89.
Meadows coach Monika Chiappetta said that Pancerz is peaking at the right time.
"He's a great kid, and he's one of our captains," said Chiappetta. "Kacper is such a hard worker, a diligent worker, and he very much pays attention to details.
"He's a team leader, and not just because of all the hard work - he's just a nice guy, and his best is ahead of him. We're pretty proud of where he's at, and the goal of all our swimmers now is to hammer through these last few weeks, and have something to taper off of."