Boys swimming: West Chicago co-op getting close to peak form with win at Buffalo Grove meet

Fifteen swimming squads converged on the Natatorium at Buffalo Grove High School on Saturday to compete in the Bison's annual winter meet as they aim an improved position heading into the final weeks of regular-season competition.

And when the waters were finally calm after 12 events, the West Chicago co-op with Batavia and Geneva took top team honors with 361.5 points to place ahead of the host school (338).

Cary-Grove's co-op with District 155 schools Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, and Prairie Ridge took the bronze (241.5) while Prospect (233) and Highland Park (232) rounded out the top five.

"I feel like coming out of this meet I have a better idea of where we should be in our (postseason) lineup, so that's good," West Chicago coach Troy Murray said.

"It doesn't feel like it's almost February."

West Chicago’s co-op captured gold in both the 200 and 400 yard freestyle relay with respective times of 1:27.78 and 3:11.80.

It also received individual wins from Geneva sophomore Nathan Walkington in the 200 yard medley (1:55.32) along with his Vikings junior teammate Brady Jordan (51.80) in the 100-yard backstroke.

Senior Emmanuel Gavrilos and junior Ben Inglis paced the Bison charge with golden efforts in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.70) and the 50-yard freestyle (21.98), respectively.

Inglis credited his weekday morning workout routine for his ability to adapt to weekend events.

"You're already awake because you had hard practices," Inglis said. "That's where a lot of the training and focus comes in."

Junior Charlie Edwards’ win in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.26) paced the day for the Cary-Grove co-op while Mundelein junior Jack Hansen got the meet started Saturday morning with his first-place finish in the diving event with a final score of 469.30.

While he admitted to having a challenge like many did in getting up Saturday morning in below zero weather, Hansen successfully got himself to a positive mindset.

"I think coming here and stretching and getting warmed-up is the best thing to do and I took everything one step at a time," Hansen said.