Broncos rich tradition becomes even richer

As you walk through the corridor leading to the Barrington natatorium, you're bombarded with Barrington Swim Club records on your left -- from kids 8 years old and younger to swimmers 15 and up.

And when you set foot on the pool deck, the tradition continues, as past the black-and-red backstroke flags hovering over the pool, you'll see the seemingly endless number of championships and state appearances listed to the right of the massive scoreboard.

After Saturday's dominating performance -- from the season-best effort in the 200 medley relay to the victory in the 400 free relay -- Barrington can add another team to this impressive list.

The heavily-favored Broncos scored 335 points to win their third consecutive Mid-Suburban League title, finishing ahead of Fremd (254.50), Conant (176) and Buffalo Grove (130.50).

"We were on today, it was a great weekend," said Barrington coach Jim Bart. "We got it started yesterday with Joe (Zavoli) and Tim (Karsten) in diving, and it carried through from the first event to the last."

Although admittedly feeling additional pressure to defend his 50 and 100 free MSL championships, Barrington senior Nick Santoro successfully pulled off the double, edging teammate Ben Redpath in both events. Redpath, who shared the 100 title last year, finished seven-hundredths behind Santoro (22.04) in the 50, then was outtouched 47.79 to 48.00 in the 100.

"We knew we wanted to go 1-2, no matter which way it went," Santoro said. "As long as we get the points for the team."

Barrington junior Justin Yu also defended a pair of conference titles -- his first coming in the 200 IM (1:59.19), which he won by more than three seconds over Fremd junior Varun Shivakumar (2:02.34) and Barrington freshman Greg Alexander (2:04.63). This, after Yu trailed Shivakumar by nearly two seconds after the opening 100.

"That was the race plan, see how things went in the first 100," said Yu, who also took the 100 breaststroke title in 1:01.17.

In a perfect example of how much "team" means in what can often be an individual sport, Barrington junior Brian Marko showed more excitement for teammate Matt Turkot's third-place finish in the 100 fly (55.45) than in celebrating the race he just won in 53.70.

"This whole year he's been going toward his goal times," Marko said of Turkot. "He at least wanted to break a minute before he went to college. For him to go 55, it's just insane."

In the closest race of the meet, Marko (54.18) edged Shivakumar by a hundredth of a second to win the 100 backstroke.

"I don't like losing by a hundredth," said Shivakumar, who finished 12th at state last season in the event. "I don't like losing in backstroke, but it will be a different story (at sectionals)."

In the 200 freestyle, Fremd junior Sam Childs won in a season-best 1:47.57, defeating Barrington's Sam Barnett (1:47.73), who was in the next lane matching him stroke for stroke.

"It really hurt in the end, but you just have to tuck your head down and push through," said Childs, who also took third in the 100 free (48.48). "On a scale of 1 to 10, that hurt pretty bad."

Barnett got some redemption by winning the 500 free in 4:55.19, in front of Fremd freshman Jeff Freund (4:59.64) and Hoffman Estates' Pat Mason (5:00.13). It must feel a lot better taking hold of a first-place medal, doesn't it?

"It's a lot different, yeah," the Barrington senior said with a laugh. "I was really looking forward to this, I really wanted to win the 200, but I ended up getting out touched. It kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth. I really wanted to get this one, and it worked out well."

Fremd, which took second at the meet for the second consecutive year, is hoping things work out well next week, when the Vikings return to Barrington for sectionals.

"Just the way they were feeling and the way they were splitting … there should be some really great swims at next week's sectionals and that should qualify us for state," said Fremd coach Nicole LaBeau.

Conant also has much to feel good about after working its way into the top 3. Sophomore Will Landren took third in the 50 free (22.73), senior Mike McGuire finished fourth in the 100 free (50.70) and fifth in the 200 free (1:53.67), and Chris Emery took fourth in both the 200 IM (2:04.79) and 500 free (5:02.56).

"We're exactly where we need to be," said Conant coach Brian Drenth, whose team finished third in the 200 medley, 200 free and 400 free relays. "To be behind those two teams means you're doing something right," he said.