Record day at Lake County Invite
Shortly after Mundelein sophomore Connor Black broke a 13-year-old Stevenson pool record Saturday afternoon, Stevenson JV swim coach Sean Wimer thumb-punched a text to Texas.
Former Libertyville water dart Erik vanGoethem lives there, in Austin, and works as a sales rep. The two-time state champ in the 100-yard breaststroke (1995-96) had clocked a 1:57.31 in the 200 IM at Stevenson, way back in 1997. Nobody was able to better that mark in the Patriots' home water until Black touched in 1:56.23 at the Lake County Invite on Saturday.
Wimer's text message to his good friend, who also swam for powerhouse Auburn University: “Your pool record was just broken.”
“Eric replied right away,” Wimer said. “He wrote, ‘I still had a record up there?' He thought it was awesome what (Black) did. He then told me to congratulate Connor for him.”
Nobody congratulated a single Stevenson entrant for winning an event Saturday. But the Patriots, behind several significant efforts from their Nos. 2 and 3 competitors in races, successfully defended their team championship. Coach Greg Hartman's crew scored 260 points.
Runner-up Mundelein (236) and third-place Warren (194) won five events apiece. Libertyville (148) edged Lake Forest (147) for fourth place. A partial Barrington squad – the Broncos' top freshmen and sophomores competed at an under-level meet at Buffalo Grove on Saturday – took sixth (140) at the 10-team meet. Vernon Hills finished eighth (96).
“So many swam well for us today,” said Stevenson junior Chris Hodges, who joined senior Adam Salzman and classmates Ryota Kuwahara and Daniel Shtivelberg to record a runner-up 3:17.38 in the 400 freestyle relay. “At a three-deep meet (three entrants per individual event), you need your (Nos.) 2 and 3 guys to come through for the team. We got that today.”
Pats junior Steven McKee was a key “3,” taking seventh in the 200 IM (2:05.17) behind Hodges (4th, 2:02.13) and Salzman (3rd, 2:00.11). McKee's seed time was 2:09.67. Later, he motored to sixth place in the 100 backstroke (56.92).Teammates Daniel Budolak (5th, 200 free, 1:51.33) and Daniel Alberts (6th, 200 free, 1:53.68) also beat foes they weren't expected to beat, based on seeds.
Mundelein senior Will Davidson did not anticipate climbing a block to receive a first-place medal in the 100 free Saturday. But there he was, smiling hard and executing a “Princess Diaries” royal wave – right hand cupped, slow turn of the wrist – to applauding spectators after besting the field in a personal-best 47.71.
“A nice surprise; I didn't see myself doing that,” said Davidson, the only swimmer Saturday to collect four first-place medals. “My coach (Rahul Sethna) has been tweaking my start, and my start helped me today. I remember thinking (after resurfacing following his start), ‘Hey, I could win this.' It also helped not being the top seed, because I didn't feel any pressure.”
Davidson also took first in the 50 free (21.66) and served as a leg on the Mustangs' victorious 200 medley (1:37.49) and 200 free (1:27.58) relays. Black, senior Sean Falconer and junior Bryan Wiener also completed legs on each unit.
Black silvered in the 100 butterfly (52.12) after setting the pool mark in the 200 IM. Warren sophomore Matt Conway bested the highly competitive field in the fly with a 51.71, after entering the race with a seed time of 52.06.
“The fly was stacked today,” said Conway, looking and sounding grateful for being pushed to the impressive time. “I was up against so many fast guys.”
Conway also pulled his way to a first-place 53.4 in the 100 back and collaborated with his twin brothers, juniors Danny and Sean Conway, and senior Karter Gagliardo to earn gold in the 400 free relay (3:16.64). Danny Conway easily won the 500 free (4:41.7), beating runner-up Davis Malone of Lake Forest by more than eight seconds.
Sage Stephens tallied Warren's first 16 points of the day, scoring a school-record 424.7 points to capture the diving title. Reigning Lake County Invite champ Teddy Kelley of Libertyville finished second (385.8); Stevenson sophomore James Lichtenstein (350.95) bronzed.
“I've never seen such finesse in the air,” gushed first-year Vernon Hills swim coach Adam Lueken, whose top Cougar in diving was junior Nathan Lightman (6th, 301.5). “(Stephens') first jump off the board is higher than most guys' second jump. He's like an acrobat when he competes.”
Libertyville received a couple of runner-up swims late in the meet Saturday. Freshman Alex Snarski went 53.68 in the 100 back, right before senior Ben Snader (1:00.76) bettered his seed time by nearly two seconds in the 100 breaststroke.
“How about that Snarski?” said Wildcats coach Kevin Zakrzewski. “If you challenge him with a goal, or a time, he's all over that, so determined to reach it. It's awesome to see.”
Folks saw Lenz – VH senior Kevin Lenz – take first in the 100 breast (1:00.66). Earlier in the meet, in the 50 free, he had no choice but to quaff water after 25 yards. A lane neighbor's stroke sprayed the water toward Lenz, just as Lenz turned his head and opened wide to take a breath. The unnecessary refreshment forced him to take an extra breath in the sprint.
“Took in about a gulp's worth,” he recalled, smiling, after finishing second (22.07) to Davidson.
Matt Lee's third-place 22.47 in the 50 free paced Barrington on Saturday. He also anchored the Broncos' fourth-place 400 free relay (3:27.91), following legs from Alex Anderson, Tommy Clement and Samuel Howes. Anderson, Leo Hayden, Greg Alexander and Daniel Comyn combined for a third-place (1:31.16) in the 200 free relay. Diver Nolan Presmyk (341.95) contributed fourth-place points for BHS.
Highland Park's Reeven Nathan (1:48.48) and Artem Ognev (1:49.13) went 1-2 in the 200 free. Other noteworthy swims Saturday: Danny Conway (2nd, 200 IM, 1:57.3, also faster than vanGoethem's record-setting time in '97); Salzman (2nd, 100 free, 48.62); Kuwahara (3rd, fly, 52.69; 3rd, 100 back, 55.43); Sean Conway (3rd, 200 free, 1:49.23); Wiener (3rd, 100 free, 48.77); and Warren's Chad Church (3rd, 100 breast, 1:02.27).