Naperville Central starts with record
Naperville Central’s 200-yard medley relay team brought a little excitement to Friday’s preliminary round of the state swimming meet at New Trier.
The Redhawks’ foursome of Jeff Depew, Steven van Deventer, Nate Weeks and Pat May swam the meet-opening relay in a state-record time of 1:31.68, more than five seconds better than their sectional time last week.
“I didn’t even know we broke the record,” May said. “I was warming down, and when they told me, I was speechless. That’s a great way to start the meet.”
“The medley relay is one of my favorite events,” Depew said. “You let everything out and you get the crowd into it. The crowd really helped us today.”
While New Trier is well-positioned to win the state title with one or two finalists in most events, the defending-champion Redhawks’ preliminary round was filled with outstanding races.
The two freestyle relay teams placed second to New Trier and will try to top the Trevians on Saturday.
Depew and Sean Lehane finished first and second in the 100 backstroke, while Depew was second in the 200 IM and Nate Weeks was fifth in that race and sixth in the 100 butterfly.
May was third in the 100 freestyle, and van Deventer was fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
“We have to swim even faster tomorrow and show what we’re all about,” Depew said.
The Naperville Central race was just one of several dramatic achievements at the prelims.
Hinsdale Central’s Danny Thomson set a state record in the 500 freestyle when he finished in 4:21.43, more than seven seconds ahead of the field. Thomson also won the 200 freestyle.
Former state champion Kevin Cordes finished second in the 100 breaststroke in what would have been state record-breaking time of 54.00, but he was beaten at the wire by two-time state champion Matt Elliott, who now holds the record with a 53.87.
Those two, who have dominated the event in recent years, will square off again in Saturday’s final.
Cordes also finished in the top six in the 50 freestyle, while he and Neuqua teammates Conner Jager, Jerry Wu and Robert Vechiola were third in the 200 medley relay.
George Doran of Wheaton co-op goes into Saturday’s three-dive finals in third place, which is where he finished in the finals last year. He’s 30 points behind the leader, Kegan Skelton of Champaign Centennial.
“My last three dives are strong,” Doran said. “So I’m really confident about what I can do in the finals. It will be an uphill climb, but the lead isn’t insurmountable.”
The top 12 divers compete in the finals, so Ian Henderson of Naperville North will be in today’s group trying to improve on 11th place.
Collin Hogan of Wheaton was sixth in the 500 freestyle.
Naperville North’s Kevin Butz made the finals in two races, finishing fourth in both the 200 and the 500 freestyle
And the Huskies’ Nick Bessler was sixth in the 200 IM.
Hinsdale South’s Sebastian Ostrowski will be in the finals of the 100 backstroke after finishing third to Naperville Central’s Depew and Lehane.
Mike Reed of Downers Grove North finished fifth in both the 50 and the 100 free, and Damon Zito of Willowbrook was sixth in the 100 free.