It's no big deal, but Neuqua wins UEC

Conference swimming meets mark the final time a school's entire squad performs on deck together. By the time the IHSA sectional rolls around in two weeks, the size of the team will be pared to around a dozen lucky souls.

So Neuqua Valley's Kevin Overholt and his other boys swimming state teammates took full advantage to cheer on and then salute those JV athletes whose seasons ended Saturday.

"Our JV was incredible today," Overholt said. "We had a bunch of great performances. They were rock solid today and that gives us great hope for the future of our taper."

Neuqua Valley's JV rolled to the conference title - and the varsity made it a clean sweep when it outdistanced district rival Waubonsie Valley to claim the title at St. Charles East's Norris Center pool.

"Our team has been working really hard and it's good to see us moving fast," Overholt said. "It's a step toward sectionals and state and it's good to see us moving really well right now."

Overholt said the Wildcats had a weightlifting session Saturday morning and won't begin the resting process known as tapering until closer to the sectional meet.

But even without being rested, Neuqua Valley dominated the conference meet from the early morning diving, when Ted Wagner claimed the day's first varsity championship.

The Wildcats swept all three relays. Overholt provided his own boost to the team's score by winning the 200-yard freestyle and the 100 freestyle.

"Conference isn't a huge deal for us," Overholt said. "Obviously, it's great to win and everything. But honestly this is a great stepping stone toward sectionals and state."

Kevin Cordes was the Wildcats other conference champion when he won the 100 breaststroke.

Waubonsie Valley was solidly in second place. Neuqua Valley scored 317 points to the Warriors 248. Lake Park was third with 189 points.

Jack Poletto provided a pair of conference championships for the Warriors when he won the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.

"Neuqua Valley's a tough team to beat," Poletto said. "They were first in state last year and they're tough competition. But we're definitely there with every race."

Poletto said he is looking forward to tapering and feels his races are on course for a strong finish to the season.

"I'm pretty happy with my fly right now," he said. "My backstroke is pretty good too. I've got to work on my starts though."

After Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley, the six-team field was tightly bunched. Lake Park finished ahead of the pack and claimed third place.

"We've been working really hard this season and I knew that we'd do a lot better than we did last season," Lake Park's Bryant Honsa said. "It's really good to see. We're swimming so well as a team. Our relays are doing really well too."

Honsa had the Lancers' strongest results. He finished first in the 200 individual medley and won the 500 freestyle.

"My IM was pretty good, but my 500 was a little slower than I'd like it to be. But I worked a lot harder than I did last year, so I think I'm a little more broken down."

Aaron Casper completed a hat trick of Lake Park victories when he won the 50 freestyle.