advertisement

Boys swimming: Barrington MSL champ on a record-setting day

No one was pretending that the Mid-Suburban League boys swimming and diving championship meet was just another day on the calendar.

In a normal year, this meet would have been just the first of three at the end of the season where the athletes are trying to deliver their very best performances.

This season, however, the conference meets are the final opportunity in the high school season, as the state championship series was canceled.

That meant virtually every athlete donned their best racing suit and cap, removed as much body hair as possible and boldly charged ahead. Sure, the setting was odd: No fans in the bleachers, plus a challenging set of safety protocols that eliminated much of the buzz from the pool deck and made even the usual camaraderie a challenge.

Yet the final result was still a resounding victory for swimming and diving, and all of it recorded for posterity on a fine livestream.

With virtually all the athletes in peak form, the MSL record book was almost completely rewritten on Saturday at Prospect High School.

All three relays and seven of the eight individual event winners broke conference records.

Leading the way for team champion Barrington was junior Griffin O'Leary. He is one of the few athletes who wasn't tapered for the meet, but you'd never know it from the performances: 49.27 in the 100-yard butterfly and 48.47 in the 100 back.

O'Leary will stay focused on an upcoming date at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but coach John Valentine values more than just the points his junior standout delivered as the Broncos repeated as conference champs.

"Early in the season when all we were doing Zoom meetings, he's the guy that really made a difference," Valentine said. "And not only with our older guys, but we have a bunch of young swimmers. Griffin really played a big role in making sure everybody stayed focused, and all along he made everybody feel like they were a part of the team."

The other key for Barrington was Daniel Langlois, who won the 100 breaststroke in a lifetime-best 57.76 and also placed third in the 200 IM (1:54.52). The Fordham-bound senior appreciates how the season turned out, because there were moments when things didn't look so bright.

"Our team really made the difference to me," Langlois said. "It's all the things that are great about high school swimming ... pasta dinners, just having time with your guys."

Looming large on the conference landscape, both figuratively and literally, was Buffalo Grove. After topping all their MSL East foes in a 5-0 run through the dual meets for their first divisional title since 2012, the Bison punctuated their season with a runner-up team finish, and just 4.5 points behind Barrington.

Senior Alex Santiago was one of the keys, as he produced individual wins in the 200 free (1:41.13) and the 100 free (45.62). He also grabbed legs on the winning 200 and 400 free relays alongside Tommy Tsiftilis, Luke Czeryba and Matt Stelmaszak. Tsiftilis was runner-up in the 50 free and took third in the 100 free.

"This group of seniors gets all the credit," said Buffalo Grove coach Tom Cooney. "There was just something special there, and we knew it when they were freshmen."

With Santiago and Tsiftilis standing well over 6 feet, they formed quite an imposing senior leadership tandem.

"Since it was kind of a hobbled season, I think it helped that right from the beginning we all knew we'd be tapering for this," Santiago said.

Fremd wrapped up third place with 165 points thanks to great lineup balance and relentless improvement upon its seed times. Ben Mears got the day started with an impressive win in diving (451.70 points), and freshman Jaden Heinlein won the 200 IM (1:52.82) and placed second in the 100 back (50.74).

"I think we performed great as a team," said Vikes coach A.J. Adams. "Everybody embraced the possibility of what this year could be for us, and accepted the responsibility of improving all the way through this last meet of the season."

Senior Evan Stegall took fourth in the 50 free and had legs on all three Fremd relays. The all-in approach included freshman Kyler Bingel, who took a big drop to fifth place in the 500 free at 4:56.21.

"And we had a lot of guys who were not even here today who will be a big part of our future," Adams said. "So we are extremely excited about that - our guys are already talking about next year."

Prospect placed fourth, starting the day with a pool, school and meet-record win in the medley relay as Kevin Soltys, Ian McGough, Tim Hays and Andrew Tonkovic finished in 1:35.72.

Tonkovic, a senior, later won a photo finish in the 500 free (4:46.24), just ahead of Schaumburg freshman Szymon Mieczkowski (4:46.35) and Barrington's Ryan Anselm (4:46.53). Hays and Soltys both provided two top-six individual finishes as well.

Rolling Meadows senior Sam Keeley smashed the conference record with a winning effort in the 50 free (20.78). He also placed second in the 100 free (46.30) and had legs on the Mustangs' freestyle relays, both of which placed second.

Meadows got a big boost from senior Jacob Hardt, who crushed his seed times for a runner-up finish in the 100 fly (52.34) and fourth in the 200 IM (1:56.31). Another senior, Lukas Slifierz, had legs on both free relays and placed third individually in the 100 fly.

"I think they swam great," said Rolling Meadows coach Monika Chiappetta. "For the kind of season we had, with all the ups and downs and the challenges, I'm thrilled that everyone was able to end up here with a best time."

Senior co-captains were also the key to Palatine's sixth-place team finish. Alex Antoniv took third in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 free and had legs on two top-six relays. Henry Gabriel was fifth in the 200 IM and came through with the team's top individual placement in the 100 breaststroke, placing second in 59.12. Antoniv and Gabriel joined juniors Alex Kania and Max Adame on Palatine's third-place 200 free relay team.

"Henry had an awesome meet today," said Pirates coach Katie Mroz. "I always describe him to people as the glue to our team - he really kept us together."

Conant had plenty of bright spots as well. Coach Brian Drenth's team was led by a senior group he will not soon forget.

"I've been looking forward these last three years to seeing what they could do, and I'm just really proud of them," he said. "During our Zoom meetings early on, these guys were great leaders."

Plenty of reason for future optimism at Conant as well, as frosh Bryce Loeger placed fourth in both the 100 free and the 100 backstroke.

Hersey's top finisher was Andrew Flight with third place in the 100 breaststroke. But the Huskies were able to join the record effort as junior Noah Thomas, competing in the Athletes With Disabilities events, established state records in the 50 free, the 100 free and the 100 breaststroke.

Wheeling's top individual was Mason Hergert, with fifth-place finishes in the 100 breast and 100 fly.

Schaumburg's Mieczkowski placed second in the 200 free, and the Saxons got a fourth from Andrew Georgescu in the 100 fly.

For Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez, a successful outcome was about much more than how his own team performed.

"The goal was to make sure that every team got the very best out of their athletes, and that everybody was able to leave saying, 'That was fulfilling,' " he said. "On that level, I'm really pleased."

For anyone concerned that a full season of training would be required for big improvement, well, the fast results offered a stark factual counterpoint.

"I'm shocked," Lopez said. "Even if this had been a normal 14-week season and today's results had come in a sectional meet, the times were still out of this world."

With all the unusual aspects of the suddenly concluded season, there was still one poignantly familiar constant for the coaches. Another class of difference-making seniors, this one deprived of a state championship opportunity, is moving on.

"It is always hard," said Rolling Meadows' Chiappetta, "having to say goodbye to such great kids."

RESULTS

Team scores: 1. Barrington 198.5, 2. Buffalo Grove 194, 3. Fremd 165.5, 4. Prospect 164, 5. Rolling Meadows 160, 6. Palatine 137, 7. Conant 129, 8. Hersey 99, 9. Schaumburg 73, 10. Elk Grove and Wheeling 30, 12. Hoffman Estates 15.

200-yard medley relay: 1. Prospect (Soltys, McGough, Hays, Tonkovic) 1:35.72, 2. Barrington (O'Leary, Langlois, Baron, Guo) 1:36.27, 3. Conant (Loeger, Bestor, Vecchione, Recko) 1:36.57.

200 freestyle: 1. Santiago (BG) 1:41.13, 2. Mieczkowski (Sch) 1:45.48, 3. Tonkovic (Pros) 1:45.56, 4. Anselm (Barr) 1:47.25, 5. Pollina (Hers) 1:47.86, 6. Basa (Barr) 148.65.

200 IM: 1. Heinlein (Fremd) 1:52.82, 2. Hays (Pros) 1:54.50, 3. Langlois (Barr) 1:54.52, 4. Hardt (RM) 1:56.31, 5. Gabriel (Pal) 1:59.11, 6. Bestor (Con) 2:02.98

50 free: 1. Keeley (RM) 20.78, 2. Tsiftilis (BG) 21.88, 3. Antoniv (Pal) 22.16, 4. Stegall (Fremd) 22.22, 5. Recko (Con) 22.61, 6. Zwolenik (Pros) 23.12

Diving: 1. Mears (Fremd) 451.70, 2. Epperson (Pros) 439.10, 3. Kurzawinski (Sch) 418.15, 4. Dumrauf (BG) 414.65, 5. Wheeler (BG) 395.60, 6. Whiting (RM) 390.65

100 fly: 1. O'Leary (Barr) 49.27, 2. Hardt (RM) 52.34, 3. Slifierz (RM) 53.30, 4. Georgescu (Sch) 53.88, 5. Hergert (Whl) 54.21, 6. Baron (Barr) 55.15

100 free: 1. Santiago (BG) 45.62, 2. Keeley (RM) 46.30, 3. Tsiftilis (BG) 47.57, 4. Loeger (Con) 47.72, 5. Antoniv (Pal) 48.84, 6. Soltys (Pros) 49.40

500 free: 1. Tonkovic (Pros) 4:46.24, 2. Mieczkowski (Sch) 4:46.35, 3. Anselm (Barr) 4:46.53, 4. Bingel (Fremd) 4:56.21, 5, Pancerz (RM) 4:57.55, 6. Guo (Barr) 4:58.96

200 free relay: 1. Buffalo Grove (Santiago, Stelmaszak, Czeryba, Tsiftilis) 1:26.59, 2. Rolling Meadows (Hardt, Pancerz, Slifierz, Keeley) 1:27.83, 3. Palatine (Antoniv, Kania, Gabriel, Adame)

100 backstroke: 1. O'Leary (Barr) 48.47, 2. Heinlein (Fremd) 50.74, 3. Hays (Pros) 51.71, 4. Loeger (Con) 52.40, 5. Soltys (Pros) 52.69, 6. Cotner (Barr) 56.35

100 breaststroke: 1. Langlois (Barr) 57.76, 2. Gabriel (Pal) 59.12, 3. Flight (Hersey) 59.42, 4. Bestor (Con) 1:00.13, 5. Hergert (Whl) 1:00.36, 6. Dombroski (BG) 1:01.81

400 free relay: 1. Buffalo Grove (Tsiftilis, Czeryba, Stelmaszak, Santiago) 3:11.65, 2. Rolling Meadows (Slifierz, Hardt, Pancerz, Keeley) 3:15.63, 3. Prospect (Soltys, Zwolenik, Tonkovic, Hays) 3:15.89

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.