The Fenwick boys swimming team finished the year in second place, barely falling to Loyola in the Metro Catholic Aquatics Conference Championship held last weekend.
The Friars began the meet well, with the team of Luke Baldwin, Dan Wolak, Dan Napleton and Patrick Lloyd taking second place in the medley relay. John Barrett then took second in the 200 free, handing in his best time this season. Luke Baldwin next took third in the 200 IM, followed by a second-place finish by Dan Wolak in the 500-yard free. As the day went on, Fenwick coach Dave Perry was starting to see his team inch closer to the championship, but Loyola had a different idea.
“We really were swimming great with one good race after another,” he said. “We were just back and forth with Loyola, until we reached the final race, and it all boiled down to the last relay. We were five points up going into the race, but Loyola beat us to win the meet. Still, I really think we swam well and the guys showed a lot of heart.”
Other top-three finishers for the Friars included, Tommy Parolin taking third in the 100-yard butterfly, Patrick Lloyd snaring first in the 100 free, Matt Meyer finishing second in the backstroke, and Chris Jones with a third-place finish in the diving event.
The Friars now have two weeks to train for the regional that will be held on Feb. 18, according to coach Perry.
“The guys like swimming at our pool and defending our turf,” he said. “Most of the guys now have to focus on the mental aspect of swimming and the small things such as their starts and turns. My job is to make sure they will come out feeling positive and ready to do their best.”
Fenwick trounces
Gordon Tech
The Friars (13-7 Overall, 5-1 Chicago Catholic North League) cruised to a 52-35 victory against Gordon Tech last week, setting up a pivotal game against Leo on Feb. 10. If the Friars prevail, they will claim the league championship.
Against Gordon Tech, the Friars led just 23-21 at the half, but broke the game wide open, courtesy of an 8-0 run to start the third frame. In fact, the tenacious Friar defense limited Gordon Tech to just 14 second-half points.
“I was really pleased with the way we adjusted our defense in the second half,” said Fenwick coach John Quinn. “They were running a flex offense and keying on the best player Keyshawn Day, but we limited him to just four points in the second half. We really didn’t help ourselves in the first half by missing easy shots, but we got a great contribution from Bob Bingle who scored eight points for us off the bench.”
Fenwick senior Peter Flowers led all scorers with 16 points, while adding 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Freshman guard Zavier Humphrey chipped in 18 points and was 6 of 7 from the charity stripe. As for the rest of the season, Quinn is trying to keep his squad settled.
“We really will just take things one week at a time, focus on the Catholic League championship and the regional later,” he said. “We really have been playing great lately, and I just want to make sure we keep that momentum. We started off 2-4 and now we are 11-3 in our last 14 games, which really is something the kids should be proud of and something I want to keep going.”
OPRF boys swimming take fifth in conference
The Oak Park and River Forest High School swimming team drew its season to a close, taking fifth at the West Suburban Silver Conference Championship Meet held last weekend. Still, the Huskies can be buoyed by the fact they qualified 12 swimmers for the regional competition on Feb. 18.
One of the top finishers for Oak Park was senior Jack Anderson, who finished third in the 50-yard freestyle and second in the 100 freestyle, according to OPRF coach Peter Quinn.
“He was seeded third in both events, so he finished where I expected,” he said. “He had a chance to win both races, and I think he had a couple of his better races on Friday. Still, I think his times were good, and he is swimming well going into sectionals.”
Senior Taylor Rasley was the sole first-place finisher for the Huskies, taking first in the 100 backstroke, while junior Tim Mathieu took sixth in the 200 and 500 freestyle. Sophomore Phil Meyer won the freshman-sophomore diving event on Friday night.
“Taylor was seeded first, and he did what he needed to do to win,” Quinn said. “I thought he did a real nice job and he finished the regular season on a good note. As for Tim, I think he also had a nice meet. He had two solid swims yesterday, and he finished strong, which was very good for his confidence.”
?#34;Cam Wigton