Marmion swimmers respond
A couple of weeks ago, Marmion's 400-yard freestyle relay turned in a time somewhere between 3:26 and 3:27 -- a result that caused Cadets coach Bill Schalz no end of disappointment.
"I was livid with our guys and I challenged them," Schalz said. "I told them that we can't expect to be taken seriously as a team and we can't expect to do anything serious at the state meet if we can't beat 3:16 soon."
"Soon" arrived on Saturday when Marmion's 400 freestyle relay of Thomas Delves, Matt Pircon, Luke Martinez and Auston Cox swam 3:15.83. That time not only won the meet-capping event at the Marmion's annual Matt Block Relays but set a pool record at the same time.
"That's over 10 seconds faster than we were and I'm really happy with that," Schalz said.
That record-breaking swim concluded Marmion's third-straight first-place performance at the 36-year old meet. The Cadets scored 142 points, ahead of Lyons, which was second with 118 points.
"It's a lot of fun going out and racing relays we don't usually race," Marmion junior Tyler Capen said. "We get really excited about the events. We like to give it our all and try to break some records."
This year's competition was tougher than in recent years. Byron and Rockford Boylan were added to the field, to bring the total of competing teams to six. Add to that improved performances from most teams and, race by race, the meet was strong.
Three records fell. In addition to Marmion's 400 freestyle relay performance, the Cadets also broke the record in the 300 breaststroke relay. Peter Flight, Pircon and Matt Lifka swam 3:05.02, nearly 2 seconds better than the previous mark.
"We had a great meet today," Schalz said. "We swam fast today."
Meet newcomer Byron opened the meet by breaking the 200 medley relay record. The increased competition meant Marmion did not sweep the events, as it had in 2006. It also meant the competition level in each race was strong.
For example, Capen hit the water in the final leg of the 400 medley relay even with Byron's Matt Fletcher. Capen outswam his opponent through the 100 yards of the race to give Marmion the race victory.
"Peter Flight was really cheering me on, telling me to step up and race," Capen said. "It really got me motivated and I swam well in that race."
Benet finished fourth in the meet. The Redwings' best performance came in the 200 freestyle relay. Paul Pallardy, Brandon Harvey, Mark Vandlik and Dave Vandendorpe finished third.
"I thought that, considering how much I've beaten them up in training this week, they swam pretty well," Benet coach Mike Rigali said "They swam a tough 5,500-yard free distance set (Friday) and they were complaining about it today. That's pretty much how I gauge their success. The more they complain, the better job I think I'm doing."
Benet's lineup was full of underclassmen, which is a shift from last year's more experienced team that finished 13th in the state meet.
"I think we're looking pretty good and we'll use this as a springboard heading into our winter training," Rigali said. "We've got a lot of young kids and I think they're well on their way to filling the spots by our talented senior class from last year."