Boys Swimming: St Charles North swims past Metea Valley
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
The Metea Valley boys swim team had some fun on senior night by shuffling its lineup Thursday against visiting St. Charles North in a Upstate Eight Conference crossover dual meet.
In the last dual of the season for both teams, North coach Rob Rooney also changed around his roster which proved to be a winning combination as the North Stars defeated the Mustangs 101-83.
After surrendering the first 10 points of the meet to Metea Valley in the 200-yard medley relay, North rallied, picking up the next three events (200 free, 200 individual medley and 50 free).
However, it was the last leg of the last event that had each team at the edge of the pool and the fans in the stands screaming until the nail-biting finish. Sophomore Joey Quan got the nod from his coach to anchor the 400 free relay and tapped first, just inches ahead of Metea Valley senior Cameron Weber.
“It’s because of the coach (Rooney) and the way he coaches us, the way he does practice for specific swimmers,” said Quan, competing in his first year on varsity.
The Mustangs had their own share of significant wins. Michael Stack, widely considered one of the best breaststrokers in the state, blew his competition out of the water in the 100 breast, winning by more than four seconds (59.22).
Mustangs coach Mark Jager saw his roster changes as more than just a way to have some fun: “I think it kind of challenges them to think a little bit differently so that they can be super focused when we get to sectionals.”
Senior captains Joey Chokran (200 IM) and Chris Dieter (50 frees) picked up wins for North.
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