Area Sports Roundup: Lyons and Sandburg lead contingent of area swimmers headed to state

By Jeff Vorva
Staff writer

Lyons, which won state titles in boys swimming in 2016 and 2017 and took second in 2018, is bringing a huge contingent of athletes to the IHSA state meet this weekend.

Lyons is sending three relay teams and individual qualifiers in four events to the event, which will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 26, at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.

Will the Lions bring home a trophy this year? That’s yet to be determined, but they are in position to score some points, especially in the relays.

Lyons finished second in its own sectional on Saturday, racking up 277 points. Hinsdale Central took first with 304.

Three relay teams won sectional titles for the Lions.

The 200-yard medley relay team of Quinn Collins, Aidan Foley, Colin Bade and Jack Wanless won in 1:31.78, the best sectional time in the state. The 200 free relay team of AJ Vitek, Collins, Graeme Gantt and Wanless won in 1:25.14, which is the third-best sectional time. The 400 free relay team of Collins, Vitek, Gantt and Wanless won in 3:07.63, which is also the third-best sectional time.

Bade won the 100 backstroke in 51.08 with Collins right behind him at 51.10.

Other Lyons swimmers heading to state are Alec Peras and Matt Adler in diving, Wanless in the 100 free and Foley in the 100 breast.

Riverside-Brookfield diver Harrison Nolan was a sectional champ with a 604.95, the second-best sectional score in the state. Teammate Nate Kissel was an at-large diver for state. Drew Rosa is heading to state in the 200 IM.

Reavis’s Joey Countryman won the 200 free in 1:41.81 and the 100 free in 46.03, the latter which was third-best in the state. The Rams 200 free relay team of Daniel Dziwisz, Mauricio Gonzalez, Kamil Bierant and Countryman also qualified for state.

Oak Lawn divers Jeremy Graville and Cohen Laylo qualified as individuals, as did Nazareth’s Cooper Kosanovich.

Eagles Advance
Sandburg won its own sectional title with 284 points. Stagg finished third.

The Eagles’ 200 free relay team of Filip Swiecicki, Kacper Laskowski, Aidan Reyes and Alex Borchardt won the sectional title with a 1:32.85 and the 400 free relay team of Borchardt, Andrew Simonek, Laskowski and David Kwiatkowski won with a 3:18.00.

Simonek won the 500 in 5:00.42 and Kwiatkowski won the 100 back in 54.49.

Stagg’s Alex Smolecki won the 200 IM with a 2:01.11. He also qualified in the 200 breast and teammate Ronald Latwis is an at-large qualifier in diving.

Marist’s Brae Sanchez won the 100 breast event with a 56.42, the second-beat sectional time in the state.

Girls Basketball
McAuley beat Simeon, 70-46, to win its own Class 4A regional. Bella Finnegan had 30 points and Morgan Feil scored 13. The Mighty Macs are scheduled to play Lyons in the Lyons Regional.

Second-seeded Marist won its own Class 4A regional with a 66-52 victory over Stagg and is scheduled to face third-seeded Homewood-Flossmoor in the sectional semifinal at Bolingbrook on Tuesday. Elise Ward had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Mary Clare Brusek had 18 points and Emily Bojan hauled down 23 rebounds.

In Class 3A, state power Nazareth crushed Kennedy 65-15 in the Goode Academy Regional and was scheduled to face Payton Tuesday in the De La Salle Sectional.

Corcoran vaults at state
Sandburg junior Elysa Corcoran, who is a part of the Andrew co-op team, finished 29^th in the state gymnastics meet at Palatine. She finished with a 9.0500.

Did you know?
Over a nine-game stretch, Oak Lawn girls basketball player Katelyn Dillon averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals a game to help the Spartans win back-to-back South Suburban Conference Red titles.