Boys Swimming: Barrington getting into postseason frame of mind
BY DAN SHALIN Contributor February 15, 2012 12:14AM
Barrington, IL 2/11/12 Barrington High School hosted the MSL Conference Championship boys swim meet, Saturday. Barrington's Kyle Ujiiye swims the backstroke in the fast heat of the 200 IM. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
this week
BARRINGTON
Today
Wrestling at Ind. State Meet at Champaign, Assembly Hall
Friday
Boys basketball at Fremd, 7:30 p.m.
Girls gymnastics at state meet at Palatine, 5 p.m.
Wrestling at Ind. State Meet, atChampaign, Assembly Hall
Saturday
Boys diving/swimming at Stevenson Sectional, 9 a.m./1 p.m.
Girls track/field at York Invite, 10 a.m.
Boys basketball at Huntley, 6:30 p.m.
Girls gymnastics at state meet at Palatine, 5:30 p.m.
Wrestling at. Ind. State Meet at Champaign, Assembly Hall
Tuesday
Boys basketball hosts Prospect, 7:30 p.m.
Wrestling vs. Grant at Wheeling Team Sectional, 6 p.m.
Article Extras
Updated: March 17, 2012 10:12AM
Members of the Barrington boys swimming team might be a little more wide awake in class these days.
For the first time all season, Broncos head coach John Valentine has eliminated morning workouts, and is allowing his swimmers to sleep in.
It’s all part of the team’s taper strategy for the final two weeks of the campaign. The logic behind the taper is to train heavily for most of the season and then ease off late in order to be fresh when it counts the most.
For Barrington, that means Saturday’s Stevenson Sectional (diving at 9 a.m.; swimming at 1 p.m.), followed by the state meet in Evanston a week later.
In recent years, the Broncos’ taper has been geared toward producing team-best swims in sectionals. However, the focus for many Barrington swimmers is on topping out at the state meet, and hopefully earning a spot in the finals (top 12).
With that in mind, there will be even further tapering next week.
“(The week before state) we’ll still run regular practice after school,” Valentine said. “But we’ll start at 5,000 yards on Monday and reduce it to 1,200 yards by Thursday We’ll also do some work on starts.”
Of course, Barrington’s swimmers still have to qualify for the state meet. To do so, they must take first, or reach the cut in the sectional. Several Broncos enter the sectional with a spots at state firmly within their reach.
Junior Jack Strauss is expected to compete, and most likely qualify, in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 free; sophomore Connor Kobida will lead the way in the 100 breaststroke; senior Tom Clement is the team’s top backstroker; junior Kyle Ujiiye excels in the 100 butterfly; and senior diver Nolan Presmyk is expected to return to state.
Several of those swimmers also will be counted on in relays. However, Valentine said he wasn’t going to guarantee any spots. Instead, he said he would wait until the last minute in order to choose the best quartet for each of the three races.
“We’ll make the decision on the morning of (the sectional),” the coach said. “We’ll see how they have been doing ... and what the time drops are going to be. We’ll see how they are feeling that morning. If guys get sick or are not feeling well, we’re fortunate to have good guys right behind them.”
For some of the up-and-coming swimmers in the Barrington program, the sectional offers a great opportunity to gain big-meet experience, even if they don’t qualify for state. This group includes sophomores Nick Cogswell and Brandon Baranowksi, both strong backstrokers, and freshman breaststroker Chase Lesniak,
“It will be a great experience for the sophomores, and for Lesniak,” Valentine said “Chase actually has a fair chance to make the state cut. He took seventh in the conference meet. Given how strong the MSL is, that makes him one of the top freshman breaststrokers in the state.”
At Saturday’s MSL championships, the Broncos scored 255 points, finishing second to Conant (285) in Barrington.
Picking up conference titles for Barrington were Ujiiye in the 100 fly (51.42), Presmyk in diving (382.25), and the quartet of Ujiiye, junior Sebastian Piekarski, Clement and Strauss in the 200 free relay (1:29.75).
Other highlights: Strauss finishing second in the 100 free (48.49) and third in the 50 free (22.17); Kobida placing second in the 100 breast (1:03.33); and junior James Rodney finishing third in the 200 free (1:51.30).
Additionally, the foursome of Clement, Kobida, Ujiiye and Strauss was second in the 200 medley relay (1:38.83), while the quartet of Piekarski, Rodney, junior Chris Vega and Clement was third in the 400 free relay (3:25.62).
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