North Stars take 2nd to Neuqua Valley at conference swim meet

Published in the Kane County Chronicle on
February 3rd, 2008


North Stars take 2nd to Neuqua Valley at conference swim meet
By KEVIN JENISON - editorial@kcchronicle.com
Comments (No comments posted.)-->NAPERVILLE – It was a day of close finishes in the pool at the Upstate Eight Conference Championship Swimming Meet on Saturday afternoon. But in the end, no one could keep pace with Neuqua Valley, which finished with 332 points.St. Charles North finished second to the first-place Wildcats with 226 points. St. Charles East finished fourth at the six-team event with 175.North Stars senior Matt Baumann pushed through the pack to take home first in the 100-yard backstroke in 54.1 seconds.“Some guys worked their tails off this week and paid the price today,” North coach Rob Rooney said. “It’s been a good day.“The kids who were ready and rested, I was really proud of them. They really opened the door for these kids that are going to be going to sectionals with their tapering and shaving. It’s going to come forth for them.”With a season’s worth of hard work coming to an end, and the postseason in sight, the North swimmers know what they need to do.“Mentally we’re a little beat up,” Rooney said. “But now we need to reel everything back in.”North battled for second place against a stingy Waubonsie Valley, with the North Stars defeating the Warriors’ 219 points by seven. East’s fourth-place finish was followed by Lake Park with 168 points and Bartlett-Streamwood with 113.The North Stars’ Jimmy Brooks placed second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.82. Brooks lost out to Neuqua Valley’s Brian Alden, who posted a new UEC record at 50.77, breaking the previous record of 52.88 set by St. Charles’ Steve North in 1999.St. Charles East’s Adam Carnell placed third in the 100 freestyle in 49.99. The Saints’ B.J. Roth placed fourth in both the 200 and 500 freestyle with a time of 1:47.5 (200), and 4:57.5 (500). Also for the Saints, Ken Tilges took fifth in the 200 indivdiual medley in 2:04.3.The North Stars’ varsity relay team finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay, posting a time of 1:30.41. Daniel Stanek of St. Charles North finished third in the 100 breaststroke.Up next is the IHSA Sectional Finals on Feb. 22 at St. Charles North.“The state kids, we’re all at the end of our ropes,” Rooney said. “They’re tired; I’m tired. They need to taper, and that’s what we have to work our way toward now.”