Boys Swimming: Sandburg trying relay route to best state finish
By Tim O’Brien For Sun-Times Media February 22, 2012 10:00PM
Sandburg's Matt Veldman practices with the swim team Wednesday, February 22, 2012 in preparation for this weekend's state championships. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media
Boys State
Swimming/Diving
Where: Evanston High School
When: Friday and Saturday
Friday: Diving preliminaries begin at 9 a.m.; swimming preliminaries begin at 3:30 p.m. Top 12 competitors advance to Saturday, top six to championship heat, second six to consolation heat.
Saturday: Swimming and diving finals begin at 1 p.m.
Local qualifiers
(top sectional time in parentheses)
200-yard medley relay: (Naperville North, 1:35.43) Sandburg, 1:37.13; Lincoln-Way East, 1:37.32.
200-yard freestyle: (Nick Hasemann, South Elgin, 1:41.37) Jake Pearson, Lincoln-Way North, 1:44.21; Dan Oldendorf, Lockport, 1:46.91.
200-yard individual medley: (Daniel Conway, Warren, 1:52.19) Brandon Hadhazy, Stagg, 1:56.94; Mitch Strahlman, Brother Rice, 1:57.12; David Apps, Sandburg, 1:58.89; Kevin Kuchta, H-F, 1:58.92.
50-yard freestyle: (Connor Black, Mundelein, :20.98) Stan Grotkiewicz, Sandburg, :21.96; Rick Osty, Andrew, :22.06.
Diving: Austin Mastela, Lockport, 440.70; Joe Cifelli, Marian Catholic, 436.70; Tyler Pastore, Lockport, 423.20; Ryan Deporto, Lincoln-Way North, 417.95; Ryan Kodjer, Lincoln-Way Central, 416.90; Dominic Senese, Stagg, 406.60; Matt Victoria, Sandburg, 387.60; Dan Taylor, Shepard, 374.65.
100-yard butterfly: (Sam Stewart, Champaign Central, :49.32) Matt Veldman, Sandburg, :50.33; Rick Osty, Andrew, :53.41.
100-yard freestyle: (Connor Black, Mundelein, :45.78) Jake Knowles, Lockport, :48.00; Stephen Zieler, Sandburg, :48.02; Stan Grotkiewicz, Sandburg, :48.09; Dan Shaunnessey, Tinley Park, :48.32.
500-yard freestyle: (Daniel Conway, Warren, 4:33.39) Jake Pearson, Lincoln-Way North, 4:40.49; Mitch Strahlman, Brother Rice, 4:42.91; Dan Oldendorf, Lockport, 4:45.95.
200-yard freestyle relay: (New Trier, 1:25.48); Sandburg, 1:25.68; Andrew, 1:28.89.
100-yard backstroke: (Bryan Wiener, Mundelein, :50.66) Cody Morris, Lincoln-Way Central, :53.06; Stephen Zieler, Sandburg, :53.73; Michael Cardoso, Lincoln-Way East, :53.93; Evan Surma, Lincoln-Way North, :54.01; Brandon Hadhazy, Stagg, :54.11.
100-yard breaststroke: (Michael Stack, Metea Valley, :57.65) Jake Knowles, Lockport, :59.05; Andy Gramont, Lincoln-Way East, :59.80; Kevin Kuchta, H-F, 1:01.19; Harlan Long, Stagg, 1:01.23.
400-yard freestyle relay: (New Trier, 3:07.72) Sandburg, 3:10.11; Lincoln-Way North, 3:14.16.
Article Extras
Updated: March 24, 2012 9:01AM
Weighing individual success against team victories might be a difficult decision for a lot of athletes.
Sandburg swimmer Matt Veldman is not one of them.
The senior, a state medalist a year ago, opted to go for the team rather than himself for this weekend’s state meet.
“In the end it wasn’t a tough decision,” Veldman said. “Whatever was going to be best for the team. It didn’t weigh on me at all.”
For the state meet, swimmers can qualify in no more than four events, typically on two relay teams and two individual events. But with Sandburg believing itself capable of a program-best team finish — an eighth-place in 2010 is the standard; the Eagles were 10th last year — Veldman chose to sacrifice his possible individual success for the team.
At the sectional, the senior swam on three state-qualifying relay teams and only one individual event, the 100-yard butterfly, all in hopes of helping Sandburg earn as many points as possible.
Relay teams making it to Saturday’s championship and consolation heats are awarded double the points of an individual qualifier.
“Matt is a leader by example in every sense of the word,” Sandburg coach Jim Caliendo said. “He puts the team first, but he still has goals for himself. His No. 1 goal is for Sandburg to have their best season ever, and those relay points are so important being double.”
Veldman, fifth in the 100-yard butterfly as a junior, was a potential qualifier in either the 50- or 100-yard freestyle. At the state meet, those freestyle sprints are contested on either side of the 100 fly, which would have made it tough for Veldman to be at his best in two individual events.
As it stands, he’ll enter Friday’s action with the second-best sectional time in the state. His 50.33 seconds at the sectional was .03 faster than his fifth-place state time of 2011.
Veldman’s performance will be a key ingredient in deciding Sandburg’s place in the final standings this weekend. Along with the three relays and Veldman in the butterfly, the Eagles have five qualifiers in individual events. Caliendo thinks a top-five finish is a possibility.
“We don’t have a lot of margin for error, but we’ve got three strong relays,” Caliendo said. “Our team is focused on what their goal is. We’re a solid team, and we’re excited for our chances.”
Sandburg’s Stan Grotkiewicz and Stephen Zieler also were qualifiers in two individual events each.
While Sandburg will be looking for team success, other schools will be focused on individual swimmers and not necessarily the team standings.
Lincoln-Way North’s Jake Pearson, Andrew’s Rick Osty, Stagg’s Brandon Hadhazy, Lockport’s Jake Knowles and Dan Oldendorf, Brother Rice’s Mitch Strahlman, and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Kevin Kuchta all qualified individually in two events.
Knowles knows the state meet can be intimidating, but success comes from knowing how to handle it.
“It’s all how you take it in,” Knowles said. “Once you’re there, all the emotions start going, and it helps more than anything.”
Eight local divers also qualified for the state meet, including five from the Sandburg Sectional.
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