Swim/Dive Team Takes 3rd at Catholic League

On Saturday, February 8, the Crusader varsity swimming and diving team captured a 3rd place finish at Catholic League. Outstanding performances came from the following individuals: Mitch Strahlman took 1st place in 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle; Luke Healy took a 4th place finish in the 200 free and 7th place in 100 fly; Soloman Geinosky captured a 5th place finish in 100 fly and 3rd place in 100 backstroke; Aaron Payne finished 3rd in 100 free, and James Ryan finished 5th in 100 breaststroke.

Brother Rice diver Bobby Kopale finished in 5th place, the 400 free relay posted a time of 3:19.87 for a 3rd place finish, and the medley relay captured a 3rd place finish. The team competes in the sectional in two weeks.

The Standard: Crusaders Finish 11th at Evanston Invite

On Saturday, January 10, the Brother Rice swimming team participated in the annual Evanston Invitational. The Evanston Invitational is one of the most crucial meets of the year; as many of the top teams in the state partake such as New Trier, Evanston, Naperville North, Loyola, and Stagg participate.

The Crusaders started off the meet by placing eighth the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:44.09. In the 200 Freestyle, Tommy Davey touched the wall in 1:50.91, a season best time for him. In the next event, the 200 Individual Medley, sophomore Luke Healy placed ninth with a time of 2:06.39. Freshman standout Aaron Payne swam the 50 Freestyle in 23.61. Senior captain sensation Danny Whalen swam the 500 Freestyle in 5:34.52. Sophomore state qualifier James Ryan placed seventh in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:04.36 to cap off the individual events. The highly anticipated 400 Freestyle Relay of Tommy Davey, Luke Healy, Aaron Payne, and Mitch Strahlman placed seventh with a time of 3:22.23.

The Crusaders placed 11^th out of 22 teams at Evanston in the most important mid-season meet of the year. Senior captain Danny Whalen stated that, “We’re just glad that the rest of the state knows we’re a force. I’m happy the way we came out and raced today. I love this team, and we have great chemistry. The way we swam as a whole today proved that.”

The Crusaders look to swim even faster during the upcoming Sandburg Invitational, Catholic League Championships, and the Sectional Championships.

Swim Team Succeeds at Sandburg

The Brother Rice swim team finished in 3rd place at the Sandburg Invitational on Saturday, January 18. Mitch Strahlman finished 1st in 500 free and 2nd in 200 I.M. The medley relay finished 5th overall. The 400 free relay took first place, and is composed of swimmers Tommy Davey, Luke Healy, Aaron Payne, and Mitch Strahlman.

The team also took on Carl A. Sandburg High School individually on Tuesday, January 21, and won with a score of 95-85. Great swimming performances were offered by Danny Whalen, Ray Adams, Brian Brown, Clarence Williams, Luke Healy, Mitch Strahlman, Dan Birmingham, Brennan Russell, Aaron Payne, James Ryan, Solomon Gienosky, Bobby Kopale, and Peter Gurka.

Swimming Takes Down De La Salle

On Wednesday, December 11, in their first home meet, the varsity swim team defeated the De La Salle with a score of 109 to 59. The JV swim team also scored a win of 91 to 51 against Meteors. Great swims from all the Brother Rice swimmers.

The Standard: Swimming Preview

As the 2013-2014 Brother Rice swimming season nears, athletes have begun to work out in the weight room, outside, and even in the pool on club teams. This year’s squad has become one of the most anticipated Brother Rice swimming teams in recent history. With the addition of freshman Aaron Payne, the Crusaders are expected to have one of the most successful seasons since the sectional championship team in 2003.

With state qualifier James Ryan, sophomore Luke Healy, and senior captains Danny Whalen and Dan Birmingham returning, this year’s group will pair young talent with experienced upperclassmen. “We really surprised everyone at sectionals last year,” says Whalen. “Our rival schools know how good we are. Now, it’s just a matter of executing at the championship meets.” Whalen is expected to be a huge component of this year’s team as far as performance and leadership.

Sophomore Luke Healy will make his return after barely missing his state qualifying cuts last year: “I’m really excited about this year’s team. For me, I’m more motivated than ever. I definitely think the state championship is within reach for a lot of our guys as well as a relay.”

With the stellar coaching staff of Tony Chicowitz ’90 and Matt Latham ’03, the Crusaders are destined to make a huge mark this year.

Brother Rice Swimmers Compete at Conference

This past weekend, the Crusader swim teams competed in the conference meet. The frosh/soph finished 6th place overall, and the varsity squad finished in 4th place. Congratulations to Kevin Mayer for his 1st in the 50 freestyle, Mitch Stralhman for taking 1st in the 500 free and 3rd place in the 200 Individual Medley, and James Ryan for taking 1st in the 100 breast stroke and a 5th place finish in the 100 freestyle.

Congratulations to the following swimmers for their outstanding swims: Solomon Geinosky finished 7th place in the 100 backstroke and 8th place in the 100 fly, Dave Jackson finished 6th in the 200 freestyle, and Ian Disteldorf finished 5th in the 100 breast stroke. Tommy Davey took a 4th place finish in the 200 IM and a 5th place finish in the 100 backstroke, and Sean Ross finished with a 5th place in the 100 fly. Luke Healy took a 6th place finish in 200 IM and 9th place finish in 100 fly, and Brian Brown finished in 7th place in the 200 free with a personal best time of 1:53.37.

Swimming Takes 1st at Niles Invite

On Saturday, December 1, the swim team took home first place out of six teams at the Niles Invite.

Outstanding performances were turned in by junior Mitch Strahlman, who won the 500 freestyle and placed 2nd in the 200 individual medley; freshman Solomon Geinosky, who won the 100 backstroke; and freshman Luke Healy, who won the 200 freestyle.

Also congratulations go out to senior Kevin Mayer, who placed 2nd in the 50 and 100 freestyle; senior Ian Disteldorf, who finished 2nd in the 100 breaststroke; and freshman James Ryan, who took a 3rd place finish in the 100 breaststroke.

Swimming Preview: Solid Core of Upper-Classmen Plan to Turn Heads

The swimming pool at Brother Rice has not been used during the past few months by a Brother Rice swim team, yet they have put in hours of hard work leading up to the start of the season. The pool is shared with the Mother McAuley swimming team, leaving the Crusaders to spend their pre-season workouts in the weight room, outdoor track, and long pool corridor. Even with this division of facilities, not one complaint is heard; instead, only the sounds of squeaking shoes running sprints and the grunting of swimmers doing sit-ups echo throughout the school.

The 2012 squad has a strong backbone of upperclassmen, including seniors Dave Jackson (200 m and 500 m freestyle), Kevin Mayer (100 m fly and 50 m freestyle), Mike Omastiak (100 m backstroke), Ian Disteldorf (200 m IM and 100 m breaststroke), and Mel Escamilla (100 m breaststroke), along with junior Mitch Strahlman (500 m freestyle and 200 m IM). Strahlman qualified for state in both his events last year, and he hopes to repeat again this year, and there is no reason why he will not be accompanied by some of his teammates. Experience will not be in question this season, but rather, how the team will fare in a stacked Catholic League.

“This year is going to be fun,” said senior Mike Omastiak, “People won’t recognize us.” With such a rich history of victory in the water, this year hopefully will put the skeptics of the past under-achieving swim teams to rest.

Strahlman Qualifies for Swimming State Meet

Congrats to Brother Rice swimmer sophomore Mitch Strahlman as he moves closer to the state finals after two successful events at the Sandburg Sectional. Mitch won the 500-yard freestyle and took second in the 200 individual medley, finishing under the state qualifying time.

SouthtownStar

Swim Team Places 5th in Catholic League: Strahlman Breaks Conference Record

The Brother Rice swimming and diving team placed 5th in the Catholic League Championships on Saturday, February 4, at Fenwick. The freshman/sophomore team finished 7^th out of 10 teams, and the varsity finished 5th out of 12 teams. Senior Mike Mulcrone finished 5th in the 100 and 200 freestyles. Junior Dave Jackson finished 8th in the 200 freestyle, and 9th in the 500 freestyle.

Special congratulations go out to sophomore Mitch Strahlman, who took 2^nd place in the 200 I.M. with a time of 1:57.74 and captured an outstanding 1st place finish in the 500 freestyle, setting a new conference record with the time of 4:41.30.