Boy swimming: Cary-Grove co-op does it again, wins 14th FVC championship in 15 years

WOODSTOCK – With no IHSA postseason series to look forward to last year, Cary-Grove co-op’s Ben Castro and Drew Watson jumped on a plane to Orlando, Florida, the day after winning the Fox Valley Conference Boys Swimming Invite.

With sectionals set to return next weekend and the state meet after that, Castro, Watson and the rest of the Trojans aren’t planning another getaway anytime soon.

Cary-Grove co-op, which also is made up of swimmers from Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South and Prairie Ridge, won 9 of 11 events on Saturday at Woodstock North High School to win the FVC title for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons.

Cary-Grove co-op won the FVC title with 394 points, followed by Huntley (251) in second and Jacobs co-op (195) in third. McHenry (191) was fourth and Woodstock North co-op (78) was fifth.

Saturday’s FVC title win for the Trojans was a little more satisfying this time around. After the final scores and team standings were announced, C-G co-op swimmers jumped into the pool and passed around the conference trophy.

Even coach Scott Lattyak, whose teams have now won the past four conference titles, took a victory dip.

“We’ve all worked super hard for this,” said Castro, a senior at Crystal Lake Central. “It’s cool to jump in [the pool] with everyone and just scream. Last year was hard with everything that happened and the high school season was so short.

“But this year has been crazy. Everybody’s been having a lot of fun, laughing and just having a good time.”

Castro and Huntley junior Ben Rocks were named co-Most Valuable Swimmer by the coaches and C-G co-op freshman Noah Brereton (Crystal Lake South) was selected as Newcomer of the Year.

Despite the Trojans’ dominance at the meet, this was the first time they had a swimmer named MVP since 2017 (Ethan Hare). Woodstock North co-op’s Quinn Cynor, now swimming at Cincinnati, had won the past four meet MVPs.

“Overall the team had a phenomenal performance” Lattyak said. “I was excited and happy that we saw about 90% best times today. I was very pleased with how the team came together. We’re feeling pretty optimistic and confident with what we can do.”

Castro was first in two individual events, winning the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.53) and 100 butterfly (50.89) titles. His 200 IM time is already under the state-qualifying time of 1:57.69.

Castro also was a part of two winning relays. Watson, Kasparas Venslauskas, Castro and Kameron Fadden won the 200 medley relay (1:38.45), while Watson, Dexter Zielinski, Fadden and Castro won the last event, the 400 free relay, in 3:17.82.

The Trojans were also first in the 200 free relay, with Zielinski, Victor Praczkowski, Connor Chan and Sam Naatz winning in 1:32.08.

Watson, who was the Newcomer of the Year last year as a freshman, will shoot his first state berth at next weekend’s Stevenson Sectional. On Saturday, he took first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.35, just missing the state-qualifying cut of 53.16, and was second in the 200 IM (1:59.86).

“I thought my times were alright today,” said Watson, who goes to Crystal Lake South. “Not being rested yet, I think I’m in a really good spot for state. The plan is to take the yardage down a little bit but take the intensity up in practice.”

Rocks denied the Trojans a perfect meet with a pair of first-place finishes in the 100 free (47.76) and 200 free (1:45.60). He beat Zielinski, someone he knows well in and out of high school, in both of those races.

“I’ve known him forever, so it’s a good friendly competition,” Rocks said. “I know his racing style. It’s always fun to see how that plays out because it’s always been close between us.”

Rocks, who qualified for state as a freshman in the 100 free and placed 35th, was happy with his times on Saturday. His 100 free was just short of the state-cut time of 47.72.

“I still have a lot of stuff to work on, but I’m really happy with where I’m at,” Rocks said. “We’ve all worked really hard, so just getting to race and have fun, especially for the JV kids because this is the last meet of their season. You want to give your all for them.”

Other first-place finishes for the Trojans came from Fadden in the 50 free (22.72), Brereton in the 500 free (5:05.87) and Venslauskas in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.67).

Earning second-place medals were: Zielinski in the 100 free (48.78) and 200 free (1:46.93); Naatz in the 50 free (23.13); Brereton in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.21); Jacobs co-op’s Pavlo Komarov in the 100 butterfly (55.11); and Huntley’s Luke Hackemack in the 500 free (5:11.77) and Max Van Doran in the 100 backstroke (56.67).

Huntley’s Van Doran, Yehan Subasinghe, Dominic Siwiec and Gavin Heard placed second in the 200 medley relay (1:45.08). Jacobs co-op’s Komarov, Luke Johnson, Charlie Mason and Jacob Jamrozik were runner-up in the 200 free relay (1:36.22). Huntley’s Siwiec, Subasinghe, Van Doran and Rocks were second in the 400 free relay (3:22.93).