Boys swimming: Chesterton wins 16th straight Duneland title
By Josh Lichtenfeld Post-Tribune correspondent January 28, 2012 11:30PM
Valparaiso's Andrew Antonetti trails just behind Chesterton's Ethan Whitaker in the 200 Yard Freestyle during the DAC boys swim and dive meet on Saturday, January 28, 2012, in Crown Point. Antonetti made up ground and placed first in the event. | Scott R. Brandush~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:32AM
CROWN POINT — At the rate they’re going, not many teams in the area can withstand the sheer versatility and speed of the sophomores on the Chesterton boys swimming team.
And as telling as their solid freshman campaign was (the Trojans fourth at the state meet), the accomplishments continue to stack up.
On Saturday four Chesterton sophomores combined for the team’s nine wins as the Trojans continue to roll in DAC conference meets, winning its 16th consecutive title. The Trojans’ depth blew apart the rest of the league with a 531-346 score over runner-up Valparaiso.
“It’s been fun,” longtime Chesterton coach Kevin Kinel said of the conference streak. “And today, we did pretty good on the top end and depth.”
In fact, while Blake Pieroni (two relay wins and firsts in the 200 IM in 1:54.53) and the 100 free in 45.82, a DAC record), Jack Wallar (three relay wins and a first in the 100 breast in 59.00), and brothers Ethan (two relay wins and a victory in the 500 free in 4:46.49) and Aaron Whitaker (two relay wins and firsts in the 100 fly in 50.98 and the 100 back in 53.03) took control on the front end, some other results also stood out.
During the 200 free, Valparaiso’s Andrew Antonetti won in a time of 1:44.96, but the Trojans were right on his heels, going 2-3-4.
But as strong as the showing appeared, it wasn’t easy. On Thursday, Chesterton defeated fellow area powerhouse Munster on the road.
“Swimming best times two days ago and coming here and trying to duplicate it was tiring,” Pieroni said.
Valparaiso coach Adam Nellessen acknowledges Chesterton’s talents, but takes positives from his team’s performance.
“They’ve just dominated the area for so long and it’s just a continuation from that,” he said. “We’ve got bigger goals and this is a step in the right direction for that.”
Crown Point’s Mike Kukurugya (a 21.85 in the 50 free) and LaPorte’s Josh Arndt (a 455.90 in diving) grabbed the other individual titles.
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