It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…what a fantastic Sectional meet for the Hornets who were on full taper, but we came up short of state cuts in multiple events. Senior Sam Nilles dropped 6 seconds in the 200 Free for a lifetime best. In the IM, Tommy Matulis just missed the state cut by .14, but dropped 7 seconds from his season best time. Andrew Schmid dropped 5 seconds for a lifetime best. Connor Kaplan missed the 50 free cut by .3 and finished 6th. Kaplan came back in the 100 Free and broke the 50-second barrier to swim a lifetime best of 49.37. Senior Kyle Brennan went a lifetime best 51.86. In the 500 Free, Sam Nilles dropped an astounding 17 seconds to finish his 500 career with a 5:17.27. The 200 Free Relay team of Brennan, Ofenloch, Matulis and Kaplan dropped 3 seconds and got 4th place, with both Kaplan and Matulis splitting state qualifying times. Tommy Matulis finished 5th in the 100 Breast, breaking his own Sophomore record, but missing the state cut by .06. Finally, the 400 Free Relay of Brennan, Nilles, Kaplan and Matulis finished 5th with best splits for all. The team finished 6th overall for a great season!
Week of January 29th
Conference Champs!! This makes 32 Conference Championships for the Hornets! What a great day; divers Payton Hultmark and Liam Mitchell started out the meet for us with a 1-3 placing respectively, and the swimmers finished the job. Tommy Matulis and Andrew Schmid finished 1-2 in the 200 IM, with Connor Kaplan winning the 50 Free. Derek Driggers was Conference champ in the 100 Fly, and the 200 Free Relay crushed the competition. The duo of Tommy Matulis and Andrew Schmid again teamed up for major points in the 100 Breast, finishing 1-3 and the 400 Free Relay sealed the win. What a great way to keep the tradition alive!
Week of January 22nd
Taper started this week for the Frosh/Soph and JV squads after having some good swims at the annual Lyons Township Invite. Several swimmers had best times, including Kamil Kawiecki, Rino DiNardi, Owen Ling, Dominic Morgan and Cole Haubenreiser. Man of the Meet was Payton Hultmark. Payton’s diving total score was 30 points higher than he has been all season. Way to go, Payton! The team finished 5th overall with some great competition.
Week of January 15th
This week was a difficult one for the Hornets; we took a loss to Leyden for the last conference dual meet of the season. Saturday, the Hornets headed out to Lockport for their annual invite and finished 12th. This coming week starts taper for some groups, and the Lyons Township Invite on Saturday. This meet is geared toward the Junior Varsity team to give them some great recognition and hopefully some great swims.
Week of January 8th Last week the Hornets took on 2017 Conference Co-Champion Addison Trail/Willowbrook on Friday. Hornets came out on top on the Varsity level 112-71. The Man of the Meet went to two men; James Kurowski for a huge drop in the 100 Breast and Matt Krauz for a huge time drop and big place finish in both the 200 IM and the 100 Fly. Frosh/Soph took a loss as we moved several up to pack the varsity lineup. Men of the Meet for Frosh/Soph were Rino DiNardi and Charlie Nilles. This Friday the Hornets have their last conference dual meet of the season at Leyden West. The divers head to Lockport Friday night for the diving portion of the Lockport Invite, and the swimmers will finish up on Saturday at Lockport.
Week of January 1st
This week the Hornets met conference rival Downers Grove South on the last Friday morning before break. The Varsity Hornets came out on top by 20 points. Man of the Meet went to Connor Kaplan on the Varsity level and James Kurowski on the Frosh/Soph level. Saturday the Hornets hosted the Annual James Wheelock College Events Invitational. We were unable to host the diving portion of the meet onsite, so that event had to be cancelled. The Hornets finished 8th in the meet overall. Man of the Meet was Kamil Kawiecki. Next Friday the Hornets have their last conference dual meet of the season at Leyden West, followed by the Lockport Invite on Saturday.
Week of December 25th
On Wednesday, December 27th the Hornets went to LincolnWay Central for their annual invite. We finished 5th overall and some solid swims in the middle of our “holiday training” tour. Derek Driggers was the Man of the Meet; his 1:02.18 in the 100 Fly was a lifetime best swim.
Next week the Hornets face off against DGS on Friday, followed by the annual James Wheelock College Events meet on Saturday.
Week of December 11th
This week the Hornets moved to a 2-1 win/loss record with a win on Friday night against Morton. Varsity won 119-51, while Frosh/Soph took a loss at 98-38. Man of the Meet on the Varsity level was Joe Ofenloch and Dominic Morgan took the honor for the Frosh/Soph team. On Saturday the team traveled to Bloomington for their annual invitational. Placing higher than last year, the team took home a 6th place out of 16 teams. Man of the Meet was Tommy Matulis. Tommy was 2nd in both of his individual events, and helped the 200 Medley Relay to a 5th place finish, and the 200 Free Relay to a 3rd place finish.
Week of December 4th This week the Hornets faced off against Oswego East and Proviso, both at home. While the outcome was not a win against Oswego East, Hinsdale South did have some really solid swims. Man of the Meet went to Charlie Nilles on the JV level and to Freshman Andrew Schmid on the Varsity level. Hinsdale South won against Proviso on the Varsity level, and won by forfeit on the Frosh/Soph level. Man of the Meet went to Ben Dorrance on the Varsity level and Frank “The Tank” Finnegan on the Frosh/Soph level. Next week the Hornets see Morton at home and then travel to Bloomington on Saturday for their annual invitational.
Week of November 27th
The Hornets opened their season with the Deerfield Relay meet, where we finished 7th overall. Some good swims were had and all had a great time. Man of the meet was Sophomore James Kurowski. Next week the Hornets swim Oswego East on Thursday and start their quest for a conference championship with a dual meet against Proviso on Friday.