Fenwick High School’s Carter Fask found himself filling the senior leadership role this season.
“Fenwick has already had some really fast swimmers, [2022 graduate] Mike Flynn going to Notre Dame and [2021 graduate] Connor McCarthy going on to Purdue,” Fask said. “I always looked up to them, so it felt like a different role this year, being the leader.”
Fask set the tone for the young and quickly improving Friars at the state meet Friday and Saturday.
Fask finished fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (20.34 seconds) at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont after his 20.24 in Friday’s preliminaries broke the 20.40 school record.
“I was happy how it went,” said Fask, the Friars’ lone senior in finals. “I was a little nervous coming off the [200 medley] relay. I didn’t really like my split (20.27 in free), but I was content with my 50.”
This season, the number increased from the fastest 12 to the 16 best times advancing to Saturday’s finals. The top eight competed for the state championship.
The 200 free relay of Fask, junior Finnbar Munley and Thomas Heit and sophomore Patrick Rhatigan also reached the championship final, finishing eighth (1:24.78) after a school-record 1:24.15 Friday.
Taking 15th in the consolation finals were Rhatigan (500 free in 4:38.77) and the 200 medley relay of sophomores Michael Neumann and Jack Posluszny, Heit and Fask in a school-record 1:33.59. Fenwick was 14th (49 points).
“We’re the most excited team on this deck,” Heit said. “It’s really all thanks to our head coaches. We never rested for a meet. We put it all toward sectionals and state and that paid off. We came out of nowhere.”
It was a great season for first-year coach Spencer Walker, assisted by his father, Scott Walker, the girls swimming head coach at Lyons Township. Fask said the Walkers and club coach Matt Harder were integral to his improvement.
“They trained differently this year and bought into what we were trying to do. I couldn’t be more thankful for what I got,” Spencer Walker said.
OPRF
Oak Park and River Forest tied for 16th (37) with six entries reaching the consolation finals. Juniors Pablo Pareja and Will Keyes advanced in all four of their events.
“We finished 11th last year and it felt like this year was better,” said OPRF coach Clyde Lundgren following numerous personal lifetime bests. “Just measuring on that standard, I’d say we had a fantastic weekend.”
The 400 free relay of freshman John Murphy, Keyes, Pareja and senior Lars Rauch (13th, 3:06.08) climaxed with the second-fastest time in program history. Murphy’s 47.13 split broke the freshman 100 free record for the third straight meet.
“It’s just great experience for all of the guys. A great way to go out for all of the seniors,” said Rauch, nicknamed The Viking, who will swim at Kenyon College. “I loved being on all of the relays and always being the anchor.”
The 200 medley relay of Pareja, seniors Adan Pedraza and Brady Sorg and Keyes (1:33.33) and 200 free relay of senior Joshua Wood, Keyes, Pedraza and Rauch (1:25.25) were 11th.
Pareja was 15th in the 100 back (50.95) and 16th in the 100 fly (50.36). Keyes was 15th in the 200 free (1:40.95).