The Fenwick and OPRF boys swimming teams both had a strong showing Saturday at the sectional finals at Fenwick, and several swimmers from each team are heading to the state finals.
The Friars (358 points) placed second in the event, while the Huskies (336 points) took third. Lane Tech notched the victory with 408 points. Fenwick Junior Patrick Rhatigan placed third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:44.05) and 500-yard freestyle (4:45.34). The relay team of Senior Thomas Heit, Juniors Thomas Caicedo and Jack Posluszny, along with Rhatigan, placed second in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:26.53, and the relay team of Heit, junior Michael Neumann, Posluszny and Rhatigan placed first in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:09.40.
“I was very far off from my times at this point in the season in previous years, as well as the times I was pacing for throughout the season. However, I will be able to bounce back for state and be right where I should be,” Rhatigan said. “The highlight of my day would probably be the 4 by 100 Freestyle relay. It felt good to bounce back after a subpar day and beat Lane Tech in the last event of the day. I think that our 4 by 100 will do great at state and I look forward to being a part of it.”
For the Huskies, Senior Will Keyes took second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.65 and took third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.40. The relay team of senior Lucas Puntillo, Keyes, sophomore Alfonso Cides, and Senior Andrew Harmon took third place in the 200-yard freestyle relay, and the relay team of sophomore Justin Dairyko, Cides, Harmon, and Keyes took third in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
“It feels great to be heading back to state, and it’s even more exciting to share the experience with some of my teammates and good friends,” Keyes said. “I’ve been preparing for this moment all year, so it’s crazy to think that it’s finally here. Leading up to sectionals, I adjusted my training by tapering, cutting back on yardage and intensity so I could be at my best or close to it. We shifted our focus to race-pace efforts in practice to fine-tune the specific events we were swimming.”
Fenwick’s Patrick Rhatigan competes in the 200 Yard Freestyle during the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Oak Park, IL. (Steve Johnston/Wednesday Journal) 
Fenwick’s Jack Posluszny competes in the Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay during the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Oak Park, IL. (Steve Johnston/Wednesday Journal) 
Fenwick’s Michael Neumann competes in the 200 Yard IM during the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Oak Park, IL. (Steve Johnston/Wednesday Journal) 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Lucas Puntillo competes in the 100 Yard Butterfly during the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Oak Park, IL. (Steve Johnston/Wednesday Journal) 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Francesco Canzona competes in the 200 Yard IM during the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Oak Park, IL. (Steve Johnston/Wednesday Journal) 
Oak Park and River Forest’s Will Keyes competes in the 200 Yard Freestyle during the IHSA Boys Swimming Sectional at Fenwick Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Oak Park, IL. (Steve Johnston/Wednesday Journal)
Rhatigan was proud of how the team performed after a long season of preparation to get to the state swimming level.
“The team performed incredibly,” he said. “Posluszny had an outstanding day. His ability to get up and go really stood out to me. The team’s ability to come together and support each other for everyone’s events was amazing to witness and be a part of. The key to this was the community that Fenwick created. Being a Catholic school, we all gather in prayer and can have that one common thing that brings us all together. I think we all give the glory of our success to God, and he is responsible for how well we performed.”
Keyes was also very proud of how his Huskies fared as they get ready to head down to the state finals.
“What really stood out to me about our team’s performance at sectionals was just how strong we were across the board,” he said. “Everyone put up great swims, and the energy was high all around. You could tell that the whole team walked away feeling good about how they performed.”