Jack Walter shakes a hand of a competitor during the medals presentation at the Niles North Sectional. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
When he was determining his lineup for last weekend’s Niles North Sectional, New Trier boys swimming coach Josh Runkle figured senior Jack Walter would need a warm-up event before plowing in the 100-yard butterfly and serving as the anchor leg of the 200 free relay.
Runkle deployed Walter in the 50 free on Feb. 18.
Walter was slotted in the penultimate heat, with a seed time of 22.7.
The state cut in the event: 21.86.
Walter blasted his way to a sixth-place — and state-qualifying — 21.83
Some warm-up.
“I do like to get my heart rate up at meets,” said Walter, who also qualified for state in the 100 fly (first place, 51.72) and in the 200 free relay (second place, 1:26.41, with seniors Mason McQuet and Henry Yavitt and junior Pierson Ohr).
“That was nice, seeing Jack earn a third swim [at state],” Runkle said. “Cool for him. We kind of scraped that 200 free together. We’ll be sure to work on the kids’ starts during the week. If we get them to Saturday [event finals at state], that would be a huge deal.
“Jack,” the coach added, “cares about his teammates a lot. He’s been a steady contributor for four years.”
As a freshman, Walter advanced to state in the 500 free. One year later he qualified for state in the 500 free and 200 IM — his events at state last winter, too.
Walter, a fan of scuba diving and photography, dyed his hair blue earlier this month and shaved some of it. It was the look he sported before the final two meets last season.
His head was completely hair-free last weekend.
“Just having fun again,” Walter said of his blue-hair-partial-buzz-cut presentation.
Walter and five other Trevian seniors get to swim at their final prep meet in the home water.
NT hosts at the state swimming and diving meet on Feb. 24-25.
NT’s other state-qualifying seniors: McQuet, Yavitt, Philipp Srivastava, Jakob Kaminsky and Patrick Drake. Drake swam a leg for the Trevians’ victorious 400 free relay (3:06.13, with juniors Ryan Gridley, Patrick Gridley and Charlie Scheinfeld).
Their time ranks first among all state qualifiers.
Srivastava joined the Gridley twins and Scheinfeld to clock a first place 1:33.14 in the 200 medley relay. That result was the second-fastest — to Hinsdale Central’s 1:32.27 — during sectional weekend.
McQuet silvered in the 50 free (state-qualifying 21.42), and Kaminsky bronzed in the 100 breaststroke (state-qualifying 58.06).
Another NT senior, Ryan Escasa, swam swiftly for 85 yards in the 100 fly before having to settle for an eighth-place time of 53.47. The state cut in the event: 52.44.
Nobody was pulling harder for Escasa than Runkle was during that race. The coach had to excuse himself briefly — to regain his composure — while discussing Escasa, a transfer.
“That race,” Runkle said, “practically killed me. Good kid, such a good kid. He swam great for most of that race. What a dependable, solid kid. He was upset after the race, but he handled it better than I did.
“Other than that tough news, we had a great meet.”
NT won the sectional easily, scoring 301 points to runner-up Niles North’s 235.5.
Ryan Gridley sped to first place in his two individual events (200 IM, 1:51.24, and 100 free, 46.13); Patrick Gridley pulled to first place in the 100 back (50.15), ahead of runner-up and junior teammate Tommy Wilson (state-qualifying 52.46); and Scheinfeld — the state’s fastest 100 breaststroker — won his best event by more than two seconds with a time of 55.56.
Scheinfeld added a third-place effort in the 100 free (state-qualifying 46.84).
The Trevians’ other state qualifying results were turned in by junior diver Jack Connolly (six place, 433.8 points), Patrick Gridley (third, 200 IM, 1:54), junior Tommy Hackley (third, 500 free, 4:41.68) and junior Ean Vandergraaf (fourth, 500 free, 4:43.39).
Notable: New Trier entrants set six pool records at the Niles North Sectional on Feb. 18: 200 medley relay (1:33.14); Ryan Gridley (1:51.24, 200 IM; and 46.13, 100 free); Patrick Gridley (50.15, 100 back); Charlie Scheinfeld (55.56, 100 breaststroke); and 400 relay (3:06.13). Scheinfeld supplanted the time of 57.21, set in 2016 by … Scheinfeld. Ryan Gridley also lowered the time of a pool record (200 IM, 1:55.21) he had held in ’16. … Patrick Gridley took down the pool mark (50.46, 100 back) set by Glenbrook South star Sam Ida earlier this year. … Of all the photographs New Trier senior Jack Walter has taken, his favorite is that of the family dog, Minnie, walking. Minnie is a Cavalier Spaniel.
Lake Forest
None of the Scouts’ entrants qualified for the state meet from the Vernon Hills Sectional on Feb. 18, but seniors Kevin Donahue and Wyatt Foss combined for three top-four finishes. Donahue touched third in the 200 IM (1:58.45) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (53.12), and Foss placed fourth in the 200 free (1:48.3).
LFHS freshman Luke Lanigan took fourth in the 500 free (5:04.12).
The Scouts’ best relay at the sectional was their 200 free unit of Donahue, Foss (anchor), senior Elliot Hangos and sophomore Carlos Minetti. The crew placed fourth in 1:31.25.
New Trier’s Mason McQuet reacts to his second-place finish in the 50 free at the Niles North Sectional. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
New Trier’s Charlie Scheinfeld dives into the pool at the start of the 100 breaststroke. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
New Trier’s Ryan Gridley waves to the crowd after winning the 100 freestyle. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER