Boys Swimming: Glenbrook North qualifies pair of relays to state meet

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2/18/12 Northbrook Glenbrook North High School hosted the IHSA Boys Sectional Swim meet on 2/18. Glenbrook North's Erik Slavin during the 200 yard IM event. | Tamara Bell~Sun Times Media

Updated: March 24, 2012 8:45AM

Josh Runkle couldn’t help being distraught after his team’s Saturday’s showing at the Glenbrook North Sectional.

The Spartans came close to qualifying in several events, but they had to settle for making it to the state meet in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay.

“The kids were disappointed, and I was disappointed,” said Glenbrook North’s head coach.

Brian Roytman, Jason Chen and Victor Qiao got the worst of it. Roytman missed advancing in the 100 butterfly by .12 of a second after finishing in 53.30. Qiao and Chen both were fingertips away from qualifying in in the 100 free. Qiao fell short of the 48.33 qualifying mark, finishing in 48.53, and Chen clocked a 48.67.

“Brian got a kick in the teeth,” Runkle said. “That’s the third year in a row something like that’s happened to him. For whatever reason, he can’t get over the hump. He handled it pretty well, though. He told me that he will learn something from it. When he does, I told him to let me know what it is.”

The 200 free relay also was denied a spot in the state meet, despite finishing in 1:28.40, which was agonizingly short of the 1:28.39 qualifying cut.

But Roytman, Chen and Qiao all will be traveling to state, Friday and Saturday at Evanston, in relays.

The 200 medley relay (Mike Kessler, Joey Sullivan, Chen and Roytman) finished in 1:38.73. Roytman, Chen and Qiao joined Stefan Johnson on the 400 free foursome that touched out in 3:14.74.

“We started out like a million bucks,” Runkle said of the medley. “I didn’t think that one had a shot of getting in. For us to squeeze in, that was huge. Joey and Mike were the wild cards there, and they came up huge.”

Overshadowed by the disappointment of seasons coming to an end too soon were good swims by Spartans Erik Slavin, David Neal, Ben Conrad, Alex Tatham and Patrick Krol. Tatham dropped more than 10 seconds from his previous best in the 500 free, finishing in 5:13.15, and Slavin was nearly five seconds faster than his previous best in the 100 fly (57.48).