Hinsdale Central won Saturday’s West Suburban Silver championship to add to its long tradition of excellence in boys swimming, but the narrow point differential over Lyons was unexpected.
Much of the credit for the Red Devils’ title, according to coach Bob Barber, belongs to the large shoulders of junior breaststroker Michael Dietrich, who swam a personal best on the winning 200-yard medley relay and picked up the victory in the 100 breaststroke at York.
“Michael Dietrich’s two event wins, getting us insurance in the breaststroke, was superb and played a huge role in giving us the opportunity to capture another conference title for us,” Barber said.
Hinsdale Central ( 321) won seven events to beat Lyons — which took four firsts — by 10 points.
Dietrich said he and his teammates were trying to keep track of the points on their side of the pool deck. Dietrich said his win in the 100 breast and sophomore teammate Franco Reyes’ runner-up finish helped extend the Devils’ lead by at 16 points. Dietrich won in 1:01.24 while Reyes touched in 1:01.38.
The Hinsdale Central duo topped Lyons’ 3-4 finish by Weston Credit (1:01.93) and Chris Phillips (1:02.98).
“I had a lot of confidence going into it,” said Dietrich, a Clarendon Hills resident. “My teammates have been instantly supportive. Naturally, that led to my success. The medley (relay) and the breast was fun.”
The Red Devils will be a favorite at the York Sectional Feb. 21 with state meet berths on the line. They should draw high seeds in two of three relays and Brian Portland (100 butterfly) and Reyes (200 IM) also be swimmers to beat. They also will be pushed by Lyons for the second time in 14 days.
“[Dietrich] set us up for success at the end of the day,” Barber said. “He dropped four seconds in the 100 breast to get to 1:01. He had a spectacular (meet). I know he wants more.”
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The meet-opening 200 medley relay win in 1:36.92 gave the Devils the early lead.
“We knew if we put it together on the team, obviously it would get us through in the end,” Dietrich said. “We were confident and supportive. In the end, we helped each other out and came through.”
@geomwilcox