Swimming: Lake Forest’s Marsh is driven to succeed
By Bill McLean Contributor February 16, 2012 6:10PM
Lake Forest junior Andrew Marsh soars during the diving competition at the NSC Meet on Saturday. He took runner-up honors. | Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: February 22, 2012 12:13PM
Back in the fall, four days a week, Andrew Marsh drove himself to Chicago after school.
The Lake Forest High School junior is a Windy City Diving club member.
Windy City divers train at the University of Illinois-Chicago, located right near the clogged aorta of the city.
“I usually got stuck in rush-hour traffic,” recalled Marsh at Saturday’s NSC Meet at Vernon Hills.
A vicious belly-flop, for some plungers, is preferable to bumper-to-bumper stretches.
“I’d visualize my dives, after the music I was playing got old,” Marsh added.
“I’d set goals, too.”
Maybe one of them was to win Saturday’s NSC Meet.
He did not achieve that.
But, after finishing a sturdy runner-up (374.55 points) to Stevenson junior James Lichtenstein (401.95), Marsh would have been forgiven for honking a car’s horn — any car’s horn — to celebrate the showing.
“Stay consistent … That’s what I had to do, especially after my rough second round,” said Marsh, No. 2 all-time (for six dives) at LFHS.
He found himself in third place (272.45) Saturday after eight dives, behind Lichtenstein (274.5) and reigning Lake County Invite champ Alex Zuniga (279.55), a Vernon Hills junior.
On his ninth dive, Marsh outscored Zuniga.
He then essentially secured silver on his final descent, a difficult inward 2 1/2 tuck. The Scout, sixth at last year’s NSC Meet, earned a 5 or better from each of the five judges.
Zuniga (365.3) wound up in third place, more than nine points behind Marsh.
“I like optional dives more than I like voluntary dives,” Marsh said of his 11-dive list. “That’s the opposite of what most divers like.”
Marsh loved what he got out of an Indiana University diving camp last summer.
“That helped, immensely,” he said. “Three hours of diving in the mornings, and then yoga, meditation.
“I also did some trampoline work.”
LF’s swimmers toiled after Saturday’s diving segment, and junior Peter Grumhaus had a productive 1-2-2-3 afternoon. Grumhaus won the 200-yard freestyle race (1:43.83), touched second in the 500 free (4:39.39), swam on the runner-up 400 free relay (3:14.51) and helped the 200 medley relay (1:37.97) take third.
Coach Cindy Dell’s boys finished third (223.5 points), behind Warren (248) and four-year reigning champion Stevenson (296).
LF took fourth at last year’s conference meet, with 171 points.
“We’re swimming quite well,” Dell said near the end of the meet. “We only have a couple of guys fully rested, and many others are half-rested. It’s hard to swim half-rested, really hard.
“But our guys are giving us gutsy efforts.”
Senior Bryan Bunning and juniors Colin Rowe and Bogdan Balteanu joined Grumhaus on the 200 medley and 400 free relays; Bunning also clocked a third-place 52.42 in the 100 butterfly and a fourth-place 54.13 in the 100 backstroke; Rowe placed third in the 100 free (48.65) and fifth in the 50 free (22.34).
The Scouts’ other top-six (medal-worthy) results: 200 free relay (fifth place, 1:33.66; David Hayes, Thomas Remmissong, Peter McCormick, Daniel Smith); Balteanu (fifth, 100 breaststroke, 1:02.43); McCormick (sixth, 100 butterfly, 55.23); and Rasmus Kull (sixth, 100 breaststroke, 1:05.16).
LF freshman Michael LeMay (56.24) was the ‘7’ in the Scouts’ 3-6-7 finish in the 100 butterfly.
Scouts sophomore Cole Mitchell dropped significant time in the 200 free (1:55.8) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.93). His seed times in the events: 1:59.42 (200 free), 1:07.56 (100 breaststroke).
‘Board’ meeting: Dell, during a break at Saturday’s sectional, gathered her Scouts near a diving board for a meeting.
“We needed to talk … talk team stuff,” she said.
“Not to be confused,” Dell added, “with a coffee klatch.”
Quote-worthy: “He’s doing well and adapting well … has made a nice transition from club to high school swimming. He’s a valuable member of the team, and he doesn’t say ‘a-boot’ and ‘eh,’ like most Canadians do.” – Dell, on Balteanu, a transfer from Canada.
On the schedule: LF vies for state berths at its sectional on Saturday, beginning with diving at 9 a.m.; the swim segment starts at 1 p.m.
Among the other schools in the field: Warren, Mundelein and Libertyville.
Stevenson hosts another sectional, also on Saturday.
Flashback: Lake Forest placed fourth (196 points), one point behind third-place Libertyville, at last year’s Vernon Hills Sectional.
Rowe won the 100 free (47.56) and swam on the runner-up 400 free relay (3:14.7, with Bunning, Grumhaus and 2011 graduate Davis Malone).
Grumhaus (4:40.97) and Malone (4:41.18) went 2-3 in the 500 free, and Bunning silvered in the 100 back (52.87).
Stand/kneel: Former Lake Forest HS superstar and 2008 U.S. Olympic swimmer Matt Grevers, 26, proposed to his girlfriend, Annie Chandler, after winning the 100-meter backstroke Saturday at a Grand Prix event in Missouri.
Chandler, a member of the U.S. women’s swim team, had presented the gold medal to Grevers when Grevers knelt, on the medal stand, to pop the question.
She was stunned.
She said “Yes.”
Both hope to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment