US, Hawken excel at D-II SPIRE Sectional

Nick Tekieli has one primary aspect of etiquette down, looking directly eye to eye with every word amid a conversation.

And when the University senior stares down the competition in the pool, as he and the Preppers did Feb. 7 for the Division II SPIRE Sectional, it strikes with a different kind of sincerity.

Because as the road to Canton begins in earnest, so has serious business in Hunting Valley.

Tekieli impressed with individual titles at SPIRE in the 200yard individual medley and the 100 backstroke, along with sterling legs on US’ winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

The returning first-team News-Herald all-star particularly wowed in the 100 back, hitting the wall with a time of 51.69 seconds.

A 26.61 closing 50 marks a .25 drop from when he was second last winter at the D-II Cleveland State District. It was a swim Tekieli noted felt as good as it appeared.

“It definitely did,” Tekieli said. “And I’m really happy with that time.

“I think (a drop to a sub50) it’s mostly going to be on the front end. With that, and the 50 on the (medley) relay, I’m just focusing on having crisp turns and getting that tempo really fast.”

For the 200 IM, in which he was fourth a year ago at state, Tekieli won in 1:57.69. The senior also recorded splits of 24.17 on back as part of the Preppers’ 200 medley relay (1:40.72) and 47.96 to open the 400 free relay (3:19.02).

“I thought they were all great,” Tekieli said. “It’s really great when everyone is going fast in relays and we’re all working together as a team. We still have some room for improvement, but I think everyone being so tight, we’re all going to get there at state.

“That first event (200 medley relay) means everything. If we have a great event, and everyone gets hyped behind the blocks, everyone is going to go out and swim fast after that.”

Similar to his teammate, Colin Savage took that concept to heart.

Continuing a breakthrough campaign, Savage logged a sprint free double in the 50 and 100 free. In the 100 free, the US senior delivered a first-class reel-in with 15 to go to hit the wall first in 48.79. His 25.25 coming home is a .70 drop from Viking.

“I flipped the turn, and my legs felt good, so I pushed myself a little bit,” Savage said.

His winning 50 free came with a 21.22, his third 21 of the season after winning at Ned Reeb and Viking. It is a .70 cut from the D-II CSU District last season, when he took eighth in the event.

“(Consistency) means a lot to me,” Savage said. “This whole team has worked really hard, and everyone together is getting a lot of results. So I think this is sort of a display of that.”

With US’ eight sectional titles this winter at SPIRE, including a double from Frank Applebaum (200 free and 100 butterfly), the Preppers have won 127 sectional crowns in individual events or relays since 1999.

The lone non-US or Hawken win from area swimmers at SPIRE came in exciting fashion, courtesy of a banner performance from the Chagrin Falls boys 200 free relay of John Cashy, Michael Tropf, Parker Broz and Clark Reboul.

Cashy (22.06), Tropf (22.24) and Broz (22.59) all hit 22s to set the table for Reboul amid a hot final. Reboul hit a deep dive off the blocks, nailed his turn and went 22.18 to net the Tigers first with a 1:29.07 that is a 1.05 drop from sectional a year ago.

Even for a Chagrin 200 free relay that took sixth in D-II in 2019 at state, a win here in a quality field including reigning state champion US (second, 1:29.59) and returning ‘A’ finalist Beachwood (third, 1:32.99) was a touchstone.

“It was pretty cool to beat US, especially since they’re a powerhouse in D-II,” Reboul said. “It was really awesome to see my teammates throw down some really good times, especially Cashy leading off the relay, beating my time in my individual 50 free (22.13). He went a 22.06 — it was pretty crazy, and it motivated the rest of the relay to get going.

“I saw (Broz) coming back, and I saw he was even with the US guy. He stepped up there, and I’m like, ‘I am winning this one. I really want it.’ So I just dove in and gave it my all.”

On the girls side, Hawken took final cooldown honors at SPIRE after wielding its typical might.

Along with individual wins from Ella Gilson (200 free), Lindsay Berlin (100 fly), Tori Culotta (500 free) and Sydney Bare (100 breast), the Hawks got a strong meet from Jessica Eden. The Hawken sophomore stalwart won the 200 IM with a 2:05.08, including an encouraging 36.20 breast split that was a 1.63 from when she was second at SPIRE in 2019, and the 100 back with a smooth 58.12.

“I feel like (100 back) was really good for right now, for sectional of course,” Eden said. “It felt pretty good, which is very important leading into taper. I thought it was a nice swim.”

With eight sectional titles at SPIRE on Feb. 7, Hawken now has 181 wins in girls individual events or relays in sectional competition since 1999.

The Hawken boys edged US for the team title, 430405, and the Hawks’ girls stampeded with 577 points.