LAPORTE | Chesterton senior Tyler Fozkos was thoroughly impressed with the demeanor exhibited by his freshman swimming teammates at Saturday's LaPorte Sectional.
"I remember I was sick during my first sectional," Fozkos said. "This group seems unfazed by (the pressure)."
Freshman Blake Pieroni won the 200 and 500 free; ninth-grader Aaron Whitaker was victorious in the 100 fly, and the duo teamed with classmate Jack Wallar and senior Nicholas Brahos to break the meet record in the 200 free relay.
Those results helped propel the Times No. 1 Trojans to their 13th straight sectional crown.
Whitaker swam a leg on three victorious relays, including the lead in the 200 free (1:27.04).
"I knew I wanted to get out fast," Whitaker said. "I felt really pumped for this."
The Trojans entered the race as the No. 2 seed.
"We were worried about it, because (top-seeded) Michigan City was going to swim lights out," Chesterton coach Kevin Kinel said. "I was really pleased with our performance."
Pieroni and Whitaker swam the intitial two legs in the 400 free relay (3:14.31), while Wallar and Whitaker took part in the middle two legs of the 200 medley (1:36.96).
"These guys have been through some big age-group meets, so they know how to perform," Kinel said of his freshmen, who totaled nine top-six individual finishes. "They performed beautifully."
Fozkos also gave a helping hand. He won the 100 free (47.32) for the fourth straight year, and he won the 50 free (21.98) for the third time in his career.
"I didn't go out as well as I wanted in the 50," said Fozkos, the two-time defending state champion in that sprint. "I felt a lot better about my 100."
Michigan City senior Cameron Miller broke his own meet record en route to his fourth straight win in the 100 breast (57.19), and he also won the 200 individual medley.
LaPorte's Josh Batten edged Valparaiso's Tony Trinosky 481.83-475.7 for the diving crown, while fellow Slicer Austin Butcher won the 100 back.
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