MUNSTER | Wilson Beckman admitted he didn't even feel like he was going to swim well before it came time to hop in the pool for his 100-yard backstroke.
However, not only did Beckman swim well, he rewrote history in the process, setting a conference and pool record in the event after finishing in 51.93 seconds.
"It's been while where we could do the cheer 'new pool record,' and I kind of wanted to end that today," Munster's Beckman said. "This past week, I haven't been swimming very well. Sometimes, I really turn it around on the back."
Beckman's performance was one of many strong showings for the Seahorses, who amassed 398.5 points to win their 23rd straight conference championship, dating back to their Lake Athletic Conference and previously, Lake Suburban Conference ties.
"We have a lot of depth," Munster coach Matt Pavlovich said. "We wanted to see what our kids can do. Our main goal is the big picture and getting ready for the sectional."
Munster won the 200 medley relay (1:40.94), Sammy Odtallah won the 100 free (49.45) and Joe Gardner posted two wins in the 200 I.M. (2:02.24) and set a conference record in the 100 breast (1:00.27).
"We're happy moving forward, and Highland swam great," Pavlovich said.
Highland won six events, but couldn't match Munster's depth. Still, the Trojans compiled 306.5 points to finish second, far ahead of third place Griffith (157).
Chris Dabrowski posted wins in the 200 free (1:49.16) and 500 free (4:53.34), while Stephen Castillo won the 50 free (20.86) and 100 fly (50.73).
Castillo also helped the Trojans capture the 200 free relay (1:29.82) and 400 free relay (3:18.96) along with Dabrowski.
"I had two dual meets this week and that took a lot out of the recovery process," Castillo said. "I feel like I did really good for swimming tired. It was more of a team effort. I tried to help out the team with the relays. I feel like I did that. Most people here are rested up and tapered. I swam unshaved.
"All of our (number) two and three guys stepped up, and today they showed that."
Both Highland and Munster are gearing up for sectionals, with both teams having a good shot at putting multiple swimmers and events at the state meet.
"Overall, time-wise, we're right where we want to be," Highland coach Ryan Harrington said. "We had a lot of great swims tonight. It gives some motivation here to push through the next three weeks."
Griffith's Alex Rosales won the morning's diving event (500.30).
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