The pool balcony was packed Friday, Dec. 9 as fans from Niles North and West cheered on the boys’ swim teams. There was a definite buzz of excitement that radiated from the stands of the natatorium as the annual cross-town meet started off. The Wolves swam hard, but in the end, the Niles North Vikings came out victorious, winning 124 to 61 on the varsity level.
From the beginning, it was clear that the Vikings had an advantage over the Wolves, winning the varsity 200-medley relay by a mere two seconds. Star swimmers from North included juniors Javed Avdic and Karol Mlynarski and senior Richard Gomez, each of whom placed first in more than one event.
West senior captain Ryan Miller placed second in the 200 IM, getting a 2:07.60. Additionally, west senior captain Nick Giffen placed second in the 100 breaststroke, getting a 1:04.12 and shaving 0.34 seconds off his time from last weekend’s Early-Bird Invite.
The highlight of the meet was when junior Narcis Ardelean scored a 6.0 all around on his last dive of the night, which put him at first-place on the varsity level. As Ardelean surfaced from his outstanding dive, his teammates yelled out, “BINGO!” while the Niles West section of the stands cheered wildly. Ardelean scored a 173.70 overall. His younger brother, Darius, placed first on the JV level with a score of 102.55.
“That was the best he’s ever been,” said head coach Dan VanderJeugdt shortly after the diving portion of the meet had ended.
Although the Wolves didn’t win their first meet of the season, their morale stayed high throughout the night and they came in with a refuse-to-lose attitude.
“Everyone performed well. I mean, Niles North is a great team. They’re placed in the top 20 in state. I’m especially proud of some of the JV swimmers who came up and swam hard. This week’s meet is a good one to have the boys swim off-events, which are events that I wouldn’t normally put them in. That way, I can see where I have potential talent in certain events. Do you know what happened on Saturday? We placed second in the Shamrock Relays,” said VanderJeugdt.
The next swim meet is Friday, Dec. 16 against Maine West.
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marissa • Jan 24, 2012 at 11:35 AM
i find it funny that girls kill the vikings but the guys lose hahaha.
Guy on the team • Dec 12, 2011 at 3:53 PM
“The highlight of the meet was when junior Narcis Ardelean scored a 6.0 all around on his last dive of the night, which put him at first-place on the varsity level. As Ardelean surfaced from his outstanding dive, his teammates yelled out, “BINGO!”
The correct term for a diver to get a 6-straight is an Exorcism. A 5 straight is Yahtzee, 7 straight is lucky sevens, a X,Y,X is a sandwich, and any other XXX combo is a BINGO. Just for future references.
Rebecca Yun • Dec 12, 2011 at 6:51 PM
I apologize for my misuse of “bingo” within the article.
After Narcis did his dive, everyone yelled out bingo. Or at least, the people around me did.
I am a swimmer and whenever someone gets an XXX combo, we yell out, “Bingo”. We’re not educated on the correct terms, I’m afraid.
Thanks for the note, though. It’s much-appreciated.
Guy on the team • Dec 13, 2011 at 8:11 PM
its alright, I know the guys team made up some that might not be terms for the girls team, It was a great dive altogether and that was the important part.
Anon • Dec 12, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Great job everyone on the swim team!
Better luck next time! 😀