Katz becomes first swimming team sectional champion for Mahomet-Seymour
By Fred Kroner
The Mahomet-Seymour boys’ swimming and diving program continues to move up, and for senior Max Katz, that means the ability to move on.
Katz became the school’s first sectional champion on Saturday (Feb. 19), winning the diving competition in a 21-school sectional tournament at Centennial High School.
Katz posted a season-best score of 401.20 to beat all competitors.
As a freshman, Katz was sixth at the sectional. As a sophomore, he was the runner-up. His junior year, the IHSA did not conduct a postseason series in boys’ swimming.
Katz was one of six M-S competitors who registered their top times or scores of the season at sectional. Two Bulldog relays also achieved the same feat.
Others with season PRs were Owen Kearns (fifth in the 500-yard freestyle in 5 minutes, 20.63 seconds); Jerry Pryor (13th in the 500-yard freestyle in 7:04.12); Mitch McAnally (ninth in the 100-yard freestyle in 53.21); Aaron Smith (18th in the 100-yard freestyle in 58.84) and Kam Bartels (15th in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:58.75).
All individuals and relays who placed among the top 12 in their events scored points for the team.
Winning the sectional team championship was Champaign Central (227 points), followed by Centennial (220), Urbana Uni High (195), Urbana (130) and fifth-place M-S (124).
The Bulldogs’ 200-yard medley relay foursome secured the top M-S finish in a swimming event.
The unit of Kearns, Aron Varga, McAnally and Katz was third in a season-best 1:48.79.
The other M-S relay to achieve a season-best was the 200-yard freestyle team of Carter Logsdon, Katz, Smith and McAnally. They were fifth in 1:38.59.
Varga posted two fifth-place finishes, one in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.82) and the other in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.10).
Teammates who also scored points in individual events were Logsdon (ninth in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:07.93), McAnally (ninth in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.51 seconds), Logsdon (12th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:03.35) and Mark Guttierrez (12th in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:13.40).
Other Bulldog participants at the sectional were Kearns (13th in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.76), Pryor (17th in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:31.57), Smith (18th in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:09.59) and Ethan Whittaker (23rd in the 50-yard freestyle in 28.19 seconds).
Additionally, the 400-yard freestyle relay ended in fifth place. The relay swimmers were Kearns, Logsdon, Smith and Varga. Their collective time was 3:49.52.
Katz will compete in the state meet, which starts on Friday (Feb. 25) at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. He is one of 48 qualifiers in the event.
