10/22/09
The Parkway Central boys swimming and diving team have had the number of rival Parkway South all season long.

The two squads have proven to be close combatants, pushing each other to greater heights.

On Thursday, the powerful and talented Colts once again showcased their incredible depth, winning the Parkway Quad for the fourth year in a row.

Parkway Central tallied 470 points followed by the Patriots (424), Parkway West (278), and Parkway North.

"This is the fourth time this year that we’ve been at the same meet as South and they just put a ton of pressure on us every time," Parkway Central coach Kevin Mabie said. "There’s nothing better than that. It’s nice to have someone else within the district to put that kind of pressure on."

Central won two of the three relay events and junior standout Logan Emery picked up two individual titles.

Emery won the 200 IM with a time of 2 minutes and 0.57 seconds and won the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.73.

Central’s Nick Orf won the 100 butterfly in 54.21 and Drew Larkins won the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.26.

For Orf, a freshman, going against the Patriots is always a welcomed challenge.

"We know a lot of people on their team. There’s a lot of back and forth. It’s friendly and it’s fun. It’s always good to race against them," he said. "Times today were okay but it was mostly about racing. We’re all a little tired. We’re right in the middle of our hardest practices and we’re trying to catch up."

The Colts’ won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:42.45 and the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:33.7.

For the Patriots, Andrew Kilkenny won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:44.46 and the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:53.21.

The Patriots’ Jake Auinbauh won the 50 freestyle in 23.22 and Sean Feher won the 100 backstroke in 56.88.

The only relay won by the Patriots was the 400 freestyle with a time of 3:25.20. The only non-Colt or Patriot to win on the afternoon was Parkway West diver Cameron Wilson with 227.60.

Despite being on the wrong end of four meetings this year, Parkway South coach Jeremy Nichols also looks forward to locking horns with the Colts.

"It makes for great competition. I don’t think you could ask for a classier organization to have a rivalry with," he said. "We’ve enjoyed it. We wished we would have come out on top once or twice, but it has made for a entertaining season."

The Parkway Quad is always a highlight on the season calendar.

"It is one of the meets that we look forward to every year," Nichols said. "All of the guys know each other from club swimming and summer swimming and just being in the water together all the time. There are all kind of little and big rivalries going on."

bauten@yourjournal.com