Fighting Saints Swim & Dive Sweep Glenbard North/East on Senior Night

St. Charles East made Senior Night a winning one at John B. Norris Recreation Center on Jan. 27, posting a 107-73 varsity victory and a 112-45 junior varsity win over the Glenbard North/East co-op in boys swimming and diving. The Fighting Saints combined strong individual performances with key relay wins to control the meet from start to finish.

The night included a recognition of three seniors — Abbas Asghar, Vince Minaglia and Alejandro Rojo Villa — and the team followed with an effort that matched the occasion. St. Charles East’s depth showed across the lineup, with multiple event wins and scoring swims in nearly every race, while Glenbard North/East secured several standout victories of its own to keep the varsity contest competitive.

Freshmen Charlie Cabel provided one of the key early highlights for the Fighting Saints, winning the varsity 200-yard freestyle with a personal best time of 1:59.63. Sophomore Garrett Mruk followed suite in the next event the 200-yard individual medley with a winning time of 2:11.96 and later led off the winning 200-yard freestyle relay that finished in 1:37.24. Joined by teammates Leo Coss, Jimmy Slater and Charlie Cabel, the quartet secured crucial late-meet points that widened the varsity margin.

St. Charles East also closed the meet with a statement performance in the varsity 400-yard freestyle relay, where an all freshmen Saints relay of Hussain Rizvi, Charlie Cabel, Trenton Forni and Grayson Belli touched first in 3:40.41.

Grayson Belli turned in one of the top all-around performances of the night for St. Charles East. He sprinted to a win in the varsity 50-yard freestyle in 24.44 and later added a victory in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:01.16. Belli also contributed a key leg on the winning 400 free relay, helping the Saints close out the meet on a high note.

On the boards, St. Charles East added another event win as Anthony Pistilli captured the varsity 1-meter diving title with a score of 195.00. His performance delivered a strong points boost in the middle of the meet and continued the momentum built by the early swimming events.

Glenbard North/East, meanwhile, earned several notable victories to highlight its night. Dylan Schwantner pulled away in the varsity 500-yard freestyle, winning in 5:50.23, while Benjamin Wagner sprinted to the varsity 100-yard freestyle title in 53.44 and anchored the squad’s 200 free relay with a 24.61 split. The co-op also opened the meet with a narrow win in the varsity 200-yard medley relay, as its relay out-touched the St. Charles East relay, 1:48.88 to 1:49.83.

With wins at both the varsity and junior varsity levels and strong performances spread across all classes, the Fighting Saints sent their senior trio of Abbas Asghar, Vince Minaglia and Alejandro Rojo Villa off their home dual schedule with a comprehensive team effort. The meet brings St. Charles East team dual meet record to 5-2 for the season and provides momentum for Saints heading into the championship phase of the season.