Quinn swimming era nears end at OPRF
By GEORGE M. WILCOX gwilcox@pioneerlocal.com January 31, 2012 5:08PM
Oak Park-River Forest's Nikita Bondarenko swims in the 500-yard freestyle. | Tamara Bell~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:40AM
Peter Quinn likes round numbers.
He had a conversation with his wife, Molly, a year ago when he contemplated retiring as the longtime boys swimming coach at Oak Park-River Forest. Quinn remembered that retiring after 20 years in the program, 18 as the head coach, sounded better than retiring after 19 or 21 years.
And so, Saturday’s West Suburban Conference Silver Division meet at 1 p.m. at Downers Grove North will be Quinn’s last as coach. His final sectional will be at Fenwick Feb. 18 as the Huskies try to qualify as many swimmers as possible for the state meet. Quinn’s final group includes a trio of standouts between diver Ben Lewis and swimmers Nikita Bondarenko and Kyle Patnode.
Bondarenko won two events — the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.90) and the 500 free (4:43.92) — Saturday at the Lyons Township Invitational. OPRF (250.50 points) finished third in the five-team meet.
Patnode won the 100 back (54.38) and Lewis easily won the diving (472.55 points). The 500 free time for Bondarenko and the 100 back time for Patnode were under the state qualifying standards for each of those events.
Quinn announced to his team early in the season his decision to retire.
“It was a really big surprise at the start of the season,” Bondarenko said. “He led the team for 20 years. He knows what he’s doing. We’ll try to adjust (next year). It should be fine.”
Quinn joins girls basketball coach Bob Biggins as the only winter head coaches to retire after the season is over.
“I think I knew it was coming, but I did not really plan on doing it,” Quinn said. “I’m ready to go. I don’t feel like I need to be the face of the program.”
Quinn will continue teaching English at OPRF, but won’t have to worry about the extra time commitment as his children, Natalie and Benjamin, get older. Quinn has not had a winter break available in 20 years considering that he usually supervises practices over the holidays.
For seven years, Quinn coached both boys and girls swimming, but he stepped down as girls coach in 2002. He also was a former club swimming coach, but gave that up more than 10 years ago.
“I thought about (retiring) last year. At the end of the season, I talked to my wife,” Quinn said.
Quinn graduated from OPRF in 1983 and was the state champion in the 100 freestyle that year. He still holds the school record in that event, the oldest active record in the swimming program. He swam at Wisconsin and competed in the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials in the 200-meter freestyle.
As coach, Quinn owns a dual-meet record of 59-39 as coach. His teams have won two conference championships and have finished in the top 10 at State four times, including the 1998 state championship.
There is still work to be done for the Huskies.
“Our coach has told us our goal is to be in the top 15 in the state,” Bondarenko said. “That has kept us motivated.”
One of OPRF’s top relays at LT was the 400 free (3:19.42), which finished second with Bondarenko, Chris Brandt, Patnode and Mark Hallman.
The 200 medley relay of Patnode, Nathan Pimental, Bondarenko and Hallman also finished second (1:41.27).
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