Boys water polo/Scouting Northwest sectionals
Barrington sectional
Top seeds, in order: Schaumburg (21-8), St. Viator (19-10), Conant (17-12), Fremd (10-15)
Outlook: The Saxons earned the top seed here, and with good reason. Although they finished second to Palatine in the Mid-Suburban West race, Schaumburg was the only team in the league to beat Palatine and East Division champion Wheeling. The Saxons have strong seniors such as Mike Gergen, Brandon Luke and goalie Mike George, an all-conference junior in Randy Carr, and are flexible enough to play a variety of styles. St. Viator, like many of the teams in the Metro Catholic, struggled against the league’s top teams. But the Lions have also shown resiliency; it’ll be fun to see how they match up here.
Key early matchup: Fremd (4) vs. Hoffman Estates (5) at 5:45 p.m. Thursday. The Vikings outperformed Hoffman Estates (13-14 overall) in MSL West play, but they’re well-matched teams and a victory would likely earn the winner a matchup with St. Viator in Friday’s 8:15 p.m. semifinal.
Championship: 5:15 p.m. Saturday
Vernon Hills sectional
Top seeds, in order: Palatine (23-5), McHenry (26-4), Mundelein (16-4), Libertyville (15-15)
Outlook: If the seeds hold, Mid-Suburban West champ Palatine is hoping for a championship rematch against McHenry. The Warriors won last season in a sectional-title thriller at Barrington. Early this season, Palatine beat McHenry, but the Warriors have impressed again this season and figure to be tough to beat. Palatine’s senior-dominated group of goalie Dan Sommerfeld, Kamil Mulawa, Justin Behrens and Dylan Weissmann have been steady all season; Zach Gray may be able to join the action as well as his broken hand is healing.
Key early matchup: Libertyville (4) vs. Wheeling (5), 5:45 p.m. Thursday. In this battle of Wildcats, Mid-Suburban East champ Wheeling (15-7) boasts strong goaltending from Shane McDade and an opportunistic offense keyed by Andy Eiter. Whether that’s enough to beat Libertyville (15-15) and earn a spot in the semifinals, probably against McHenry, remains to be seen.
Championship: 1 p.m. Saturday