Naperville Central wins at Neuqua Valley

Winter break will be no break at all for high school swimmers.

Naperville Central finished a successful first month of the swimming season by winning Saturday's Neuqua Valley Invite, but for the next few weeks the training will be really intense as the practice yardage is increased.

"We're doing really well to set things up for the end of the season," said the Redhawks' Scott Piper, who had a big day with two wins and a pair of second-place finishes. "But winter break is a time when we can really step up. We'll be training hard in the next few weeks."

"We had some good things happen today," said Naperville Central coach Mike Adams. "But we have a long way to go. We're in the mix for a trophy, but there are a lot of good teams out there."

Piper and teammates Phillip Sajaev, Ryan Lehane and Connor Walsh got the meet off to an auspicious start for the Redhawks by edging Hinsdale Central in the 200 medley relay 139.90 to 1:39.96.

Host Neuqua Valley's A and B relay teams finished third and fourth, both within two seconds of the winners.

Piper won the 200 IM with a time of 1:58.07 and he finished second in the 100 backstroke behind his close friend Joe Widuch of Neuqua Valley.

"Joe and I have been swimming together since we were little kids," Piper said. "It's a friendly competition."

The Redhawks finished second to Waubonsie Valley in both the 200 and 400 free relays.

Adams praised Jimmy Fox for his sixth-place finish in the 500 freestyle as well as Liam Coakley, Lehane, Walsh, Sajaev, Brian Calabrese and Christian May for their contributions to the success of the relay teams.

Naperville Central won the meet with 442 points. Neuqua Valley was second with 377, followed by Metea Valley with 260, Waubonsie Valley with 252 and Hinsdale Central with 214.

Despite its fourth-place finish it was a big day for Waubonsie Valley, which was led by Michael Schwers, who is emerging one of the leading swimmers in the area.

Schwers was on both winning relay teams and he won the 200 freestyle and finished second to Hinsdale Central's Franco Reyes in the 100 butterfly.

The Waubonsie Valley junior was joined by Ethan Morse, Bradin Krug and Eric Weng on the 200 freestyle relay, while it was Schwers, Krug, Reilly Devine and Weng who made up the 400 freestyle team.

"Michael has been putting some good work in," said Waubonsie Valley coach Nick Arens. "He's starting to show what he'll be able to do at state. He was just off the state cut in the 200 IM on Thursday and he did a lifetime best 200 free today. His efforts are the cornerstone to what we're doing in our program."

Metea Valley's Jordan O'Brien won the 100 breaststroke in 59.49 and Thomas Petersen of Naperville North was the victor in the diving competition

St. Charles North junior Joseph Myhre was the only two-time individual winner at the Neuqua Valley Invite with victories in both the 50 and the 100 free.

"Joe worked very hard over the summer and the fall," said St. Charles North coach Rob Rooney. "He's swimming with a lot more confidence this year. Last year he was on a relay at state. This year he's playing a bigger role. We're a young team but things are very positive. We're trying to build around our relays and everyone is focused on what they want to do at the end of the year."

West Aurora may have finished last in Saturday's Neuqua Valley Invite but there is at least one swimmer who promises to lead the Blackhawks to better days ahead, and that is freshman Tyler McLaren.

Against many of the best teams in the area at Neuqua Valley, McLaren finished 13th in the 200 free and 14th in the 100 free, and his arrival gives coach Chris Ranallo a building block for the future.

"Tyler has a lot of potential and he's probably the most experienced club swimmers to ever join our program," said West Aurora coach Chris Ranallo. "His versatility makes him a candidate for state this year in the 200 free and the 200 IM and perhaps other events down the road. He has an incredible work ethic and he's unusual in that he gets stronger as the meet goes along."

"I'm really enjoying the high school swimming experience," McLaren said. "I feel that I'm really improving. My goal is to get to the state meet,"

McLaren's brother Cael is a talented seventh-grader who will join the Blackhawks in two years. Things could be looking up at West Aurora.