Lake Park's Sgarbossa nears full strength
Eric Sgarbossa of Lake Park has been a little cautious this season as he comes back from an off-season hip injury, but it's getting to the point where he's close to getting the green light to go all out.
"I've had a hard time swimming the breaststroke since the injury that I suffered at the end of last summer while running," Sgarbossa said. "But I've been better lately, and I've still got six weeks to get back to 100 percent."
The sophomore, who swam at state last year on a pair of freestyle relay teams, is hoping to qualify as an individual this year in the breaststroke and at least one other event.
While Sgarbossa was ready to swim when high school practice started, coach Dan Witteveen held him out of breaststroke events because the injury hurt most during the breaststroke.
And then just before Christmas there was a breakthrough.
After being cautious during the early part of the season, Witteveen gave Sgarbossa the opportunity to try the 100 breaststroke at the Downers Grove South Invitational, and the swimmer responded with a victory in a little over 1:02.
"We had been treating Eric's injury with TLC," Witteveen said. "But we decided to try it at Downers Grove South as an experiment. And it worked out fine. Now next weekend we'll see how he does in the 200 IM."
Witteveen says that with the added weight and strength he's gained this year, Sgarbossa can qualify for state and could be a candidate to go top six by his senior year.
"I learned a lot at state as a member of those relay teams," Sgarbossa said. "And I know what it takes to succeed. But there's a lot of pressure at state, so I'd like to be there with my teammates on the relays."
The Lancers' success in the relays depends in part on Sgarbossa's full recovery.
"We have some other outstanding swimmers such as Brian Bayer, Branden Sgarbossa (Eric's cousin) and Jeremy Dade," Witteveen said. "With Eric healthy I could see us qualifying in one or even both of the free relays."
The coach also sees Bayer as a candidate to qualify in the breaststroke.
Ready to move up:
Waubonsie Valley junior Michael Schwers continues to prove that he is one of the most talented swimmers in the state.
At last weekend's Charger Invitational at Champaign Centennial, Schwers won the 100 butterfly with a time of 51.34 to help the Warriors to a fourth-place finish.
Schwers finished 10th at state in the butterfly last year, and he's about a second better than his time of a year ago.
Waubonsie Valley coach Nick Arens believes that Schwers can finish in the top six in the event this year.
"While he is a talented and versatile swimmer, Michael's value to the team goes beyond that," Arens said. "He fuels our team in a positive direction. His mentality and his attitude toward practices and competition are having a great influence on our team as a whole. We should make great progress by the end of the year if everyone can grow from Michael's example."
Tough decisions ahead:
Neuqua Valley coach Chad Allen still has plenty of decisions to make about his sectional lineup in the relay races, but he's got about a number of options for all three races.
At last week's Evanston Invitational Allen was encouraged when the team of juniors Matt Ciezczak, Joey Dalesandro and seniors Austin Mollway and Joe Widuch won the 200 free relay in 1:29.61.
"The 200 free is strong at this point and they showed it in top-flight competition," Allen said. "But we still have some work to do in the other relays. We still need a few guys to work hard in practice who can step up and make us strong in all three."
Widuch has been outstanding for the Wildcats; he also won the 100 backstroke at Evanston in 53.23.
At last year's state meet he finished 13th, or just out of the money, in the backstroke and 15th in the 50 freestyle.
Allen believes Widuch can take the next step and score in both events.
"Joe is already pretty close to where he was last year," Allen said. "He really rises to the occasion in invites. We're hoping for a real strong state meet from him."