Aurora, Naperville schools primed for state
The Naperville-area schools are looking pretty good on paper going into this weekend's state swimming and diving meet that starts Friday at New Trier.
All five schools in Districts 203 and 204 have qualified all three of their relay teams, races that earn double the points of the individual events.
All of those schools also have a number of swimmers who can score in individual races as well.
Highly regarded Metea Valley and Naperville Central are considered strong candidates to win a state trophy by finishing in the top three this week.
Metea Valley's Jordan O'Brian and Matt Salerno, who finished 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke last year, are among the favorites again this year.
Salerno is the No. 1 seed in the breaststroke, while O'Brien is seeded third.
"Matt and Jordan are good friends who push each other to go all out," said Metea Valley coach Mark Jager. "But they're also aware that there are other great breaststrokers out there who would love to be the state champion."
Other locals among the contenders in the breaststroke are Naperville Central's Phillip Sajaev (10th seed) and and Neuqua Valley's Michael Peters (13th seed). Both have a good chance to score points by finishing in the top twelve.
Salerno, in the 50 freestyle and O'Brien in the 200 IM are both slotted among the top 10 seeds in their second event.
The Mustangs' Kevin Kluge in the 500 freestyle, Alex Dillmann, who won the sectional title in the 100 butterfly, and sectional diving champion Connor Cast have captured high seeds for the state meet.
Metea's 200 medley relay team is also placed among the leaders.
"I want to be realistic," Jager said. "If we do what we need to do and if everything goes right, we could end up in the top three."
The Neuqua Valley sectional champion Naperville Central is led by Scott Piper, who is seeded fifth in the 200 IM and 10th in the backstroke. Sajaev, who also qualified in the 200 IM, is seeded fifth. Other Redhawks are Michael Stern in both the 200 and 500 freestyle and Nick Rosenstiehl in the backstroke.
The Redhawks' relays are always a threat when fully-tapered at state.
"Last week we got a lot of guys to state," said Naperville Central coach Mike Adams. "But it's simple. We have to swim well on Friday."
Neuqua Valley, which captured the title in all three sectional relay events, is pinning its hopes on finishing top six in all three races.
"We feel good about our relays," said Neuqua coach Chad Allen. "We still have to see some time drops to stay in the top six in all three. We don't have any superstars just a deep group of talented guys, several of whom can score in individual events."
Joe Widuch and Joey Dalesandro will be swimming in all three relays.
The Wildcats' Jacob Cunningham has the fifth fastest time in the 500 free and is also rated highly in the 200 free. Peters, Widuch and Simon Shatinsky are all potential scorers.
Waubonsie Valley is another school that is pinning a lot of its hopes for points at state on relays.
The Warriors' 200 freestyle relay is seeded No. 6, while the others are listed in the top 20.
Waubonsie's Michael Schwers in the 100 butterfly and Jared Simpson in the 100 backstroke are both strong candidates to score.
"We have eight individual swims qualified," said Waubonsie Valley coach Nick Arens. "I'm looking forward to the state meet to see what we can do."
Naperville North, which was supposed to be in a rebuilding season, qualified all three relays.
Huskies freshman I.I. Qiao is near the top 12 seeds in the 200 IM and junior Jeff Leu starts off in the top 20 in the 100 butterfly.
"Those two are on relay teams that looked really good last week," said Naperville North coach Andy McWhirter. "If those groups can show the kind of desire and determination that they brought to the table last Saturday, I think we can see one or more of them on Saturday."
Naperville North diver Thomas Petersen is a returning state scorer and he is expected to be among the elite again.
Straying a little over the Naperville border, Wheaton Warrenville co-op is going into the state meet with one of its strongest contingents ever.
The co-op team is led by senior Max St. George, who is seeded No. 1 in the 100 backstroke and No. 7 in the 200 IM.
Wheaton Warrenville coach Jacob Ayers is looking to St. George for a top-six finish in both races and a possible state title in the backstroke.
St. George and fellow senior Matt Rogers, who is qualified in both the 100 freestyle and the backstroke, lead a strong medley relay team that is seeded fifth.
Wheaton Warrenville divers Luke Cooperman, seeded ninth and Isaac Miller, seeded 18th, are strong possibilities to score this weekend.
"If everything falls right for us we could be looking at a top-10 finish in the team standings," Ayers said.