Scouting DuPage County boys swimming
Top teams: Naperville Central, Hinsdale Central, Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley, Metea Valley, Wheaton co-op.
Top swimmers and divers: Addison Trail/Willowbrook co-op: Ethan Wallace, sr.; Benet: J.P. McAveeney, jr.; Chris Ponne, so.; Downers Grove North: Kevin Sullivan (diver) fr.; Ben Ellstrom, so.; Matt Benge, jr.; Glenbard North/East co-op: Noah Rider, sr.; Jake Thomas, sr.; Peter Andreev, so.; Bennet Witteveen, so.; Glenbard West/South co-op: Michael Hsu, sr.; Hinsdale Central: Franco Reyes, jr.; William Bowater, jr.; Craig Smith, sr, Billy Leader, so.; Tomasz Gruchala, sr.; Donovan Lahmann, fr.; Trystan Lundgren, fr.; Hinsdale South: Haddy Khatib, sr.; Eric Wing, sr.; Connor Kaplan, fr.; Lake Park: Eric Sgarbossa, jr.; Jeremy Dade, sr.; Metea Valley: Alex Dillmann, sr.; Kevin Kluge, sr.; Robert Wang, sr.; Jansen Gamilla, so.; Naperville Central: Scott Piper, sr.; Phillip Sajaev, jr.; Eric Gerlach, sr.; Jimmy Fox, sr.; Michael Stern, jr.; Kyle Jackson, sr.; Ryan Lehane, sr.; Nick Rosenstiel, sr.; Matt Wooten, jr.; Brian Calabrese, sr.; Nick Walker, sr.; Naperville North: I.I. Qiao, so.; Jeff Leu, sr.; Josh Tak, so.; Nick Zillier, jr.; Charlie Calvo, sr.; Brandon Chan, jr.; Neuqua Valley: Matt Ciezczak, sr.; Joey Dalesandro, sr.; Michael Peters, sr.; Jacob Cunningham, jr.; John Ruan, so.; A.J. Quinn, sr.; Jackson Schroedter, sr.; Kyri Chen, so, Kevin Wu., so; Waubonsie Valley: Michael Schwers, sr.; Eric Weng, jr.; Ethan Morse, so,; Jared Simpson, so.; Taggart Lohman, sr.; Kai Motoyama, sr.; Brian Ellig, so.; West Chicago/Batavia co-op: Garrett Clasen, so.; Ryan Sego, so.; Cooper Hawkins, sr.; Keegan Hawkins, so.; Wheaton co-op: Evan Sheriff, jr.; Luke Cooperman (diver) jr.; Sam Reese, jr.; Danny Sivak, sr.; Isaac Miller (diver) sr.; Patrick White, fr.; Will Schmidt, fr.; York: Peter Barabolak (diver) jr.; Jack Fiorini, sr.; Flanagan Waldherr, jr.
Outlook: Six DuPage County teams finished in the top 10 in the standings at last year's boys swimming and diving state meet led by state champion Hinsdale Central. Naperville Central finished tied for third place, Metea Valley was sixth, Neuqua Valley eighth, Waubonsie Valley ninth and Wheaton co-op was 10th. And while all six suffered significant graduation losses, the abundance of talent remaining gives many of them a good chance to get into that elite group again this year.
Going into the season the DuPage Valley Conference, with its new alignment that now includes the three Valleys from District 204, could be the strongest conference in the state. The battle for the top spot in the DVC could be between Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley. The Redhawks are led by a trio of individual state scorers. Piper finished fourth in the 200 IM and ninth in the 100 backstroke last year. "One of the great things about Scott," said Naperville Central coach Mike Adams, "is that in addition to being very talented, he is an extremely hard worker who trains with great intensity all year-round."
Sajaev was third in the 100 breaststroke and Fox was sixth in the 500 freestyle. Piper Sajaev and Gerlach, who are all looking to score in individual races, will be important components of the Redhawks' relays, all of which finished top six last year, with the 200 free relay team winning the championship."We have a lot of depth," Adams said. "So there's a great deal of competition for relay spots. We have a number of good kids, including some underclassmen who will keep the veterans on their toes and getting better."
Waubonsie Valley's returning state scorers include Schwers, who was sixth in the 100 butterfly and 11th in the 200 freestyle. "Michael keeps taking steps forward," said Waubonsie coach Nick Arens. "He's not a vocal leader, but he shows how it's done by example. He's capable of competing at the highest level. Simpson in the IM and the backstroke, Weng in the breaststroke and a freestyle event and Morse in the fly and a free are all primed for individual achievements in the postseason. "Our experience at state last year was so beneficial for our program," Arens said. "This year the kids will go to state with a greater understanding of the atmosphere and what it takes to succeed."
Neuqua Valley scored in all three relays but didn't put up any points in individual swims. However, that could be different this year. Dalesandro, Ciezczak, Peters and Cunningham, who finished in the 15-25 range in their individual events, all look ready to take that next step. "Nobody predicted we would be in the top 10 last year," said Neuqua Valley coach Chad Allen. "We have a strong nucleus of nine guys who can compete at the state level, so we hope to do it again."
Metea Valley must replace Jordan O'Brien and Matt Salerno, who finished 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke at state, but there is plenty of talent around, including Dillmann, who should finish top six in the fly, and Kluge, who is a contender to score in the 500 free. Wang and Gamilla are others who will help the Mustangs try to get back to the top 10 in the final team standings. "We have better depth than last year," said Metea coach Mark Jager. "And there is a good group coming up that will be able to contribute."
Wheaton co-op lost a pair of swimmers, Matt Rogers and Max St. George, who have been the backbone of the program in recent years, but the team's 10th-place finish at state will give coach Jacob Ayers an outstanding nucleus of returnees with the confidence to build on that success. Wheaton divers Cooperman and Miller are among the best in the state and are expected to put points on the scoreboard. "Cooperman has the potential to finish in the top three or four," Ayers said. "As far as swimmers go, we would like to get Sheriff and Sivak through to the finals as well as a couple of relays."
Naperville North will be led by Qiao, who could score in the 200 IM or the butterfly, and a bunch of developing freestylers who should be ready to make some noise by sectional time.
Clasen of West Chicago/Batavia co-op, who finished 11th in the 200 IM, is capable of qualifying in just about any event, while Lake Park has a pair of aces in Sgarbossa and Dade. Glenbard North/East co-op is a young team on the move, which is led by the promising Rider.
Defending state champion Hinsdale Central has a host of strong returnees from last year's magnificent team, including 100 butterfly winner Reyes and Bowater, 11th in the 200 freestyle. Veterans Smith and Leader joined Reyes on the 200 medley relay team that finished second. Reyes will swim where he's needed. He finished in the top six in the breaststroke as a freshman, so his sectional events will depend on the needs of the team come sectionals.
The Red Devils have a group of freshmen led by Lahmann and Lundgren who will have an immediate impact and will help the team compete for a top spot. "We have a group of kids who can replace our graduated seniors," said Hinsdale Central coach Bob Barber. "That could help us stay among the top competitors at state. We'll just have to see what the freshmen can do."
Hinsdale South, which won the West Suburban Gold last year, will be bolstered by the arrival of Khatib, who was a member of a state-qualifying relay team for Lockport last year. Downers Grove North coach Adam Bruesch is excited about the potential of freshman diver Sullivan, while York's Barabolak is another great diver who is a possible scorer at state.
Among the other DuPage County teams, Benet's McAveeney is versatile and a candidate for state in a number of events, Addison Trail/Willowbrook's Wallace has a shot at state in the 100 free while Glenbard West/South's top returnee is Hsu.
Key dates: Dec. 12: West Chicago Wildcat Relays; Dec. 14: Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central; Dec. 19: Neuqua Valley Invite; Dec. 26: Naperville North College Events; Jan. 2: Waubonsie Valley Aquapentathlon; Jan. 7: Waubonsie Valley at Metea Valley; Jan. 9: Hinsdale South College Events; Jan. 16: Hinsdale Central Diving Invite; Jan. 21: Naperville North at Naperville Central; Jan. 22-23: Downers Grove North Invite; Jan. 29-30: Metea Valley Swimming and Diving Invite; Feb. 5-6 Conference Meets; Feb. 20: Sectional meets; Feb. 26-27: state swimming and diving meet at Evanston Township High School.