Scouting the Mid-Suburban League boys swimming and diving meet
Scouting MSL swimming and diving
When: Diving starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, swimming begins at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Barrington High School
Team talk: The dual meet season made it clear that Fremd and Barrington are the top two teams in the Mid-Suburban League this season. Deciding who's No. 1 and who's No. 2 won't be simple, though. The teams tied 93-93 in their January dual meet at Barrington, and both have teams which will score big points in the conference meet format.
In all of the individual events, the four swimmers who will represent Fremd and Barrington are seeded among the conference's top nine entries. And in every race, the top seed belongs to either Fremd or Barrington.
Coach Kristen Newby's Vikings have the top seed in both freestyle relays, and are seeded second only to Barrington in the medley. Fremd also has two elite-level divers sure to start the day by scoring significant points. Coach John Valentine's Broncos are the defending meet champion and hope to offset Fremd's advantages with a pair of swimmers who have the top seeds in both their individual races - plus strong second swimmers throughout the meet, and several opportunities for 1-2 Barrington finishes.
Palatine dropped its duals to both Fremd and Barrington but figures to score well here with a senior-heavy group and strong relays. Likewise for Wheeling, which has just enough depth for three high-scoring relays to go with plenty of individual firepower. MSL East champ Prospect won't have the benefit of its terrific third-swimmer depth here, but a young Knights team will still have plenty of opportunities to score. The same goes for a young Rolling Meadows team eager to follow last year's third-place finish with a strong showing.
Diving right in: It's a big year on the boards. Conant's Cole Aykroid, Fremd's Zach Mega and Chase Jauch, Buffalo Grove's Jack Delattre and Prospect's Anthony Liva were all solid scorers last year and figure to battle it out again for top honors. Mega, a sophomore, is the defending champ. He and Aykroid, a junior, have been especially tough all season.
Freestylin': The emergence of Nick Nevins as the conference's top sprinter makes Fremd especially formidable. The No. 1 seed in the 50 free (21.96) and No. 3 in the 100, he's one reason Fremd's free relays are so tough to beat. Wheeling senior Kyle Noel has the second seed in the 50 at 22.67. Freestyle is a strength for Barrington as well, as John Lagoni has the top seeds in both the 100 (48.56) and 200 freestyles (1:44.82). In the 500 free, Barrington has the top two entries - Mitch Gavars (4:43.05) and Jeremy Kleinjan. Gavars is also the No. 2 seed in the 200 free behind Lagoni.
IM serious: Fremd's Nick Seroni has been dropping time steadily all season and earned the top seed in the 200 IM at 1:59.06, with Palatine's Alex Bartosik (2:00.59), Wheeling's Jake Noel (2:02.63) and Barrington's Colin Cross (2:02.77) close behind.
Fly boys: Barrington junior Colin O'Leary is the 100 butterfly's top seed in 52.09, just ahead of Fremd's Seroni (52.42). Behind them is a group seeded in the 55-second range - Conant's Justin Lim, Palatine's Jordan Kalina and Fremd's Yoochan Lee.
He's back: It's O'Leary again, this time as top seed in the 100 back, in 52.95. A state finalist in this race last season, O'Leary will be flanked by Jake Noel (54.53) and Rolling Meadows sophomore Josh Dellorto (54.71) in the fastest conference heat.
Keeping you abreast: Barrington's Cross, a senior who placed second in this race last year, is the top seed in 1:00.51. Wheeling's Nate Reiff is seeded No. 2, and Fremd's Yoochan Lee is No. 3.
Pool patter: This year's meet will feature swimmers in eight competition lanes. That means there will be three heats of each individual race, and two in relays. But awards will still be given to places one through six ... Barrington has the only two swimmers who will be defending their individual MSL championships - Gavars in the 500 free, and O'Leary in the 100 back ... Palatine's winning 400 free relay from last year is also back (Jake Klein, Marcus Carter-Buckman, Oleksiy Korniychuk and Alex Bartosik) ... Top seeds for their teams include Matt Inserra (Prospect, 50 free), Mark Poirier (Buffalo Grove, 50 free), Josh Irvine (Hersey, 500 free), Mark Heitkotter (Hoffman Estates, 100 free), Evan Wahlen (Schaumburg, 500 free) and Adam Doruff (Elk Grove, 200 free) ... expect parking to be a challenge, as Barrington is also hosting a Class 3A wrestling sectional Saturday. Admission to the swim/dive meet is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
- Aaron Gabriel