Boys swimming and diving: State meet scouting, Northwest
Scouting the state meet
Where: Evanston Township High School
Friday: Diving prelims at 9 a.m., swimming prelims at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday: Swimming finals begin at noon, with diving contested mid-meet.
Big pictureBased on qualifying performances at the sectional meet, defending champ Hinsdale Central is positioned well for an attempt at a team title repeat. All three of its relays qualified among the top three. Lyons, though, qualified in the top spot in both the medley relay and the 400 free relay and has its 200 free relay seeded at No. 6. Meanwhile, Peoria Notre Dame, ranked No. 1 at times this season by Illinois Aquatics, has the top entry in the 200 free relay, the No. 7 entry in the 400 free relay, and a medley relay that will need a sizeable drop to reach to the top 12.
Defending champsFranco Reyes (Hinsdale Central, jr.) in the 100 fly, Sam Iida (Glenbrook South, jr.) in the 500 free
Sentimental favoriteDeKalb's Dan Hein was second in both his invidual races last year and might be one of the best swimmers in Illinois high school history not to have won an event — yet. The Mizzou-bound senior is the top seed in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke this year.
Youth movementNone of the top nine qualifiers in the 200 free is a senior. Top entry Dylan Boyd of Lake Forest is a junior; Barrington junior John Lagoni checks in a No. 6 and St. Viator sophomore Michael Balcerak is No. 9 before we get to the first senior, Reilly Shields of St. Ignatius at No. 10.
Braun's brawnMcHenry senior Kevin Braun is the top seed in the 100 free, and fourth in the 50 free. He achieved this without even wearing a cap at the Stevenson sectional.
Local focusThe Mid-Suburban League will be well represented in Friday's prelims, and likely Saturday's finals. The best close-to-home threats to earn individual second-day swims (or dives) are:
Conant's Cole Aykroid — The MSL champ qualified at No. 16 at hopes to move up into the top 12. A junior, Aykroid is a repeat state qualifier.
St. Viator's Michael Balcerak — A double sectional winner at Glenbrook South and already a proven point-scorer from last year's state meet, the Lions soph is seeded No. 7 in the 100 free and No. 9 in the 200 free. He's hoping to final in both races.
Palatine's Alex Bartosik — The Palatine junior broke a team record by winning the 200 IM at the Stevenson sectional, a performance which turned out to be the fifth-fastest qualifying time for state. He'll also race the 100 breaststroke.
Buffalo Grove's Jack Delanttre — Also back for a second consecutive state meet, this junior qualified at No. 21 and has been an elite-level performer all season.
Barrington's Mitch Gavars — This junior won the 500 free at the Stevenson sectional, qualifying ninth to state. He's in a great spot to earn second-day swims in both the 500 and the 200 free.
Barrington's John Lagoni — The Broncos junior added to his breakout season by qualifying sixth in the 200 free and is in the middle of the pack in the 100 free.
Prospect's Anthony Liva — In his second straight state diving appearance, this junior came up with the 15th-best sectional score.
Barrington's Colin O'Leary — The fifth-place finisher in the 100 backstroke last year, O'Leary has every reason to hope for top-six placements this time around in both the backstroke and the 100 fly. The Broncos junior is the No. 3 seed in the backstroke and the No. 5 seed in the 100 fly.
Fremd's Nick Seroni — The MSL champ in the 100 fly qualified eighth in that race. The Vikes' junior will also race the 200 IM in his first state meet appearance.
Wheeling's Nate Reiff and Jake Noel — Both seniors would love to go out with a bang. Reiff qualified No. 16 in the 100 fly and No. 20 in the 100 breaststroke; Noel is in the lower third of the seeds in both the 200 IM and 100 back.
Team timeBarrington — The Broncos had a terrific performance at the sectional, both individually and with the 200 medley and 400 free relays. Coach John Valentine will have eight swimmers in the water — two seniors and six juniors. One of the seniors is Colin Cross, a sectional champ in the 100 breast and also a state qualifier in the 200 IM. Junior Max Gersten (100 breast) joins Mitch Gavars, John Lagoni and Colin O'Leary as individual entrants. “It should be a fun weekend with great competition,” Valentine said.
Fremd — The MSL champs qualified a bumper crop, with multiple individuals plus all three relays and pair of divers — Zach Mega and Chase Jauch — who earned their second straight state appearance. Sprinters Nick Nevins (a junior) and Kenny Benjamn (a senior) help round out the most complete team the Vikes have sent to state in quite a while. “Everything from here on out is icing on the cake,” said Fremd coach Kristen Newby. “We want the kids to experience the meet and be prepared for next year. However, like every team that gets to the meet, we are definitely going to put everything we can into trying to get swims back on Saturday. If we can drop a little time here and there and make a few small changes, we can be there Saturday.”
Palatine — The Pirates bring a more complete team to the competion as well, as coach John Schauble's group added a relay and another individual swim to the previous year's qualification total. Junior standout Alex Bartosik is a threat to score points in the IM and will join Marcus Carter-Buckman, Jordan Kalina and Oleksiy Korniychuk on the medley relay. The Pirates' 400 free relay is Jake Klein, Carter-Buckman, Korniychuk and Bartosik, and Carter-Buckman will also race the 100 back.
Wheeling — The Wildcats will be represented by two relays, the medley and the 400 free, with seniors Jake Noel, Kyle Noel, Nate Reiff and Justin Loquercio getting their last swims together on both quartets. Reiff and Jake Noel have two individual scoring opportunities apiece.
Rolling Meadows — Sophomore Josh Dellorto became a two-time state qualifier by placing second in the 200 free at the Glenbrook South sectional.
Prospect — Jacob Kosinski, a sophomore, tests the state meet waters for the first time in the 100 breast.
Athletes with disabilities — Maine West senior Anthony Alonzi and Elk Grove sophomore Jack Falejczyk are back in action, Alonzi for the third straight year and Falejczyk for the second.
— Aaron Gabriel