Scouting boys swimming, Northwest

BarringtonCoach John Valentine's crew is faced with the tough task of replacing four-year standouts Mitch Gavars and Colin O'Leary, the latter a state point-scorer multiple times in the 100 fly and 100 back. The good news for the Broncos is that the program is well-stocked with athletes who are continuing to improve. Tops among the returners are juniors Jack Hoppe (breast), Steven Fischer (sprints), Sam Burrell (100 free) and Sean Applebee (200 IM). Sophomore Dan Emary is making big gains in the distance freestyle, and freshmen Daniel Langlois (500 free) and Eric Pan (200 free) will also provide immediate help. Again assisted by Chris Ytzen (frosh-soph swim) and Lisa Christianson (diving), Valentine is looking at this season as a retooling effort - with an opportunity to have a finely functioning machine by season's end. "It will be interesting to see which younger swimmers step up to lead the team," he said.

Buffalo GroveFirst-year coach Tom Cooney steps into a nice situation at BG, as most of the key swimmers from last year's team are back in the fold. The Bison have lost just one competitor from last season's sectional lineup. The highest-profile competitors are Daniel Verdico (distance/breast), Kevin Carr (freestyle), Andy Gontko (free/breast), Kenny Velu (IM/backstroke), Daniel Korol (back/fly/free), Billy Wade (IM/fly), Kacper Aniecko (fly/free) and Korie Morris (free/breast). Diver Ben Goldberg is back, but the Bison will be trying to address the loss of a total of five divers to injury or graduation. Still, the big picture is promising as swimming newcomers Spenser Churchill, Akmal Azamov, Kenny Smith, Matt Lotarski, Drew Coller and diver Evan Ngyen join the effort this season. "The team is stacked with seniors, and with the addition of our junior class and some promising young talent, we are poised to have a successful season," Cooney said. "We have good depth in most of the individual events, with most swimmers being versatile in a variety of events."

ConantThe main challenge for Cougars coach Brian Drenth is finding a way to replace the considerable impact of diver Cole Aykroid, a force in the MSL and last year's sixth-place state finisher. Fortunately, Conant has several impactful swimmers and a generally experienced group to offset that loss. State qualifier Justin Lim (fly) leads the way and is hoping for bigger and better things this season. Other experienced athletes include Malhar Kate (distance), Harris Dibek (sprints/fly), Bryan Cho (distance/breast), Joseph Clark (sprints/back), Yousuf Ahmed (breast/sprints), Christian Snopek (sprints) and Alec Hirjoi (IM, sprints). The lineup figures to get a boost from sophs Dylan Pokorny (IM/breast/distance) and Konrad Sak (distance), juniors Jake Lydon (distance/IM), Michael Bland (sprints) and Connor Chiero (fly/sprints) and freshman Patrick Recko (distance/sprints). With most of last year's sectional lineup back in the water this winter and more than 70 boys trying out for the team, Drenth expects fierce competition for lineup spots and, accordingly, overall improvement. It can only help to have a top-notch state-level swimmer such as Lim in the mix. "He brings with him the goal of swimming even faster this year and competing on the Saturday of the state meet," Drenth said. "It should be an exciting season to be a part of - with some great results at the end."

Elk GroveThe Grenadiers have a terrific starting point, as three top swimmers from last year are back and sharing captain responsibilities - seniors Mike Kulpa and Nick Rosenorn and junior Adrian Wlodarz. Kulpa is a plus in the sprint freestyles and backstroke, Rosenorn's best are free and fly and Wlodarz can contribute across a wide range of events and has been especially strong in the distance freestyles. Freshman Christian Krawek is among the new faces who could help the varsity lineup quickly, and coach Keith Kura says a better turnout than usual has led to a great start for the Grens. "We're looking to build on the strong finish from last year," he said. "We have more depth than in recent years, which has made beginning-of-season practices intense and very competitive. I'm excited to see what another year's worth of work will do for this group in February."

FremdThe defending conference champs lost a truly special group to graduation, with Nick Nevins, Nick Seroni, Tony Lee and Arnas Maciunas among the key departures. But that's only part of the story at Fremd, where there are several key seniors and great team depth are back in action. Senior Alex Schillinger scored points in the 100 breast at the state meet, and senior Danny Konishi got state experience on state relays. Senior diver Zach Mega also qualified for state. Schillinger, Konishi and Derek Warnstedt (sprints) will captain the team this season. The main issue for coach Kristen Newby is finding a way to balance the proven performers with a big group of promising newcomers who are "too many to mention." That sounds like hyperbole, but it's supported by the fact that about 75 percent of the roster is occupied by sophomores or freshmen, many of them already very accomplished. "This comes with its own set of challenges, but also sets us up to identify talent that might not have surfaced yet," Newby said. Joining the leadership effort at Fremd is veteran diving coach Donna O'Brien. "We have a large team this year with many kids who have previous swimming/diving experience," Newby said. "Balancing where everyone can best serve the team will be our toughest challenge."

Hoffman EstatesCoach Jenny Toler Huffman is eager to assemble another version of what has been a strong suit in the program - freestyle relays. Senior sprinter Mark Heitkotter is the top returning athlete and is joined by senior Greg Baranov (free/fly), who has made steady gains recently. They figure to combine with sophomores Neil Polzin and EJ Merza (free/fly) for solid foursomes. "Continuing the Hoffman tradition of strong freestyle performers, we are looking forward to putting together some pretty special swims in individual events and the freestyle relays," Toler Huffman says. "The boys worked hard in the off-season and are very excited to race some tough competition in the MSL." Joining the varsity effort are sophomore Tom Lam (free/IM) and freshmen Richard Le (sprint free/breast) and Fritz Nastor (fly). "We have a lot of boys out for the team this year to add depth to our roster," said Toler Huffman, "which is something that we have slowly been building over the past few years."

HerseyIt's setting up pretty darn well for coach Dick Mortensen and the Huskies. Start with last year's second-place state finisher in both the 100 fly and 200 IM, Michael Petro. The senior has committed to LSU and is a legit candidate to win both those races at state this year. He's also a fine sprint freestyler, making him about the perfect swimmer around which to build a high school team. And then there are the other reason for Mortensen to be optimistic - and the are plenty of them, such as the fact that the full sectional lineup from last season is back in action. State diving qualifier Nick Nocita is one of those returners and is adding degree of difficulty to his list. Other familiar faces include senior Josh Irvine, juniors Jack Blumenfeld, John Dattilo, Stephen Hah, Ryan Szymanski and Ethan Huene and sophs Spencer Burkhalter, Danny Pollina and Paul Wilhelm. Add to that mix varsity-ready freshmen Ethan Marunde and Gavin Hill, and it's clear that expectations are - and should be - high for Hersey. "The goal is to get multiple individuals swimming on Friday at the state meet," Mortensen said.

PalatineFirst-year coach Katie Mroz succeeds a three-year run from coach John Schauble and likes the makeup of her debut group. She mentions one big-picture goal for the program as "hoping to continue to build a team and a community for years to come." That effort begins without the services of graduated four-year state qualifier Alex Bartosik, a force in the Pirates' lineup for four straight years and the team record-holder in the 200 IM. But Mroz likes this year's senior class, which features team captains Jake Klein (free), Sean O'Brien (back) and Campbell Boston (diving). Junior Noah Chon (breaststroke), a very strong sophomore class featuring Stefan Filip (free), Sam Adame (back) and Christian Snyder (fly) and freshman Henry Gabriel (breast, distance) should help solidify the dual meet lineup. The overall numbers in the program are on the rise, and the Pirates are ready for a full season in their home waters. "With a great group of senior leaders and mentors on the team, Palatine continues to mature with strong underclassmen," Mroz said. "Our new pool at the beginning of the season inspired many newcomers to the team as well."

ProspectTwo-time state qualifier Jacob Kosinski is back for his senior season with the Knights in the 100 breaststroke. Beyond that it's a bit of a puzzle for coach Alfonso Lopez and the defending MSL East champs - but he likes the many pieces at his disposal and intends to put them together in a winning fashion once again. Among the other key seniors are Dan Macina (distance free), Reidar Erbe (free), Cameron Rodriguez (fly/sprints), Sam Kruppa (back), Abe Elfar (breast), Fazian Ahmed (sprints), Alex Karlovitz (breast), Nick Lagowski (sprints) and Peader McGrath (IM). In the junior class, Justin Fugiel and Nick Lecomte have roles in the backstroke effort; Lecomte and Stephen Pollard will also swim the IM, with Josh Nam helping in distance, fly and some sprints, and Kevin Zielinski in the sprints. Sophomore Aidan Rodriguez (back/IM) will be joined in the younger classes by freshmen Chris Partipilo (sprints) and the diversely skilled and varsity-ready Kevin Soltys. Diving looks competitive, with junior twins Aiden and Aaron Busiel leading the way. Fitting it all together is a challenge Lopez is enjoying. "We're looking to reload after losing a fairly large senior class last year," he said. "The team is starting to round into shape and looks very focused at the moment. Our goals are to defend our MSL East title, look to win as many dual meets as we can, place well at invites - while still having fun, placing well at our conference meets and qualifying swimmers and divers for the state meet at sectionals."

Rolling MeadowsCoach Monika Chiappetta marks her 20th season in charge of the Mustangs with what looks like a memorable team. Three-fourths of both the state-qualifying freestyle relays are back, so quite naturally the program is hoping for even better things this season. Senior Josh Dellorto was an individual point-scorer last season in the 100 free and figures to lead those relays again; he's also made big strides in the backstroke and butterfly. Senior Jake Pors is another plus, with aptitude in all the freestyles plus the breast and butterfly. Senior Nate Pardini had big time drops at the end of last year and took spots on those state free relays. Senior Andrew Tavares will be a plus in the IM and fly, and senior Jack Keeley can be a plus in backstroke and sprints as well. Chiappetta says three freshmen - Lukas Slifierz, Sam Keeley and Jacob Hardt - will certainly help the lineup right away. Slifierz can compete at a high level in about any event, Keeley will help in free, back and breast while Hardt's clear strength is freestyle. Chiappetta aims to keep the focus on improvement throughout the season, and hopefully through late February. She says her group intends to be "working toward best times, breaking school records and qualifying individuals and relays to state."

SchaumburgFinally - no more pool-sharing for Schaumburg, and coach Tim O'Grady intends to take full advantage. The key competitors from last year's team are back. And while the Saxons were not a top-tier team in the MSL West last season, there's every reason to think they can be this year. The top returners are Matt Soltau (sprints), Tyler Reynolds (distance/fly/IM), Matt Kelland (free), Matteas Arostegui (free/fly) Michael Burke (back/free) Ryan Gustafson (free), Kevin Yuen (free), Kyle Grubb (fly) and divers Brandon Nyborg and Matt Schmaus. Among the fresh faces to varsity are Chris Suarez (fly/back/free), Michael Hahn (free/breast), Mike Batold (free), Danny Monzon (breast), Ryan Sorge (breast) and Bartlomiej Czech (back). O'Grady does aim to improve the team's standing at conference - and is also hoping for representation at the state meet with a senior-heavy crew.

St. ViatorCoach Sam Wilcher is eager to see what standout Michael Balcerak delivers in his senior year, but that's only the beginning of the story for the Lions this year. The state's defending champion in the 100-yard freestyle and the third-place finisher in the 200 free has quite a range of event options, and there's no guarantee he'll end up in the same races at the end of this year. In any case, Wilcher is hopeful there's more than one of his swimmers competing on the final weekend of the season. Another candidate is versatile junior Michael Ruben. "Last year he was getting closer and closer to state," Wilcher said. "I am hoping to see him take a shot at it this year. I know he is capable." Other top contributors will be seniors Adam Domagala, a backstroker who put in plenty of off-season work, and Michael Wendling, a big help in the 100 and 200 freestyles last season. The Lions' secret weapon may be junior Marcus Lannie, who will focus on the sprint freestyles and 100 breast in addition to captaining the team. "He has an amazing ability to get everyone excited and ready for a meet," Wilcher said. "It is quite an amazing talent."

WheelingCoach Tod Schwager reports that it will be combination of refinement and rebuilding this year with what is on balance a very young team. The refining will mainly come with senior Nick Konstantos, who used a breakthrough effort at the sectional meet to qualify for the state championships in the 100 breaststroke. Also back is butterflyer Vasyl Pavlyuk, a junior. And then there's the rebuilding. The keys to that effort will be freshman Leo Monaxios (fly/free) and sophomores Peter Szczepanski (breast), Paul Szczepanski (free) and Matthew Chludzinski (diving). The overall focus with Schwager will be, as always, finding ways to swim faster. "Our team goal is to improve our finish in the MSL East and get back in the top half of the conference meet," he said.