Boys swimming and diving: Scouting the state meet, Northwest

Boys swimming and diving: Scouting the state meet, Northwest

Where: Evanston Township High School

Friday: Diving prelims and 9 a.m., swimming prelims at 3:30 p.m.

Saturday: Finals at 11 a.m.

Team talk: Defending champ Lyons, Hinsdale Central and New Trier again look like the top three - but likely in a different order. This time, New Trier has a big edge after earning the top seed in all three relays, but Lyons and Hinsdale Central still have plenty of firepower, and don't count out last year's fourth-place finisher, Stevenson, from the trophy hunt.

Back for more? Defending the championships they won last year are Peoria Notre Dame senior Colton Paulson in the 200-yard free, Stevenson junior Topher Stensby in the 50 free, Lyons senior Spencer Walker in the 100 back and New Trier senior Charlie Scheinfeld in the 100 breaststroke. St. Viator senior Michael Balcerak won the 100 free last year but subbed in the 100 fly this time.

Top seeds:

200 medley relay: New Trier, 1:30.59

200 freestyle: Michael Balcerak (St. Viator) 1:37.62

200 IM: Michael Petro (Hersey) 1:49.78

50 free: Parker Nolan (St. Ignatius) 20.69

Diving: Kevin Sullivan (Downers North) 595.80

100 fly: Michael Balcerak (St. Viator) 48.68

100 free: Parker Nolan (St. Ignatius) 45.13

500 free: Colton Paulson (Peoria Notre Dame) 4:29.74

200 free relay: New Trier 1:24.09

100 back: Spencer Walker (Lyons) 48.96

100 breaststroke: Charlie Scheinfeld (New Trier) 55.08

400 free relay: New Trier 3:03.57

Champ's discretion: St. Viator senior Michael Balcerak eked out a victory in the 100 freestyle at state last year, edging Stevenson's Topher Stensby by two one-hundredths of a second. Citing the appeal of a fresh challenge, Balcerak opted this year to substitute the 100 fly for the 100 free - and then performed the fastest time in the state at the sectionals in the fly. He's also the top seed in the 200 freestyle, meaning there's at least the opportunity for Balcerak to finish as a state champ in three different events. Coached by Sam Wilcher, himself a standout butterfly who raced in the Olympic Trials, St. Viator will also have junior Michael Ruben racing in the 200 IM and junior Marcus Lannie in the 50 free. Junior Tyler Coupe will join them for the 200 free relay, which produced a stunning victory at the sectional. "Our guys have been on Cloud 9 all week," Wilcher said. "Especially for Michael - for three years, he's gone to this meet by himself, so I think he's really enjoying it." Wilcher says the main thing that's helped Balcerak achieve at such a high level is simply his appetite for competition. "A lot of swimmers are motivated by times, but with Michael it's more that he just loves to race," Wilcher said.

Feeling vulnerable? New Trier's jaw-dropping qualifying time in the medley relay is actually faster than the state record. Other state-meet records likely to fall: 200 free, 200 free relay, 100 back, 100 breast, 400 free relay.

Local focal pointsBarrington - The Broncos will race in the medley relay and 200 free relay, with the same four - junior Steven Fischer, sophomore Jack Hoppe, sophomore Shawn Ujiiye and junior Sam Burrell. Hoppe also advanced in the 100 breast, and Fischer in the 50 free. And senior Steven Latimer earned a spot in diving after scoring 399.45 at the Stevenson sectional.

Buffalo Grove - A pair of juniors will see state action for the first time. Daniel Verdico advanced in the 500 free, and Ben Goldberg made the at-large cutoff in diving.

Conant - Diving coach Robin Yactor will oversee a pair of first-time state competitors in Caleb Savoy and Kyle Jones.

Fremd - The Vikes have the same two relays in action, with freshman Evan Stegall, senior Alex Schillinger, junior Yoochan Lee and Danny Konishi on the medley, and Lee, Alex Reed, Stegall and Konishi on the 200 free. Schillinger will race both the 200 IM and 100 breast, Stegall qualified in the 100 back and senior Zach Mega, the MSL champ, hopes to advance to Saturday's action in diving. Also earning a spot in diving was junior Christian Zukowski.

Hersey - Senior standout Michael Petro is the top seed in the 200 IM and No. 3 in the 100 fly, and sophomore Gavin Hill earned a spot in the 50 free. They'll be joined by junior Jack Blumenfeld and freshman Ethan Marunde on the 400 free relay, and junior diver Nick Nocita had the fifth-best qualifying score.

Maine West - Sophomore Ray Ure earned a spot in diving after a sectional score of 405.75.

Palatine - Senior Sean O'Brien earned his first state-meet appearance in the 100 backstroke.

Prospect - Senior Jake Kosinski is back for a third straight attempt in the 100 breast.

Rolling Meadows - Senior Josh Dellorto is poised for point-scoring efforts in both the 50 and 100 free; he'll be joined by senior Jake Pors, freshman Lukas Slifierz and senior Nate Pardini on the medley relay.

Schaumburg - Senior Matt Soltau had a great sectional meet to earn races in both the 50 and 100 freestyles.

Wheeling - Senior Nick Konstantos excelled at the sectional in the 100 breast for his second straight state effort. He's got the ninth-fastest qualifying time (57.55).

Lake County leadersCarmel Catholic - Junior Kyle Falkstrom was a sectional champ in the 200 IM in a time of 1:53.65.

Grayslake Central - Freshman Sami Moussally is making quite a splash in his first state series, having won the 100 and 200 freestyles in his first sectional appearance. Junior Charles Schober will compete for a second straight year, in the 200 free.

Libertyville - The Wildcats will be represented by the 200 medley relay of Austin Stevenson, Billy Bennett, Lawrence Wang and Sean Coughlin, and the 200 free relay of Bennett, Coughlin, Stevenson and Nathan Valley. Individually, it's Coughlin, a senior, in the 100 free, Austin Stevenson in the 50 free and 100 breast, and Bennett, who won the 100 breast at the Lake Forest sectional.

Mundelein - Senior Kyle Ehemann earned a spot by winning the Lake Forest sectional with a score of 369.85.

Stevenson - The North Suburban Conference champs produced a terrific qualifying effort in the sectional they hosted. Defending 50 free champ Topher Stensby, a junior, leads the way. He's a threat to win both the 50 and 100 free this weekend and makes the Pats 400 free relays very likely to score points. The bigger story for Stevenson is how many others will be taking part in the meet, many with chances to contribute to the team total. Daniel Ng (100, 200 free), Joseph Song (100 breast, 200 IM), Nathan Gates (500 free) and a terrific medley relay are also candidates to generate scoring. And with the largest team ever on deck for this meet and competitors such as Phoom Lertsinsongserm (breast), Nick Comini (50 free), Ethan Ross (200 free) and Jack Zhang (200 IM, back), it's entirely possible Stevenson could get some pleasant surprises

Vernon Hills - Senior Calvin Yoon made the state cut in two races, the 100 fly and the 100 breaststroke.

Warren - The Blue Devils will be represented by junior Brian Tabourot, who won the Lake Forest sectional in 52.10

- Aaron Gabriel