Wetteland, Wildcats excited about season

After a tumultuous off-season, it's time for the Libertyville boys swimming team to get down to business.

Given the talent on the team, the Wildcats appear poised to meet the challenge.

"I think we can do even better than we have in the past three years," senior Dan LeJeune said. "We're real good in areas we were weak before."

Over the summer, the Wildcats were disappointed when well-respected coach Kate Chronic's contract was not renewed.

"She had been my coach for about five years," junior Ben Glick said. "She was almost a second mom to me, so I was pretty upset."

There was uncertainty about who would coach the team until Chris Wetteland, who had coached the junior varsity at Mundelein, was hired after the school year began.

Wetteland's ability to make a good first impression meant the boys were on board quickly.

"I was upset, but the worst thing you can do is dwell on it," senior Kegan Rogers said. "You have to trust your coach to help you reach your goals. I was exhausted the first week of practice, and I still am right now. He's a good coach. He knows what he's doing and how to push us."

Added LeJeune: "A lot of people were worried going into the season, but Chris has done a great job keeping everyone together. He's got a lot of enthusiasm. He knows what has to get done and how we can get there."

Wetteland is excited about the opportunity to coach such a tradition-rich program.

"It's historically one of the stronger swimming schools in the conference," he said. "They always seem to send guys (to) state. They have a rich history of being a powerful team."

So far, Wetteland likes what he sees.

"The kids came into the season in excellent shape and were ready to go," he said. "Kate pushed them hard so they were used to a tough coach coming in."

It helps a new coach when his captains, Rogers and LeJeune, are two of the team's hardest workers.

"(Rogers) absolutely destroys his body every practice," Wetteland said. "He always wants feedback about his form and he leaves it all in the pool. Danny is making small changes in his stroke that I think will pay off toward the end of the season. He's one of the kids who is a terrific competitor and can swim anything."

Glick is in end-of-the-year form early in the season.

"I wouldn't have been expecting him to swim this fast this early," Wetteland said. "He can start to set some pretty fun goals in terms of times for the state (meet)."

Juniors Austin Hoover, John Blankenhorn and sophomore Steve Wimmer also have started strong.

"The (guys) have been swimming with each other for a long time," Wetteland said. "This is one of the tightest teams I've been associated with."