Menis a two-sport force for Redhawks

This weekend's state swimming meet marks both an end and a beginning for Naperville Central's Mark Menis and his varsity exploits in the pool.

Today the Redhawks junior will make his first appearance as a state qualifier, racing as an individual in the 50-yard freestyle and as a member of the 200 freestyle relay team.

Next week Menis begins practice with the Naperville Central water polo team, which finished second in the state tournament last year. After the season he was named the top sophomore water polo player in the state.

This week, however, his concentration is on the state meet that will be held at New Trier and helping the Redhawks improve on their sixth-place finish at state in 2008.

"We're hoping to do better than last year," Menis said. "We have a lot of seniors and everyone is stepping up. I'll be doing my best in the 50, but we have a much better chance to score in the relay."

Menis loves the teamwork aspect of water polo and brings that passion to the swimming team.

"In swimming the guys have a bond," Menis said. "We push each other to do well even though we're often competing as individuals. I like the relays better than the individual events because we're working as a team and all four guys are going for their best times."

Menis's qualification in the 50 and in the 200 free relay reinforces the swimmer's view of himself primarily as a sprinter, but Naperville Central coach Mike Adams believes Menis is far more than that.

"I had heard Mark was a water polo player," Adams said. "But it was obvious from Day One he was a swimmer. He's really come into his own as a sprinter, but what surprised me was his versatility. He's valuable on the relays and good at the IM, backstroke and breaststroke. There isn't anything he can't do, and there's no question he loves to compete."

Menis is just one of the Redhawks' many weapons at the state meet.

At last Saturday's Neuqua Valley sectional Naperville Central qualified 15 individual swims and diver Mike Greco as well as all three relay teams, which are all seeded in the Top 12 for today's preliminary round.

In the individual events the Redhawks' Ben Reasons in the 100 breaststroke and Jeff Depew in the 200 IM are also among the top seeds.

This weekend also holds special significance for Menis because one of his competitors in the 50 freestyle will be his first cousin, Chris DeLetto, a senior at Glenbrook South and a contender for the state championship in that event.

"We're very close," Menis said. "Chris and I have been swimming our whole life around each other. We have a friendly competition in both swimming and water polo."

Last year the cousins competed against each other both in the water polo regular season and then again in the state semifinals. The Redhawks won 8-7 and went on to the finals where they lost to Fenwick. Glenbrook South finished third.

"We guarded each other in both games," Menis said. "We have fun with it and get a little more physical. Neither of us wants to get schooled by the other or you'll hear about it for an entire year. We're a very close family. We're like brothers."

Menis, who hopes to play water polo in college, believes his speed in the pool is a big asset in his water polo career.

"Swimming is a huge part of it," Menis said. "You need to be both quick and fast and have good ballhandling skills. If you can control the ball, you can do just about anything in that sport."

Menis and DeLetto come by their water polo skills honestly. Menis' father, Mark, and DeLetto's mother, Nancy, brother and sister, are both former star players who are now respected coaches. The senior Menis is an assistant coach of the Naperville Central team, and both he and his sister are respected club water polo coaches as well.

Naperville Central water polo coach Bill Salentine will be looking to young Menis as one of his top players as the Redhawks focus on taking that final step to the state title this season.

"Mark is both a very good swimmer and a very good water polo player," Salentine said. "He's grown 4 or 5 inches in the past year so he should be that much stronger. His major strength is his ability to do crazy and insane things with the ball. He's a superb ballhandler and tactical player and he can play any position in the pool. He's a tenacious defender and one of our best offensive threats."