Mid-Suburban League preview
Mid-Suburban League swimming and diving championships
Diving
When: 6 p.m. Friday at Barrington
Outlook: It's a talented group this year, but there's no clear-cut favorite to win the event. Fremd senior Brandon Trostrud has far and away the highest score of the year for 6 dives (234.55), but he's battled illness recently while trying to add difficulty to several dives. His senior teammate Mike Kowalenko nearly broke the 200-point plateau in Fremd's last dual and is also a threat to win. Conant's John Maevski has improved steadily all season, prompting head coach Brian Drenth to say, "It seems like he adds another 10 points every time out." Others to hit 190 or better include Julian Vasquez of Buffalo Grove and Nolan Presmyk of Barrington. Palatine's Steve Repking, Elk Grove's Jerry Kurty, Hersey's Jake Wendell and Wheeling's Kyle Jensen have consistently scored in the 170s and are also among the top competitors.
Swimming
When: 1 p.m. Saturday at Barrington
Outlook: Based on the most recent performances and the greater emphasis the conference meet format puts on quality (as opposed to depth), this looks like Barrington's meet to win. The Broncos suffered a dual meet loss at Conant in early December, but this young team has made quantum leaps under first-year head coach John Valentine since then. Barrington has the top seed in the first two relays, and the second seed in the 400 free relay. Junior Greg Alexander has been terrific in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke all season, and Barrington has found answers throughout its lineup for most potential weak spots. The key figures are Leo Hayden, Matt Lee, Alex Anderson, Dan Comyn, Jack Strauss, Tom Clement, Brendan Lesniak, Chris Vega, Sam Howes, James Rodney and Kyle Ujiye. With so many strong underclassmen, it's clear Barrington will be a power in the league far beyond this meet.
There's every reason to believe Conant can extend its remarkable season. Senior captains Ryan Chiero and Matt Ebert have set the tone for a team that has answered every challenge as the Cougars swept their MSL foes in duals. Chiero will be in the top heats of the 200 IM and 100 free; senior Will Landgren is set up to score points in the 200 amd 500 freestyles, and he makes the Cougars' relays tough to contend with. Swimmers such as Victor Lim (breaststroke), Alan Wojciechowski (fly), Matt Nagorzanski (distance free, breaststroke) and David Wollschlager (backstroke) have stepped up and dropped time steadily since the new year and will be key point-scorers for the Cougars.
Fremd is going with a team-focused lineup, keeping top sprinter Dustin Anderson on all three relays to go with the 50 free individually. With Jeff Freund (100 fly, 500 free), Dennis Kostidis (200 IM, 500 free) and enough sprint speed with competitors such as Sean Gonzalez and Anthony Rublaitis, the Vikings' freestyle relays are poised to earn big points. James Tokuda (breaststroke) and Phil Schroeder (200 free relay) could also help the Vikings do some damage.
Palatine has a great opportunity to step up here. In coach Ed Richardson's final season, the Pirates have an interesting blend - the lack of a specific individual standout tended to hurt them in duals, but their overall quality through the lineup with John Giuliano, Dylan Weissman, Brad Ferris, Dan Sommerfeld, Kamil Mulawa, Trevor Leonard, Eric Nielsen and Greg Bell ought to translate well here.
Hersey's focus is on proving its regular season wasn't just some happy accident. The Huskies went unbeaten in the East and also topped Fremd in a dual, but the team's strength - overall depth and lineup flexibility - will be tested in this format. It's clear, though, that last year's 11th-place team can expect a much higher finish this time through. Look for Jeff Ruffin (200 free, 100 fly) and Alex Roznai (fly) to contribute key points; the main goal for the team is to have all three relays finish in the top six and to show continued overall improvement.
Buffalo Grove boasts one of the top swimmers in the conference in sophomore Ian Rodriguez (he's top seed in both the 200 IM and 100 back) and some great potental in senior sprinter Brad Lotzer. The Rodriguez-Alexander race in the 200 IM ought to be terrific as both threaten to go under two minutes.
Prospect's Joe Lakner (backstroke, sprints), Tyler Bengtsen (IM, breaststroke) and Mike McPartlin (sprints) aim to use the conference meet to better position themselves for the following week's sectional meet and help the Knights finish what has been a strong season under coach Alfonso Lopez. Eric Opland is the seventh seed in the 500 free.
Hoffman Estates doesn't have any individuals seeded in the top six, but the Hawks have made lots of progress this year. The 200 free relay of Mike Christen, Sang Han, Nick Jessee and Paul Organ has the fifth seed, and Jessee is seeded eighth in the 200 free.
Schaumburg is hoping for continued improvement throughout its lineup and hopes to keep seniors Ben Epperly (second seed in the 500, third in the 200 free) and Brandon Kase (sprints) on track toward possible state qualification.
Artie Checchin gives Rolling Meadows a top-flight sprinter - he's the sixth seed in the 100 free - and figures to help out the Mustangs' relays.
Elk Grove will be without sophomore standout Carl Sugihara (he's attending a baseball function in Florida), and that will hurt the Grens' relays, but Marek Burtan's a top-six seed in both the 100 fly and 100 breaststroke.
Wheeling's Tim McDaniel has been steady in the 200 IM and 500 free all season; he's seeded sixth in the IM and ninth in the 500.
Top this
Elk Grove's Jerry Kurty is not only one of the league's best divers, he also contributes as a swimmer. After diving is finished on Friday night, Kurty will return to the pool Saturday for legs on the Grenadiers' 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.
What they're saying
Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez: "This has been a great year for the team and they have worked extrememly hard to be successful here at the end. I believe we will have success at both meets (conference and sectional) and into state - and probably have some fun along the way too!"
Fremd coach Nicole LaBeau: "I 've seen some great practices from them the past three weeks, where a good percentage of them are not only working the right parts of practice, but asking many questions to ensure that they are getting the details right and going their fastest by technique. I love that about them."
Hersey coach Dick Mortensen: "The kids want to beat everyone in the East as well, and are very focused on making sure people know that us winning the East was not some fluke or based on luck."