Naperville North's Qiao has high expectations

I.I. Qiao is the face of the resurgence of the boys swimming program at Naperville North.

The Huskies junior continued his winning ways last Saturday, finishing first in the 100-yard butterfly at the highly competitive Evanston Invitational.

"I.I. has higher expectations this year," said Naperville North coach Andy McWhirter. "He's really focused and improving every week."

Earlier this season Qiao won both the butterfly and the 200 IM at the Neuqua Valley Invitational and then followed that up with a second-place finish in the overall point standings at the Waubonsie Valley Aquapentathlon finishing with a victory in the 200 freestyle, the final race of the day.

"He finished 11th in the 200 IM at state last year and 12th in the 100 butterfly," McWhirter said. "We're looking to a top-six finish in both this time."

The versatile Qiao is also a key member of the Huskies' relays swimming the backstroke on the 200 medley relay team and he's a member of the 400 free relay team. Both are good bets to qualify for state.

The medley relay - which also features Josh Tak (breaststroke), Brandon Chan (fly) and Noah Ellis (freestyle) - was fourth at Evanston and has finished first or second several times.

All three are potential qualifiers in their individual races.

Diver Zach Richards is also on course to qualify, and freestylers Keegan Riggs and Nick Zillier and sophomore Joey Yuan give the Huskies a deep lineup of postseason contributors in both relays and individual races.

"All the kids know what they have to do to prepare for sectionals," McWhirter said. "We have some key meets coming up that show that will show we're ready for that final push."

Ready for the postseason:

Senior Eric Sgarbossa and freshman Ben Kimmel give Lake Park a double threat for sectionals.

Sgarbossa, a three-time state qualifier who won the 200 breaststroke at the Hinsdale South College Events Invitational last Saturday, is looking to qualify in both the 100 fly and the 100 breaststroke.

Kimmel, who has been outstanding at longer distances, is planning on making it in both the 500 free and the 200 IM. He was first in the 500 free at the Downers Grove South Invite earlier in the season.

"Eric has been a mentor for Ben providing a great example in the way he attacks sets," said Lake Park coach Dan Witteveen. "He also shows Ben and everyone on the team how you can put in the hard work while still having fun swimming. Ben can take over that leadership role next year."

A little help:

Both Sgarbossa and Kimmel are optimistic that teammates Jack Slade and Norbert Szczotka can help them qualify at least one relay team for the state meet.

"We'll see it as a successful season if Eric and Ben make state in both their events and we can qualify one relay team," Witteveen said.

Chugging along:

The Waubonsie Valley postseason express picked up a little steam last weekend when the Warriors won the Champaign Centennial Charger Invitational.

Junior Jared Simpson won the 200 IM and freshman Aayush Deshpande finished first in the 500 freestyle.

"What is promising for us," coach Nick Arens said. "Is that more and more kids are stepping up and showing that they can contribute at the end of the year."

Arens sees Simpson as a swimmer without weaknesses who can swim any stroke. Last year he finished just outside the top 12 at state in the backstroke and was also a member of both the 200 medley and 400 free relay teams that scored.

"Jared's role in the postseason will be determined by where he can most help the team," Arens said. "He can probably qualify in just about any event. This year he has developed in the sprint free races."

Deshpande has been pushing for lifetime bests every week.

"He has a great attitude," Arens said. "You could see from the beginning that he was ready to push himself at practice. He just loves to go out and race against strong competition."

Veteran Eric Weng finished second in both the 50 and the 100 free at Champaign. He is also a candidate for individual qualification and he's a key component for relay teams spots along with juniors Cole Steffl and Bryan Ellig.

"We're looking at the progress so many kids have made this year and we're very proud of that," Arens said. "And there are others who are moving up into that core group to give us the depth we need to provide strong competition for those relay spots."

A collegial outcome:

A winning performance in the 200 medley relay led Naperville Central to victory at the Hinsdale South College Events Invitational last Saturday.

It was the second college events team victory for the Redhawks, who finished first at the Naperville North College Events meet over the winter break.

The medley relay at the Hinsdale South meet featured Will McDonald, Phillip Sajaev, Christian Carrier and Dominic May.

"It's always gratifying when you win a big meet like this," said Redhawks coach Mike Adams. "The boys have been racing very well, and their goal is to step it up a notch and bring out our 'A' game every time in order to keep our focus and do well at the end of the season."