Boys swimming and diving: Maine South's Young in good position heading to state

Maine South senior Daniel Young put himself in a top-notch position heading into this weekend's IHSA boys state swimming finals in Evanston.

Young is the top seed in the 200-yard individual medley after posting a time of 1:51.49 at the Glenbrook North sectional.

"He's had a really good year," said Hawks coach Don Kura of Young. "Daniel is tremendously focused on having the best possible finish he can in the 200 IM. It'll be interesting and fun to watch to see what he'll be able to do."

Barrington's contingent at Evanston will include sophomore Griffin O'Leary, junior Dan Langlois, and seniors Shawn Ujiiye and Jack Hoppe.

O'Leary will look forward to the finals of the 100 butterfly as he posted a sectional time of 49.60 (Stevenson sectional).

Prospect sophomore Tim Hays will be in the mix after posting a sectional mark of 51.78 in the 100 fly, Ray Ure will participate in the 1-meter dive for Maine West while Alex Santiago of Buffalo Grove was a sectional champ in the 50 free.

Gavin Hill of Hersey will be part of the IHSA finals for the third year, and Huskies coach Dick Mortensen says, "that experience will give him some confidence going in."

Hill's best individual event is the 100 free, while teammate Noah Thomas qualified for four events in the Athletes with Disabilities division - the 200 free, the 50 free, the 100 free and the 100-yard breaststroke.

"On Saturday," added Mortensen, "Noah's focus will be on breaking the state record in the 100 breaststroke and getting his best times possible."

Sam Keeley of Rolling Meadows propelled through the water in a time of 21.21 in the 50 free in sectionals despite being a little under the weather, and the junior will hope to improve on that mark at state.

Some other relay teams to watch for will be Stevenson in the 200 medley relay with AJ Carollo, Jack Zhang, Josh Song and Jake Kim expected to compete; Barrington's 200 medley team (O'Leary, Langlois, Ujiiye and Hoppe); and Maine South (Young, Billy Myer, Jack Folan and Brendan Forrest) in the 400 free relay.

Meadows will also feature a few relay teams in Evanston, and the lineup will include Vlad Molin, Lukas Slifierz and Jacob Hardt, along with Keeley.

"There is room to do more," said Mustangs coach Monika Chiappetta. "Our kids know the field is tough, but they are very focused."