Scouting Fox Valley and DuPage County boys swimming
Here’s a look at what to expect this winter for the area’s boys swimming teams.
BENET ACADEMY
The Redwings were fourth in the Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference last season, seventh in the sectionals and 46th at state.
Coach Nelly Musso will depend on seniors Aiden Hulett, Harlan Apple and Keegan Glynn, and juniors Sam Larson and Ben Dewart.
Newcomers include sophomore Alex Gastolek and freshman Aiden Erickson.
"We want to finish in the top four in the conference and send three individuals and two relays to the state meet,'' said Musso.
CARY-GROVE, CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH, CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL, PRAIRIE RIDGE CO-OP
Scott Lattyak's group won the Fox Valley Conference, was second in the sectionals and 27th in the state last season. The top returner is senior Kasparas Venslauskas (Crystal Lake Central) who was 15th in the 100 breaststroke and 18th in the 200 IM.
A strong veteran group is guided by seniors Victor Praczkowski (Crystal Lake South), Logan Kane (Crystal Lake Central), Matthew Herron (Crystal Lake Central) and Luke Sander (Crystal Lake Central). The team also has junior Charlie Edwards (Crystal Lake South) and sophomores Oliver Sweitek (Crystal Lake South) and Ignas Venslauskas (Crystal Lake Central) with freshman Nathan Scerbac (Crystal Lake South).
“The team has a lot of returning strength," said Lattyak. ”I saw what they could do the first week of practice and was impressed. We are favored to win the FVC again. We want to unite the team with common ideas and maximize our growth quickly and get state qualifiers."
DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH
The Mustangs seek a seventh straight West Suburban Conference Gold championship.
Third in the sectionals last season, DGS returns junior diver Nick Belony, who was 22nd in the state.
Returning swimmers include seniors Aidan Meyer, Kian Scheck, Sean Noller and Ignas Bertasius and sophomore Luke Conley.
"We graduated only one senior from last year's varsity," said coach Bryan Szweda. “This is the deepest group I have had in 17 years. We want to qualify multiple individuals and relays for the state.”
GLENBARD NORTH-EAST Co-op
The Ramthers, coached by Tyler Buss, were fifth in the DuKane Conference and 10th in the sectionals a year ago. Seniors Victor Hanson, James Mechum, Gregorio Monroy Jr., and Michael Duarte along with juniors Ben Wagner, Adriano Beiforo, Dylan Schwanter, Cesar Villareal, Kristopher Asorio and Zephrain Muir, and sophomores Nico Vasquez, Gabriel Peitras, Walker Altenbern, Aiden Townsend, Julian Garcia, Hunter Maxa and Gabriel Milian are all back.
"We want to develop young strong swimmers focusing on individual technique and endurance," said Buss. “Winning is never the primary goal. Finishing fourth in the conference is not out of the question if we drop enough time in the individual events and have a few strong relays."
Newcomers look to contribute are sophomore Antonio Gonzalez, and freshmen Mason McKenna, Gael Jimenez Tenorio, Antonio Pieranunzi, Ivan Hernandez and Kristian Alexsiev.
"This will be a strong year," said Buss. “We return many strong swimmers and have a strong new freshman class. We would like to win a dual meet or two and place higher in the conference and sectionals. We would be excited to send swimmers or relays to the state meet."
HINSDALE CENTRAL
Indiana recruit Josh Bey, who is the defending state champ in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley, is back for a Red Devils team going for a third straight state title after easily winning its second straight last year with 337.50 points. New Trier was a distant second with 210.50 points.
Bey also on the state champion 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay team.
Penn recruit senior Henry Guo was fourth in the 100 butterfly and the 200 freestyle. Guo was also on the state champion 400 freestyle relay team.
As a freshman, sophomore Luke Vatev placed fourth in the 500 freestyle and eighth in the 200 freestyle. Senior Matt Vatev was fourth in 100 breaststroke. Senior Noah Pelinkovic earned an 11th-place effort in the 500 freestyle.
Other state qualifiers back for the Devils are seniors Frankie Adamo and David Turek along with junior Bryan Suliga.
“We are a very deep team," said Barber. ”We are looking for three in a row. We have a lot of new opportunities to succeed for our team.
HINSDALE SOUTH
Senior Parker Chan is shooting for a fourth straight trip to the state meet. Chan placed 13th in the 100 backstroke and 22nd in the 200 freestyle in 2024.
Also back for the Hornets are senior Andrew Peterson and sophomore Gustav Melulius.
Newcomers are senior Fred Finnegan and freshmen Nicholas Matella and Alex Holton.
"The future looks bright," said coach Beth Walker. “We are building numbers and raising the level of training. We are building on hard work and we are positive in everything we do. Downers Grove South is a tough team. This is a great competitive team. We want to raise the bar from last year. We are excited to see what the conference brings.”
HUNTLEY
The 2024-2025 roster for the Red Raiders includes seniors Szymon Osadnik, Dylan Elliott and Owen Cassie, sophomore Anthony Koterski and freshmen David Gatto and Jayden Abbott.
"We have a young team and a great group of swimmers," said Huntley coach Adam Wolfenberg. “We want to improve from last year and have a few swimmers make it to state."
JACOBS-HAMPSHIRE-DUNDEE-CROWN CO-OP
Molly Gomberg's troops, which were second in the Fox Valley Conference, return seniors Luke Johnson and Gabe Niemi, and juniors Justin Bernstein and Max Chiapetta while adding freshmen John Beasley and Matvil Dobrogorsky.
"We have a team full of dedicated hardworking athletes who push each other to reach new heights," said Gomberg. “The team's camaraderie and positive attitude makes them a force to be reckoned with every meet."
LAKE PARK
Junior Matt Karasek is the top swimmer back for coach Bennett Witteveen.
Karasek's sophomore resume included an 11th-place finish at the state meet in the 100 freestyle and 21st effort in the 200 IM.
Senior Johnny Fox also returns for the Lancers.
Lake Park hopes to improve on a third-place finish in the DuKane Conference, a sixth-place effort in the sectionals and a 42nd-place finish at the state meet with 9 points.
"We want to be competitive in the DuKane Conference and score some points at the state meet," said Karasek.
MARMION ACADEMY
Fresh off guiding Rosary to a second straight state girls championship, Glenn Brown is hoping to lead Marmion to a successful 2024-2025 campaign.
The Cadets, sixth at the state meet last season with 117 points, return the entire 400 freestyle relay which finished third. The Marmion foursome also finished seventh in the 400 freestyle relay.
Senior Evan Conti (Notre Dame), juniors Dan Gianitis and Braden Nagel and sophomore Brayden Capen are all back.
Individually, Capen was fifth in the state in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 200 IM. Conti was sixth in the 100 backstroke and eighth in the 200 freestyle. Gianitis was 10th in the 200 IM and 14th in the 100 butterfly.
Returners include seniors Sam Russell and Joe Wileman along with junior Tanner Spillane.
"Hard work motivates the Cadets," said Brown. “We would like the attention the girls at Rosary get. We want to win a trophy at state.”
NAPERVILLE CENTRAL
Finishing 11th at the state meet, third in the DuPage Valley and fourth in the sectionals, coach Mike Adams returns state qualifiers James Behrend, Robert Hargrove and AJ Landorf, all seniors. Alex Ung is also back, while the Redhawks add freshmen Grant Baboyian, Grant James, Noah Lau and Leo Zhang.
“We have a large team and look to get better each and every week," said Adams. ”There will be plenty of opportunities for veterans and newcomers to get experience."
NAPERVILLE NORTH
Senior Mason Hofman, a John Hopkins recruit, is the top swimmer back for the Huskies.
Hofman placed 21st in the 100 breaststroke at last season's state meet. Junior Max Fedorovskiy was 30th in the 200 individual medley.
"We lost some very good seniors to graduation," said coach Aaron Maschman. “Some of our returners have positioned themselves to make a solid impact.”
The Huskies are the defending DuPage Valley Conference champs and were fifth in the sectionals and ninth at the state meet.
Returners include seniors Ryan Chen and Jack Reif (Navy) and juniors Carter Seiple, Allen Xu and sophomore Josh Leu. They are joined by freshmen Grayson Dean and Sean MacConnachie.
"Hopefully these student-athletes along with a few freshmen will rise to the challenge," said Maschman. “We want to challenge for the DVC title again. Waubonsie Valley and Naperville Central will be strong again. We want to have multiple IHSA finalists."
NEUQUA VALLEY
Coach Chad Allen led the Wildcats to fourth in the DuPage Valley Conference, sixth in the sectionals and 24th in the state with 26 points last year, and has these state qualifiers back: juniors Arun Kaura, Pete Carroll and Pat Xu, and sophomores Jack Langan, Braden Meuer, Jackson Wagoner.
Returners also include seniors Gabe Wu and Tony Newton, and juniors Ryan Watson and Aly Hassanien, while freshman Ryan Fastabend seeks pool time.
"We have a young team that should be improving in a tough balanced conference,"said Allen. “We want to finish in the top three. We want to compete in the tough conference with Naperville Central, Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley."
SOUTH ELGIN ELGIN CO-OP
Fourth in the Upstate Eight Conference a year ago, seniors Jacob Lesch, Christian Guy and Mason Sodini return for coach Jeff Davis.
ST. CHARLES EAST
The Saints graduated 12 seniors from a team that took 16th at the state meet.
"We are working on a rebuild as we graduate a senior class who made up a majority of our varsity team last year," said coach Adam Musial.
Senior diver Jamie Heuser returns after finishing 37th at the state meet. Other swimmers to watch include seniors Joaquin Negro and Clancy Windle and freshman Garrett Mruk.
"We have a good mix of athletes amongst all grade levels who are looking for opportunities to replace those seniors who graduated," said Musial. “We want to develop a strong versatile team who trains hard. The conference is very competitive and we want to make a push to finish in the top three. We want to qualify individuals and relays for the state meet."
ST. CHARLES NORTH
The North Stars won sectional and DuKane Conference titles a year ago, then took 13th at state. Junior Thomas McMillan was a state finalist in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.
Others back are senior Brady Nightlinger and sophomores Collin Beu and Landyn Kruse. Sophomore Josh Lack is a newcomer.
“We want to move back into the top five to top 10 in state and win conference," said coach Rob Rooney.
WEST AURORA
The Blackhawks, who return to the Upstate Eight Conference, have four seniors and four juniors back: seniors Owen Haymond, Lincoln Majersky, Zach Nantelle and Connor Phelps along with juniors Evan Eichelkraut, Genaro Huerta, Josh Hoecker and Riley Wadle.
"Owen Haymond (100 backstroke) is about a second and a half from the state from last year's sectional time," said coach Kevin Burke. “We want to get him (Owen) to state. We have many returning swimmers and a diver and we want to continue to grow. We want everybody to swim their best times."
Newcomers are junior Malcolm Cruz and freshmen Gonzolo Lopez (diver) and Chris Scott.
WEST CHICAGO
The Wildcats were winners of the Upstate Eight Conference, the St. Charles East sectional and seventh in the state in 2023-204
Seniors Nathan Lindstrom (21st 100 backstroke, 30th 200 freestyle), Sam Ortiz and Tommy Eng (33rd 100 breaststroke) are all back with state experience along with senior Alejandro Jacob, junior Mike Marsh and sophomores Brady Jordan and Shane Johnson.
Newcomers are sophomore Will Becker and freshmen Jace Christensen and Noah Talkington.
"We are younger than normal and are depending on a lot of underclassmen. We can’t be dismissed as a threat in invites, conference and sectionals,“ said coach Troy Murray. ”We want to win conference and sectional this year with no exception. We want to qualify for the state meet in four events. In the conference Bartlett is improved and West Aurora and Riverside-Brookfield joining the conference provides speed.“
WHEATON ACADEMY
The lone Warrior swimmer is sophomore Will Angel who swims the 50 and 100 freestyle.
"His goals for this season are to break 22.6 and 49.7 in those events. He is a sophomore and would like to swim in college, but he has not narrowed down his school choice yet,“ said coach Kiernan Mack.
WILLOWBROOK-ADDISON TRAIL CO-OP
The Willowbrook-Addison Trail co-op coached by Dan Fernandez hopes to improve on a fifth-place finish in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division and an 11th-place effort in the sectional.
Returning are seniors Keegan Sampey (Addison Trail) and Santiago Hurtado (Addison Trail) along with juniors Alex Nowak (Addison Trail), Jurgen Carrola (Willowbrook), and Tyler Thomas (Willowbrook). Also back are sophomores Kaelan Sampey (Addison Trail), Ben Bates (Willowbrook), Manuel Brisbois (Willowbrook), Quentin Medinger Willowbrook), Ian Mueller (Willowbrook), Deekan Seelbach (Willowbrook) and Daanish Tasneem (Willowbrook).
Newcomers include seniors Omar Mohammed (Willowbrook) and Amir Amin Rais (Willowbrook), junior Brogan Byrne (Willowbrook) along with freshmen Mark Burrow (Addison Trail), Anthony Ippolito (Willowbrook), Ryan King (Willowbrook) and John Weber (Willowbrook).
"Similar to last year our goal is to foster and develop young swimmers," said Fernandez. “We want to help them improve as swimmers so they can get close to state qualifying times. We finished fifth in the WSCC Gold last year. We want to better our placement this season."
YORK
Finishing third in the WSCC and second in the sectionals, the Dukes are led by sophomore Matthew Glod, who was 37th in the 100 butterfly. Junior diver Trevor Rice was 27th in the diving competition.
Returners are seniors Henry Nelson, Noah Choi and Danny Grant along with sophomores Jake Lisowski, Thomas Buhrfield and Theodore Kamenica.
Newcomers include senior Tim Jensen, sophomores Dylan Fergus and Landon Behm, and freshmen Dima Razdolskyy, Evan Larson-Behal, Nicholas Mamottoa, Jack Blawatt, Herbert Jackson and Boden Rice.
“The conference is extremely talented. We are looking forward to competing at a high level, said coach Josh Dunn. ”It is a fresh start for (us). We have a very young team."