Scouting Lake County boys swimming

Swimmers to watch: Ben Abejuela, fr., Warren; George Andreev, Vernon Hills, sr.; Mike Begrowicz, sr., Mundelein; Danny Conway, fr., Warren; Sean Conway, fr., Warren; Will Davidson, soph., Mundelein; Pat Falconer, jr., Mundelein; Brad Feng, sr., Stevenson; Langston Fitts, fr., Stevenson; Karter Gagliardo, fr., Warren; Ben Glick, sr., Libertyville; Daniel Guerrero, soph., Libertyville; Ty Kuper, sr., Stevenson; Ryota Kuwahara, fr., Stevenson; Jono Leafblad, sr., Warren; Kevin Lee, sr., Vernon Hills; Kevin Lenz, soph. Vernon Hills; Keli Liu, sr., Stevenson; Chris Marr, jr., Libertyville; Cliff Nelson, sr., Vernon Hills; Brad Ostmeyer, jr., Libertyville; David Rieck, jr., Mundelein; Adam Salzman, soph., Stevenson; Kurtis Schultz, sr., Warren; Ben Snader, soph., Libertyville; Sage Stephens, soph., Warren; Matt Stiefel, sr., Stevenson; Sean Trinka, sr., Mundelein;

Outlook: Greg Hartman, in his first year at Stevenson, inherits a nice mix of experience and youth. The Patriots have a great deal of depth and the lineup could fluctuate as a result. "We'll have people challenging for the top spots in multiple events," Hartman said. In the freestyle events, senior Ty Kuper will be a fixture. "I expect him to set the standard for the younger guys," Hartman said. Senior Keli Liu, a top backstroker, may use the butterfly as his second event. Senior Brad Feng could have a breakout season. "He's always been in the shadow; this is his chance to show his full potential," Hartman said. "He can fit into any role." A top-notch freshman class is headlined by Ryota Kuwahara, an age-group sate champion in the butterfly. Freshman Langston Fitz will be a top distance swimmer. Senior Matt Siefel will set the pace for Stevenson in diving. - First-year Libertyville coach Kevin Zakrzewski is well known in area swimming circles. Zakrzewski, a Stevenson graduate who swam collegiately at the University of Wisconsin, competed at this year's U.S. Olympic Trials. He is excited about the Wildcats' potential in the 400-yard freestyle relay. "One of my philosophies is that to score points in the big meets you really have to focus on relays," he said. A concern for the Wildcats is that they are a young team lacking in big-meet experience. Senior Ben Glick is on track to make his fourth consecutive appea rance at the state meet. Junior Chris Marr, a cross country runner, is poised to make rapid improvement. "He may have the most potential," Zakrzewski said. Senior Andrew Tillman and Ostmeyer will be key cogs, as will rising sophomores Ben Snyder and Daniel Guerrero. - Rahul Sethna, who coached the Mundelein boys swimming team from 1997-2002, returns as head coach. Sethna also is the boys water polo coach at Mundelein. He is excited at the way the team is responding. "It's been a seamless transition," he said. Junior Pat Falconer is hoping for top-12 showings in multiple events. Already this season, he's gone 22.78 in the 50-free style and has a 48.5 leg in the 400-freestyle relay. Sophomore Will Davidson is one of the area's top young swimmers. "I'm (impressed) with how fast he is swimming right now," Sethna said. This is the season seniors Mike Begrowicz and Sean Trinka should emerge as top swimmers for Mundelein. "We're looking for big things from them this year," Sethna said. Junior David Rieck is one of the conference's top returning divers. - Numbers are sky-high at Vernon Hills, which coach Kedric Greenawalt attributes in part to the buzz generated by swimming at the Olympics. The Cougars have 60 swimmers in their program compared to 24 last year. "I'm not exactly sure where we'll be at the end of the s eason because we have a lot of young kids," Greenawalt said. "We're a bit raw right now but I see a lot of good things. The kids are working very hard right now which makes it fun." Sophomore Kevin Lenz already is the school-record holder in the 100-breaststroke. As a freshman, he placed in the top six at the sectional meet. - Warren should have one of the area's most talented young teams. "I've inherited a boatload of talent," said Andrew Kittrell, who previously coached in the Glenbrook South program. "The talent is very raw but there's a lot of room for growth. I think serious progress will come quickly." More than 80 percent of the varsity is comprised of freshmen and sophomores. Freshman fraternal twins, Danny Conway and Sean Conway, are both age-group state champions.