Fremd, Palatine lining up with plenty at stake

Palatine boys swimming coach John Schauble has been puzzling over potential dual meet lineups for Friday afternoon's meet against Fremd long enough to know that there's no way to guarantee the outcome he's after.

He's sought hypothetical lineups for his own team from a variety of sources, including one from his own swimmers.

"I've been working on the lineup for like two weeks," he said with a chuckle.

The main reason for that is Fremd's extraordinary depth. While the teams match up fairly evenly across the top two swimmers in most events, the Vikings have a decisive edge in third-swimmer ability.

There's plenty at stake, as both teams are unbeaten against their MSL West foes to date. Palatine has a tougher final meet West dual next week, at Barrington. A Fremd victory in Palatine's pool on Friday would put the Vikings in the driver's seat since they've already beaten Barrington.

Fremd coach Kristen Newby says her group has plenty of energy building toward what it considers a great opportunity.

"What an honor to coach against John Schauble," she said. "He is a legend around the coaching world, and our whole staff is privileged and excited to be on the deck with him."

Newby credits her senior class, and especially captains Austin Yurasek, Ty Hamilton and Andrew Mueller, with setting the proper tone and expectation level for a team that has plenty of talent, much of it younger than you might expect from a potential conference championship team.

"Our younger kids are motivated and tough, but they have learned that from a great group of senior captains," she said. "As a whole, our entire senior class is large in number but even greater in impact. There is a lot to be said for setting an example, and (Yurasek, Hamilton and Mueller) have done just that."

The result is a dual meet lineup with very few weaknesses. Among the top Vikings swimmers are Joey Carlisle, Danny Konishi, Roshan Rajan, Arnas Maciunas and Dylan Assmann. All that depth means even Fremd's second-fastest relay entrants are tough to beat, and the Vikings also have two top-tier divers in Zach Mega and Chase Jauch.

Palatine has a generally young profile, too. Sophomore Adam Bartosik is a returning state qualifier sure to generate big points; other key performers include Oleksiy Korniychuk, Jacob Klein, Marcus Carter-Buckman, Jordan Kalina, Jacob Baran, Adam Smith, Alex Adame and diver Dylan Wilken.

Lineup tinkering and raucous fans are a welcome part of meaningful late-season dual meets, but expect the outcome to be decided by the skill - and will - of the participants.

"Ultimately, it will be up to the swimmers," said Schauble. "I think our guys will be ready to go."