Boys swimming: Scouting the 2025-26 DuPage County and Fox Valley season
ADDISON TRAIL-WILLOWBROOK CO-OP
The co-op, fourth in the West Suburban Conference Gold, last year, have a number of swimmers returning.
Seniors Alex Nowak (Addison Trail), Brogan Byrne (Willowbrook), Jurgen Carrola (WB) and Tyler Thomas (WB), juniors Kaelen Sampey (AT), Ben Bates (WB), Manuel Brisbois (WB), Quentin Medinger (WB), Ian Mueller (WB), Deekan Seelbach (WB), Daanish Tasneen (WB) and sophomores Mark Burrow (AT), Anthony Ippolito (WB), Ryan King (WB) and John Weber (WB) all are back.
Freshmen include Zach Ford (WB), Misbah Khan (WB) and Marco Garavito (AT).
"We want to foster and develop young swimmer skills," said coach Dan Fernandez. “We want to improve times closer to state qualifying times and have better placement in the Gold (WSCC).”
BARTLETT-STREAMWOOD CO-OP
The SabreHawks were third in the Upstate Eight Conference and ninth in the sectionals a year ago.
Coach Michael Manalanson's troops, which were 8-11 in dual meets, return seniors Szymon Kurdziel (Wisconsin-Stevens Points) and Paul Rodriguez, junior Kamil Kulesza and sophomores Kayddan Grahl and Bryce Parry.
Newcomers are freshmen Jackson Banks Bulandi and Eddie Lozanov.
"We want to set the dual meet record for wins," said the SabreHawks coach. “We want a top six finish in the sectionals and qualify for the state meet. We want to break multiple school records. West Chicago is a great team. We love chasing them and competing against them."
BENET ACADEMY
Coach Nelly Musso's Redwings were fifth in the Metro Catholic Aquatics Conference and fifth in sectional action a year ago.
Back for the Redwings are seniors Jim Campbell and Ben Dewart along with juniors Sam Larson, Alex Gastolek Connor Dewart and Henry Koppenhoefer.
Freshmen Sam Dewart and Will Jandrain are new to the program.
"We want to finish top five in the conference, have three individual state qualifiers and two relays qualify," said Musso.
CARY GROVE, CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH, CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL, PRAIRIE RIDGE CO-OP
Scott Lattyak's squad was second in the Fox Valley Conference, fourth in the sectionals and 25th in the state.
Junior Ignas Venslauskas (Crystal Lake Central) is a returning state qualifier. Senior Charles Edwards (Crystal Lake South), and juniors Oliver Swietek (Crystal Lake South) and Henry Pracht (Prairie Ridge) and sophomore Nathan Scerbec (Crystal Lake South) also return and are joined by freshmen Logan Droste (CLS), Ronan Taffe (CG), Maxwell Gaylord (PR), Henry Serowski (CLC) and Mykhail Ohorodnyk (CLS).
“We graduated a lot of powerhouses," said Lattyak. ”We are trying to build our speed up. Prospects for a conference title are pretty good. We have increased depth. We want to embrace the physical challenges, increase team cohesion and see who can qualify for state."
DUNDEE-CROWN, JACOBS, HAMPSHIRE CO-OP
Coach Molly Gomberg returns senior Joey Alvarez (Jacobs) and juniors John Beardsley (Dundee-Crown), Daniel Melendy (D-C) and Brandon Schroeter (D-C) from the 2025 Fox Valley Conference champions.
Freshmen include John Marzalik (Jacobs) and Ian Wright (Jacobs).
"We have a strong returning group of swimmers along with a large contingency of newcomers ready to improve and have fun," said Gomberg. “We are marked by improvement in technique and confidence in all our athletes. Our work ethic and positive attitude provide a solid foundation for future success and our defending our conference championship.”
DOWNERS GROVE NORTH
The Trojans, sixth in the West Suburban Silver and sixth in the sectionals, return seniors Kevin O Donoghue and Lucas Konieczka and sophomores Conner Stanley and Reid Cameron.
"This is a tough conference and we look to improve our times," said coach Elisabeth Stanley. “We want to build off our large sophomore class.”
DOWNERS GROVE SOUTH
The Mustangs are seeking an eighth straight West Suburban Conference Gold Division title.
DGS, third in the sectionals, return senior Nicky Belony (36th 1-meter diving), junior Luke Conley (20th 500 freestyle) and state qualifier senior Matuesz Lesniak.
Other returners are junior Jonas Rylander and sophomores Jack Brennan and Justin Cox. Newcomers include sophomore Frederick Saling and freshman Patrick Kirkilis.
“We graduated some great leaders and our other athletes need to step up," said coach Bryan Szewda. ”We want to continue our winning streak in the conference. We have a nice group of freshmen who should contribute immediately. We have decent depth.“
GLENBARD WEST, GLENBARD SOUTH CO-OP
Glenbard West-South co-op, coached by Marc Beard, took third in the rugged West Suburban Conference Silver Division and second in the sectionals.
State qualifiers back for Beard's troop are senior Corey Beard (19th 200 individual medley), and junior Willem Vogel (32nd 100 backstroke), and the team also returns senior Leo Flint, junior Leo Krynen and sophomores Jace Plating and Keegan Metz while adding freshman Lucas Postovalov.
"Last year, our 10th year as a program, was our best overall team performance in history," said Beard. “We have some young depth which is team first. We want to get our first relay and a swimmer to the state finals and score points. We have a relatively young team and have a talented group of incoming freshmen. We have a lot to build on from last year's team accomplishment. We successfully want to hit new firsts.”
HINSDALE CENTRAL
The Red Devils have certainly dominated the swimming world in the state of Illinois the last three years.
Bob Barber's squad easily won their third straight title last season with 338 points. Marmion was a distant second with 190 points.
"We want to stay competitive through the season and the state meet," said Barber. “We may lose a few dual meets but we want to stay healthy and pass on the tradition to the younger swimmers. Many of the teams we are competing against are deeper, stronger and faster. We will have our hands full in many of our meets. Our biggest goal is to win a fourth straight championship.”
Top swimmers back for the Red Devils are senior Matt Vatev and junior Luke Vatev. Luke Vatev, a Stanford recruit, is the defending state champ in the 100 freestyle.
Matt Vatev, University of Pennsylvania recruit, was third in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 breaststroke. Both swimmers were on the state champion 200 medley and 400 relays.
Sophomore Alex Zloza was ninth in the 1-meter diving and senior Brandon Suliga placed 12th in the 50 freestyle. Senior Jonathan Feiro, an Emory College recruit, was 13th in the 500 freestyle and senior Teddy Chase was 13th in the 200 freestyle.
HINSDALE SOUTH
The Hornets, under 30th-year coach Beth Walker, return state qualifiers junior Gustas Meillulis and sophomore Nick Marrella. Freshman Dax Hofberger is new to the Hornets program.
Walker's team was second in the WSCC Gold, fourth in the sectionals and 22nd in the state last year.
''We are excited for the season with returners Nick and Gustas," said Walker. “Both trained hard in the off-season They have had some big drops in times. We are building this program for the future. We want to win a couple of events and have a strong finish to the season."
HUNTLEY
Adam Wolfenberg's Red Raiders hope to improve on third place in the Fox Valley Conference a year ago.
The Red Raiders are banking on returners senior Wilson Mangold, junior Anthony Koterwski and sophomore Jayden Abbott plus freshmen Cole Lamberti and Brayden Dudycha.
"We are young losing six seniors," said Wolfenberg. “We are building upon last season and we want improve as a team overall. We want personal bests and state qualifiers."
LAKE PARK
The Lancers were fourth in the DuKane Conference, fifth in the St. Charles North sectional and 31st at the state meet.
Senior Matt Karasek who was 11th in the 100 freestyle and 14th in the 100 backstroke returns while Lake Park adds freshmen Adrian Sliz, Joe Piorek and Jake Piorek.
"We want to grow from last year," said coach Bennet Witteveen. “We need our young swimmers to step up. We want to be competitive in the difficult DuKane Conference.”
MARMION
Do the Cadets have the firepower to dethrone 3-time champion state champion Hinsdale Central?
Marmion, second in the state (190 points), first in the Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference and sectionals, return junior Brayden Capen who is a Tennessee recruit. He was second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 500 freestyle.
Senior Daniel Gianitis, a West Virginia recruit, was seventh in the 100 butterfly. Senior Brayden Nagels was ninth in the 200 freestyle. Junior Pat O Connor was 11th in the 100 backstroke and 14th in the 500 freestyle. Senior Tanner Spillane was 15th in the 100 breaststroke.
The Cadets return Capen and Nagel from the runner-up 200 freestyle relay and 400 relay team. The 200 individual medley relay with returners O Connor, Gianitis and Spillane were seventh.
Sophomore Anthony Pitello also is back for the Cadets.
"We want the same type of success we had last season," said coach Glenn Brown. “We want to win conference and a team trophy at the state meet."
METEA VALLEY
The Mustangs hope to finish better than sixth in the DuPage Valley Conference and ninth in the sectionals in 2024 behind juniors Alex Bounds, Nico Delgado and Sean Siwicki along with sophomores Jonas Reddington and Colin Louden.
"I want to see continued growth in the program," said coach Mark Jager.
NAPERVILLE NORTH
The Huskies were second in the DuPage Valley Conference, fifth in the sectionals and 16th at the state meet a year ago.
Senior Maxsim Fedorvskiy and junior Josh Leu were both part of the seventh place 400 relay and 13th place 200 medley relay team.
Other returners include seniors Alejandro Delgado, Luca Pantel, Carter Seiple, Ethan Shen, Caden Tsao and Allen Xu, juniors Ellis Atkins, Kevin Chen, Ben Hanson and Axel Sujewicz, and sophomores Grayson Dean, Landon Fennema and Daniel Wang.
The Huskies add freshmen Hudson Labinsky, Joe Letourneau, Daniel Polikanov and Hunter Stade.
"I want the team GPA to be over 3.5, be top two at conference championships and top 20 at state," said coach Aaron Maschman. “I hope the team is willing to put in the work to win that battle."
NEUQUA VALLEY
Coach Chad Allen hopes his team can improve on their 10th place finish at the state meet a year ago. The Wildcats won the DuPage Valley Conference and were second in the sectionals.
The Wildcats have plenty of state finishers back.
Junior Braden Meuer was seventh in the 100 breaststroke and senior Arun Kaura placed ninth in the 500 freestyle and 11th in the 200 freestyle.
Tufts recruit Pete Carroll was 11th in the 100 butterfly. Senior Jack Langan was 12th in the 200 individual medley and 14th in the 100 breaststroke.
Junior Jackson Wagner, Meuer and Carroll were eighth in the 200 medley relay and Kaura, Langan, Carroll and Babson recruit Ally Hussanien were on the 11th-place 400 relay team.
State qualifier sophomore Jack Fastabend is back while seniors Patrick Xu and Ryan Watson return with varsity experience, joined by freshmen Blake Torpey and Phillip Song.
"We have most of our swimmers back from our top 10 team," said Allen. “We hope to finish in the top five in the state.”
SOUTH ELGIN-ELGIN CO-OP
Coach Jeffrey Davis led his team to fourth in the Upstate Eight Conference and returns senior Jerome Mendez and junior Shane Janavich.
ST. CHARLES EAST
Youth will be served for coach Adam Musial's troops during the 2025-2026 season.
Among the swimmers to watch are juniors Carter Annarella, Lee Coss, Justin Collins and Garrett Mruk, sophomore Shaan Uppal plus freshmen Grayson Belli, Charlie Cabel, Trenton Forni and Hussain Rizvi.
"We are a relatively young with a big group of talented freshmen who could make an instant impact," said Musial. “It is a big year for rebuilding and getting our young athletes race performance experience. We want to focus on development and growth and experience. We want to qualify an individual and a relay to the state meet at the end of the February. The conference has top end talent. We have a young team that could make things interesting at the conference level. We are looking to be competitive and finish at the top end of the conference."
ST. CHARLES NORTH
The North Stars are led by junior Thomas McMIllan who is the defending state champion in the 100 butterfly and was runner-up in the 100 backstroke.
Under the guidance of veteran coach Rob Rooney, the North Stars won the DuKane Conference, the St. Charles North sectional and were 12th in the state.
The North Stars, with McMillan and juniors Josh Lack and Landon Kruse, were fourth in the 200 medley. McMillan, sophomore Shauryavir Sharma, Kruse and junior Collin Beu were 12th in the 400 freestyle relay.
Freshman Hayden Rybarski joins the team.
"We are building on our last year’s step and we want to finish in the top 10 as one of out major goals," said Rooney. “We are building our culture for the future."
WEST CHICAGO
The Wildcats won the Upstate Eight Conference and were second in the sectionals a year ago before taking 23rd in the state.
Back are state qualifiers seniors Mike Marsh and Isaiah Day along with juniors Brady Jordan, Shane Johnson and Will Becker, and sophomores Nathan Talkington, Jace Christensen and Jonas Hines.
West Chicago adds freshmen Szymon Slupski, Sam Wade, Harrison Pierce, Austin Kothe and Logan Peerless.
“Our goal at the state meet is to score in four individual events and all three relays," said coach Troy Murray. ”Most of our guys are back who swam at the state meet. We want to win the conference again. R-B (Riverside Brookfield) and Bartlett will be our biggest challengers. We want to learn from our experience and grow."
WHEATON NORTH, WARRENVILLE SOUTH CO-OP
Second in the DuKane Conference a year ago, the co-op returns senior Owen Treanor (Wisconsin-Stevens Points), juniors Sean Phillips and Mason Groth and sophomores Caden Huynh and Luca Fantozzi.
“We have a young team with five swimmers returning from our sectional lineup," said coach Angela Nelson. ”We want to make it back to the IHSA state meet in Westmont. We have great upcoming talent both in and out of the pool with camaraderie. It is between us Lake Park and St. Charles East for second place. Our goal is to improve on weight training, strength training and training in the water."
YORK
Junior Matt Glad was 16th in the 100 butterfly in the state meet for the Dukes, who were 44th as a team.
Other state qualifiers back are junior Teddy Kamenica and sophomore Dima Rozdolskyy.
Senior Emmett Dougherty, juniors Ian Morgan, Ethan Allen, Thomas Buhrfield and Jake Lisowski and sophomore Evan Larson Behal also return, joined by freshmen Joey and Jacob McKillop, Ethan Morgam, Sebastion Jankowski and Will Bartlett.
"We want to qualify for state in both individual and team relays," said coach Josh Dunn. “We want to improve our dual meet records and at high level invitationals. We want to improve our team depth and be in the top three in the conference.”