Boys swimming: Barrington poised for a big weekend at state
Barrington boys swimming coach John Valentine has plenty to be excited about heading into Friday's state finals meet at New Trier in Winnetka.
The Broncos have two relays seeded in the top 10 going into the meet and also have several individuals poised to leave their mark in the New Trier pool.
On the relay front, the Broncos are seeded seventh in the medley with Griffin O'Leary swimming the back, Jack Hoppe swimming the breast, Sam Burrell doing the fly and Steven Fischer on free duty.
"The key to this relay is freshman backstroker Griffin O'Leary," Valentine said. "His speed allowed us to move Steven Fischer to the 50 free. Jack Hoppe is the sectional breaststroke champion and he also is key. Sam Burrell is the heart and soul of this relay, swimming the butterfly."
The 200 free relay features Burrell, Sean Ujiiye, Fischer and Hoppe. That group is seeded 10th. "This relay really has improved its starts and turns all season," the coach noted.
Hoppe, a junior going in the 200 and breaststroke, O'Leary (back) and Fischer (back), a senior, all have potential in their individual events. "Jack grew up swimming in Barrington Swim Club, our feeder program," said Valentine. "He has outworked everyone for three years at Barrington High School. His breaststroke underwater pullouts have improved dramatically this season. Griffin is physically gifted and willing to learn from others, including his teammates who have mentored him all season. He may break a few of his older brother Colin's records this year. Steven Fischer works hard, has improved his underwater dolphin kicks and is very smart. He got a 35 on his ACT."
Hoppe is seeded sixth in the breaststroke and eighth in the 200. Hoppe had a 57.71 sectional time. The third-seeded swimmer in the event from Riverside-Brookfield is at 57.24. O'Leary is seeded eighth in the back, while Fischer is 18th in the same event.
Two Northwest suburbs divers are seeded in the top 20 with Hersey standout Nick Nocita second and Prospect sophomore Jack Epperson 18th.
"Jack is a coachable individual who is eager to push himself to do better," Prospect diving coach Antonino Bondi said. "He is special because he has great air sense combined with the ability to spin really fast. He has a strong foundation of trampoline work. What really is helping him improve most this season is being patient on the board rather than rushing into his rotations. With maturity, Jack will continue to learn to become a smarter athlete rather than working off impulse. I would like to see Jack take inasmuch as he can at state for his first qualifying year. He should focus more on the experience rather than his performance."
Prospect's Tim Hays (IM) and sophomore Kevin Soltys (backstroke) also will compete at New Trier. Hays is seeded 13th in the IM. "Tim is a special talent," said Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez. "I have never coached a swimmer as fast as Tim in so many events at this point in his high school career. He separates himself from his peers not only in speed, but in his approach to racing and his attention to detail. Tim is a student of the sport who listens to coaching and applies what he has learned from others to his racing. The sky is the limit with Tim because he is so coachable."
Lopez also had high praise for how Soltys conducts himself. "He exemplifies what a Prospect swimmer should be in both the way he carries himself at practice and also at meets. He's a young leader on our team. He narrowly missed the state cut last year as a freshman in the backstroke. He came into this season with that goal in mind and was able to post the cut on Saturday. He is determined and motivated to be the best swimmer he can be and has really matured into one of the strongest leaders on the team as only a sophomore."
Other high-seeded swimmers at New Trier include Hersey's Gavin Hill in the 50 (11th) and Buffalo Grove's Daniel Verdico in the 500 (12th).