Ruffin's Lions host invitational today

Coach Mary Ruffin is new to the St. Viator boys swimming program, but she's hardly new to swimming.

A club coach for some 29 years, Ruffin is still getting to know her team, which features four seniors eager to leave their mark on the program: Senior co-captains Eric Primdahl and James Jensen, as well as John Koehler and Tim Skladzien.

Other swimmers Ruffin says have started strong are Steve Jensen, Chris Miklius, Peter Cleary and James Pickering, but clearly she's hoping for even more athletes to step forward.

"One thing for sure is that I never count any swimmer out," she said. "Each athlete sparks at their own moment, and we just get to watch for those moments."

The watching continues today as the Lions host Prospect and Fremd in an invitational meet which begins at 5 p.m.

Huskie update: Hersey coach Dick Mortensen is continuing to learn about the new group of swimmers he's in charge of, after making the switch from Prospect to Hersey before this school year.

It worked out well for Mortensen and the Hersey girls in the fall, as the Huskies won the Mid-Suburban East, finished second at the MSL meet and qualified three swimmers and a diver to the state meet.

Mortensen isn't predicting that same level of success for the boys team this winter, but the teams do share some similarities.

Both, for instance, had the unusual quality of having lost virtually no seniors to graduation. The notable exception on the boys side is that the Huskies graduated MSL champ and state qualifier Pat Chamberlain.

The talk among MSL East boys coaches is that Hersey is a team capable of big things.

Jimmy Pelican swam his freshman year at Hersey before opting to swim club the past two season, but he's back with the Huskies for his senior year.

Alex Roznai, Matt Williams, John Poelking, Alex Niemiec, Chris Workman and Neil Meir have had sectional experience, and a quartet of freshman - Jeff Ruffin, Jamey Hill, Tom Blythe and Samual Kim - are also capable of big contributions.

For now, at least, Mortensen is staying focused on simply making progress.

"They finished 11th at conference last year, and we have higher expectations than that," he said. "As always with teams I coach, and emphasis is made on making improvement and competing in every race you swim."

The envelope, please:The Illinois Swimming Association held its 33rd annual girls All-State Swimming and Diving banquet on Monday in Elmhurst. The award-winners:

Swimming coach of the year: Bill Schalz (Rosary), Renee Miller (Fenwick) and Bruce Woodbury (New Trier).

Diving coach of the year: Don Carmichael (Stevenson)

Senior swimmer of the year: Olivia Scott (Rosary)

Romsted-Drum award (top official): Mark A. Anderson

John Newman award (Illinois Swimming Hall of Fame): Ed Richardson (Palatine) and Bruce Woodbury (New Trier).