Fresh frosh faces bode well for Rolling Meadows
You can’t blame Rolling Meadows for being excited about what the future holds for a youth-dominated boys swimming team showing plenty of potential.
Turns out the present isn’t bad, either.
The Mustangs took top honors in the freshman invitational at Leyden on Saturday, the second straight year they’ve won the meet. Rolling Meadows finished with 232 points, ahead of runner-up York (200).
Coach Monika Chiappetta said she balanced out her lineup to make there was plenty of representation from the whole class, which made the success that much more satisfying.
Kuba Debkowski won the 100 free in 55.1 and had legs on two winning relays. Mike Dellorto is another key to the Mustangs’ frosh and had legs on two winning relays.
Others showing impressive depth for Rolling Meadows with legs on relay wins included Theo Grant, Quinn Fitzsimons, Ian Haider, Bennett Cullen, John Windhorst, David Myers and Kiril Monev.
The sophomore class accompanied the freshmen to provide moral support.
“I thought that was great,” Chiappetta said. “Those sophomores, that was a day they really didn’t have to do anything with the team, but they chose to make the 8 a.m. bus.”
Meets like this one will help Rolling Meadows continue to forge a winning identity, and Chiappetta is encouraging her group to be cognizant of the strengths and weaknesses within each class.
Though the freshman and sophomore classes are ahead of the game, it’s still tough for the Mustangs to match up with some of the more experienced varsity outfits in the Mid-Suburban East.
On the other hand, at Rolling Meadows, some of these youngs will have a chance to crack the team’s conference and perhaps sectional lineups.
“You say that to a freshman or a sophomore, and their eyes just light up,” said Chiappetta. “That’s fun to see — they’re really thinking about how they can help this year.”
Fun Friday: It looks to be a day of interesting dual matchups in the Mid-Suburban League on Friday.
A young, improved Palatine team will have its hands full against Barrington, which finished second in last weekend’s College Events meet at Hinsdale South and looks to be the class of the league with both elite top swimmers and tremendous depth.
Defending MSL West champion Conant pays a visit to Fremd, and Hoffman Estates will host Schaumburg.
In the MSL East, Prospect and Wheeling battle it out for home-pool bragging rights (they share the facility at Wheeling) in a meet that also could influence the divisional championships. Both teams are clearly improved from last season. The other East meets feature Rolling Meadows hosting Hersey, and Buffalo Grove hosting Elk Grove.