Boys swimming: Scouting Northwest
BarringtonThe defending conference champs have plenty of reasons for optimism, mainly because they were able to win the league last year with a very young team. The top three competitors from that group — senior Colin Cross and juniors Colin O'Leary and Mitch Gavars — figure to lead the way again this year after having qualified to state individually last season. O'Leary finished sixth at the state meet in the 100-yard backstroke and is also an elite butterflyer. In the backstroke, he'll be bringing back the second-best time from last year's meet, so he's well-positioned to score big points in that race. Cross excels in the IM and breaststroke, and Gavars is a force in the 200 and 500 freestyles — all of which helps explain why Barrington got a preseason rank of No. 15 in the state by Swimming in Illinois. Also back after significant roles last season are seniors Andy Zhou, who had a leg on Barrington's state-qualifying medley relay, and juniors Andrew Fish and Jeremy Kleinjan. Coach John Valentine expects freshman Sam Burrell, a middle-distance freestyler, to make immediate contributions at the varsity level. The Broncos have an even larger (and on balance, younger) group than normal, so diving coach Lisa Christiansen and frosh-soph coach Michael Kinross will surely have plenty to work with. At the state meet level, Barrington undoubtedly would like to add its freestyle relays to the mix after both narrowly missed last year.
Buffalo GroveIn coach Jeff Skalon's second season, the Bison will still be young. He'll be counting on experienced swimmers such as Mark Poirier, Ryan Lawson and Jakub Kolanko to lead the varsity effort, which will include six sophomores and two freshmen. Skalon's goal is to keep the team patiently moving in the right direction, saying he's “looking to improve on last year's season and grow toward being a top competitor in the East.” In diving, the Bison are already there, as returning junior Jack Delattre was among the MSL's best last season and earned himself a state meet appearance as season's end. Buffalo Grove has good numbers on the boards, as Delattre will be leading an effort which includes five more divers.
ConantThe Cougars are enjoying being the first of the District 211 schools to have their new pool fully ready for use. Aiming to make it a memorable year in the new waters is junior diver Cole Aykroid, the second-place finisher in last year's Mid-Suburban League meet and a first-time state qualifier. Head coach Brian Drenth says Aykroid increased his off-season commitment and hopes to return to state, with an eye on making Saturday's championship finals this time around. Senior divers Cristian Gonzalez and Jackson Jahnke join Aykroid on the boards. Conant's leading senior swimmers will be Lucas DeMar, Kamil Sak and Tim Song; Drenth says they've “dedicated themselves to the sport in the past nine months.” Four more seniors, Tyler Goehrke, Vlad Hirjoi, Kyle Nelli and Mihir Patel, give Conant a way-above-average quotient of upperclassmen. Juniors looking to make their mark include Yuriy Yatskiv, Jake Jowziak and Alec Lawson, and Drenth thinks sophomores Malhar Kate and Haruma Kurita and freshman Justin Lim could play a part in the varsity picture. “We're looking forward to a great season, with fast times and beginning a new chapter of the Conant swim team in our new pool,” Drenth said.
Elk GroveCoach Keith Kura's program has quite a void to fill after the graduation loss of state meet finalist Colin Williams, who raised the standard for the program over the last three varsity seasons. Helping the Grens move forward will be senior sprinter Adam Doruff, a member of last year's record-setting free relays. Other seniors making a difference figure to be Sean Frintner (distance freestyle, breaststroke) and Mike Miceli (sprints). Kura expect sophomore Nick Rosenorn to help in butterfly and with relay depth, and freshmen Adrian Wlodarz (200 free, breaststroke) and Jack McCabe (freestyle) will also contribute immediately on varsity. The Grens expect to have a better-than-average medley relay, while Kura says it will take some time to determine the top competitors from a group with plenty of freestyle depth.
FremdCoach Kristen Newby is striving to keep the team's focus in the pool, and not necessarily on its whereabouts. The Vikings will be without their home pool for several more weeks, but no one at Fremd is looking for sympathy. “The Palatine boys swim/dive team and staff have bent over backward to help us out with pool time,” Newby said. “We are excited to be sharing the pool with such a great program from across the tracks.” The Vikings finished second in the conference meet and put together a perfect dual meet season in league, topping even eventual champ Barrington head-to-head. Several key components from that squad return, including senior Kenny Benjamin and junior Nick Nevins. The Vikings will be exceptionally strong in diving, as both sophomore Zach Mega and senior Chase Jauch, state qualifiers a season ago and among the MSL's best last year, are back. And senior Dan Suero, a three-time state qualifier in athletes with disabilities, makes a bid at a fourth straight state trip. “We have a dedicated and experienced junior/senior group that will be fun to watch and who are working hard to influence our freshman and sophomores,” Newby said. “Our focus, as it has always been, will be to see what we can do as a collective force; we are definitely a program that is much tougher together than we are individually.”
HerseyCoach Dick Mortensen is looking at this year as a sort of reconstruction project. The vast majority of the competitors from last year's team graduated, so there will be an emphasis on individual time drops and stroke improvement in an effort to construct a sound team. Whatever form that eventually takes, the Huskies certainly will have a rock-solid foundation in sophomore Michael Petro. A sectional champ in the 200 IM and a sectional runner-up in the 100 fly last season, he aims to return to state and will be among the MSL's top competitors again this winter. Three others return from Hersey's sectional lineup of last season — senior Kristyan Donov (back/IM), senior Conor Stanley (distance) and sophomore Josh Irvine (distance/fly). Mortensen will also be looking for immediate varsity contributions for seniors Christian Maggio, Andrew Maggio and Spencer Gorman and sophomore Jack Seemans, while diving coach Tom Schwab's leading performer looks to be junior Kris Kudla.
Hoffman EstatesIt's a season of change for the Hawks, who said farewell to nine seniors from last year's team. This season, Hoffman Estates will be without its own pool likely for the whole season as its renovation continues. “Without a home pool, our numbers are little low, but those who are out for the team are hard-working and committed,” said coach Jenny Toler. “At the varsity level, we had several members of our team swim club in the off-season, and we look forward to their continued improvement.” One key will be junior Andy Hobar, who had a leg on the Hawks' record-setting medley relay last year. This year the Hawks hope to have another strong medley, this time with Hobar, junior Mike Polzin, sophomore Mark Heitkotter and senior Juan Rios. On the boards, juniors James Sherrell and John Ray Cuartero will lead the effort.
PalatineIn his second year in charge of the Pirates, coach John Schauble has group heavy on seniors and most of the main cogs back from last year's very successful fourth-place conference finisher. The team is captained by senior Marcus Carter-Buckman and junior Alex Bartosik, both of whom qualified to state individually and on the the 400 free relay last year. Bartosik excels in the 200 IM and breaststroke but can swim just about anything at a high level; he broke the school's 200 IM record last year. Carter-Buckman made big gains in the backstroke last season and is also a first-rate freestyler. There's great lineup versatility in place thanks to seniors Jordan Kalina, Alex Adame, Oleksiy Kornyichuk and Adam Smith. Kornyichuk had a leg on the state-qualifying relay while Smith continues to improve across the board. Jake Klein, a sophomore who was on the state relay and also made it in the 200 and 500 free at state last year, heads a talented and capable class which could help provide better dual meet depth. Joseph Zhao, Alex Ploch and Billy Cordts give coach Curt Bendell a promising group with which to work. Best of all, from Schauble's perspective, is that the total numbers are up, and spread out fairly evenly among the four classes. Palatine expect to be solid in duals, but even better in the season-ending championship meet format. “We're excited about the season and hope to build on where we left off last year,” Schauble said.
ProspectProspect lost some terrific swimmers last year, including record-breaking backstroker Sam Gabriel. The good news is, there are a bunch of talented juniors and seniors ready to make their own mark this season. The key seniors are Isaac Ginnodo, Jack Gabriel, Alex Morikado and Ryan Lakner, and a talented junior class includes Nick Partipilo, Alex Jarosz, Matt Inserra, Asher Ginnodo, Ethan Rodriguez and diver Anthony Liva. The skill set of that group is diverse enough that Prospect will field a tough dual meet lineup each time out. “Isaac Ginnodo looks good coming off a nice off-season and should lead the breaststrokers and flyers,” said Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez. “Jack Gabriel and Alex Jarosz are moving really quick right now and should post some nice 200 and 500 times throughout the season. Nick Partipilo is probably our most dynamic swimmer who can swim just about any event and will bounce around as needed, though his 200 free and 100 free are his best events.” If there's a concern at the moment, it's for third-swimmer depth for MSL duals. But even there, Lopez sees potential. Sophomores Jacob Kosinski, Reidar Erbe, Nick Lagowski, Cameron Rodriguez and Dan Macina and freshmen Josh Nam and Peter Zielinski are among the candidates for regular varsity spots. Liva made huge gains in diving last year and earned a spot at the state meet; he leads a bigger-than-usual group of six on the boards. Another big developer was Inserra, who won the 100 free at last year's frosh-soph conference meet. “Contributors this year will come from all years with hopes that some of the younger swimmers can step up and give us the much needed depth that we'll need to win those dual meets throughout the season,” Lopez said.
Rolling MeadowsLast year was one to remember for the Mustangs, who won the Mid-Suburban East championship and earned a program-best third-place finish at the MSL meet. Led by state finalist Jake Barson (now a freshman at Milwaukee), Rolling Meadows basically rewrote the team's record book, too, and that's where this year's effort begins. Coach Monika Chiappetta sees at least four school records that are within reach for this year's group. The top returners include sophomores Josh Dellorto and Jake Pors and junior Filip Pancerz. Dellorto qualified for the state meet in the 200 free and has continued to make impressive gains away from high school. Likewise for the versatile Pors and back/fly stalwart Pancerz, who led off last year's state-qualifying medley relay. “All three have worked very hard in summer and fall to be prepared for another state appearance,” Chiappetta said. The Mustangs will count on seniors Jon Windhorst and David Myers to set the tone. “David has come into this season and expressed a renewed work ethic and willingness to do what it takes to make it to state,” Chiappetta said. Jack Mallek, Nate Pardini and Jack Keeley are among the others who could figure into Meadows' plan prominently. With a total of six new year-round swimmers joining the program, though, it may take a while for Chiappetta to iron out the details. Until then, the Mustangs will be working toward a goal in which all can share: “To continue the sense of pride,” says Chiappetta, “that has flourished over the last four years.”
SchaumburgCoach Paul Desruisseaux is looking forward to seeing how things pan out for three competitors who made the biggest gains last season and seem poisted to take another step forward this season. Senior Evan Wahlen (distance freestyle), junior Sam Thomas (breaststroke) and sophomore Matt Kelland (sprint freestyle, fly) are the lead candidates to score big points at season's end in the conference meet. Versatile sophomore Tyler Reynolds has also been making big gains and will help in the distance freestyles, plus the IM and fly. The Saxons are due for their own pool overhaul as soon as the effort at Hoffman Estates is finished, but that may not happen until late in the season, or possibly even after the winter sports season. Desruisseaux expects to have plenty of the young swimmers developed by frosh coach Rebecca Wutz in his varsity lineup, and as always, expect the Saxons divers coached by Lisa Lau to be sharp.
St. ViatorMichael Balcerak made quite a splash in his freshman season under coach Jamie Klotz, placing ninth in the 200 free and 11th in the 100 free at the state meet, along with winning the 100 free at the Glenbrook North sectional. If last year was making a splash, expect a powerful, smoothly formed wave this season. Heading into high school season, Balcerak had already been 1:43 in the 200 free, 47.0 in the 100 free and 4:43 in the 500 free. Klotz doesn't think it's out of the question to think about winning those events at state this year. In the 100 free, Balcerak has the fifth-best returning time from last season, and in the 200 free he'll be the fourth-best returner. Promising IM and fly efforts also make those events an option, so it may take some time to determine what the best championship choices are for this season. “I'm excited about it,” Klotz said. “We'll see where we get.” Seniors Mitch Warren and Ben Peinsipp will be important pieces for the Lions as well. Warren will focus on fly and IM but is very verstaile, and Peinsipp is best at sprints and the backstroke. There are plenty of options for taking a fourth relay leg alongside Balcerak, Warren and Peinsipp. The most likely candidates are senior Dante Cerone (sprints), senior Will McEvoy (distance), sophomore Hunter Reed (breaststroke) and freshman Michael Ruben (freestyle).
WheelingWhile most programs who achieve state meet-level success typically are trying to figure out how to replace the seniors that enabled such achievement, Wheeling is the exception. All four of the members of last year's state-qualifying 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays return for their senior years, making the outlook exceptionally bright for the Wildcats. Jake Noel, Nate Reiff, Kyle Noel and Justin Loquercio have adjusted their goals somewhat, and merely qualifying for state won't quite be satisfactory. “The guys are working on making it back to swim on the second day this year,” said Wheeling coach Tod Schwager, who counts Ricky Reeve, Victor Witkowski, Jacob Gorenyuk, Nick Konstantos, Nick Buzinski and Tristian Pink among the quality underclassmen he thinks can contribute this season. The Wildcats finished fifth at the MSL meet last year but have the kind of top-end quality that could help them take a big step forward this season. “The guys seem real excited about this year and are working hard to improve from last year,” Schwager said.