Wheeling's fantastic four hope for fine swimming finale

After a victory against Rolling Meadows in a recent Mid-Suburban East boys swimming and diving meet, four of Wheeling's top seniors were helping return the pool deck to practice-ready status.

Captain Serious, Q-Tip, Tank and Psycho were savoring the moment in a way that only swimmers with a deep, shared background can. These four colorfully nicknamed seniors have had quite a history together, and there was the bittersweet sense that at least the swimming phase of their partnership would soon be coming to an end.

To the outside world, Wheeling's fantastic four swimmers are better known as Nate Reiff (Captain Serious), Justin Loquercio (Q-Tip) and brothers Jake (Tank) and Kyle (Psycho) Noel.

Collectively, the quartet has helped make Wheeling a major player in MSL swimming over the last four years, and they're hoping for their best finish yet beginning with Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Barrington (diving 9 a.m., swimming 1 p.m.).

In addition to their time together as swimmers as Wheeling, their common experiences date all the way back to playing on the same youth baseball teams, along with plenty of pool time on the now-defunct DUST swimming club.

Count coach Tod Schwager as one who's grateful for having had such a closely knit group of competitors on the swim team he coaches at Wheeling.

Last year, the Wildcats' 400-yard free relay and 200 medley relay qualified for state, and getting a couple of relays to state is one of the goals again this year.

"We feel like our goal should be to have some top-12 finishes," Schwager said. "And not just a relay, but some individual top-12s as well. We feel like that's realistic, and that's what we should be shooting for."

While the fantastic four's nicknames makes perfect sense to one another, they deserve a little explication here.

• Captain Serious earned his moniker for fairly obvious reasons.

Reiff is certainly serious about success in both swimming and water polo - so much so that although he qualified to the swimming state finals last year, both as an individual and on relays, he instead opted to attend a national-level water polo function he'd already committed to.

Along with Jake and Kyle Noel, Reiff was the centerpiece to Wheeling's Mid-Suburban East championship water polo effort and eventual title-game appearance at Barrington last spring.

There will be no such polo conflict this year, and Reiff and Co. are looking forward to full team participation at the state meet in a couple of weeks. Reiff's freestyle and breaststroke skills (he's the team record-holder in the 100 breast) will play a big part in that endeavor. And Captain Serious is indeed serious when he says Wheeling's seniors will have each other to thank for any successes.

"In practice, we really take turns pushing one another, and that helps all of us," Reiff said. "One day it's me leading the lane, then Jake will take over, then Kyle will take a turn on a set. We're pretty competitive with each other, but it's all because we know that's how you get better."

• Q-Tip is so named for the severely chlorine-damaged blonde wisps atop his head (even before the hair-dyeing that takes place about this time of year on most teams). He's unusual in other ways, too. A state qualifier in cross country last fall for Wheeling, Loquercio has been a key in swimming as well, especially later in the season as he's completed his annual switch in sports.

"Those first few weeks, I won't lie, it's a pretty tough transition every time," he said. "It was especially tough this year, because cross country season went longer than usual due to making state. That meant even less time for me to get in the pool and get the swimming adjustment started."

As a runner, Loquercio won the Class 3A Hoffman Estates regional, then went on to earn himself all-state honors by placing 25th in the state championship race at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

He's since played a key role on Wheeling's swim team once again, providing strong support, mainly in the freestyles.

• Tank earned his nickname by figuratively bulldozing his way through practices and past opponents. Coach Tod Schwager marvels over Jake Noel's ability to tolerate and even thrive on intense practices, seemingly immune to physiological trifles like glycogen depletion and lactate build-up.

"He's just amazing in terms of his ability to work hard in practice, repeatedly, and still be able to compete at a high level after very little recovery time," Schwager said.

Jake Noel has already been a two-time individual state qualifier in his best high school events, the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM. And his all-around ability has made Wheeling very tough on opponents in the MSL East for four seasons running.

"For the years that group has been around, it's been really tough to approach a dual meet against them," said Hersey coach Dick Mortensen. "For me, when I'm making our lineup, it means I don't even try to win events - you have to try to figure a way to get at their depth. But these last couple of years, even that's been very tricky."

• And Psycho? Well, the truth is he didn't have a nickname until the interviews for this story, but when the author proposed it, the response from his teammates was deep, sustained laughter, and it sounded like the moniker might stick.

The laughter was because 'Pyscho' plays against type.

Level-headed and team-conscious, Kyle Noel has helped set a winning tone over the years. And his steady emergence this year in the sprint freestyles has given those state meet relay hopes a big boost.

Kyle says his ability to block out nagging back and ankle injuries that have dogged him is one key to this year's success. Schwager thinks the finality of senior year has played a role as well.

"With Kyle, it's a little bit of everything coming together for him," said Schwager. "His intensity is up, and he seems to have improved a little bit in just about every area - starts, turns, his underwaters and breakouts. You add that up and it makes a big difference."

Prospect boys swimming coach Alfonso Lopez has known the Noel brothers since they were students at Jack London Middle School, where Lopez works. His contact with them, and all of Wheeling's team, then continued through the Noels' high school years since Prospect and Wheeling share pool time at Wheeling.

"Kyle is genuinely one of the nicest kids I have met in swimming," Lopez said. "He has been really fun to watch and get to know."

Wheeling's foursome will be together this weekend at Barrington, finishing their final conference meet together in the last heat of the 400 freestyle relay. Beyond this weekend, Wheeling will compete in the Glenbrook South sectional, and hopefully en masse in the state meet at Evanston.

However the details of championship season play out for the Wildcats, it will be the end of an era as Captain Serious, Q-Tip, Tank and Psycho complete memorable high school swimming careers.

Lopez and many others will remember them as characters - with character.

"All four boys are quality individuals," Lopez said. "Our team almost speaks to them as if they were members on our team. They are jokers on the pool deck - and they work hard in the pool.

"What I will miss about them is their personalities. They are a really fun group of kids that brings a lot of energy to the pool deck, but also have been extremely fun to watch compete and become elite swimmers in the conference."