Scouting boys swimming in the Northwest suburbs

Across the Mid-Suburban League there seems to be a resounding call to eager young boys swimmers to give their best and fill the voids left by the large graduating classes. With many fresh faces across the many decks of the MSL, these young teams are going to greatly influence and leave lasting impressions on the MSL during this season and for many to come.

Barrington: Coach John Valentine has a solid group of seniors and juniors returning. Leading the team will be seniors Jack Hoppe (breaststroke), Steven Fischer (sprints), Sam Burrell (100 free) and Sean Applebee (200 IM). Junior Dan Emary and sophomores Daniel Langlios and Eric Pan will be once again contributing in the distance free events the Broncos are a strong team with lots of depth.

Buffalo Grove: Coach Thomas Cooney is working with a smaller team than last year but is impressed with the hard work and training his team has put in during the offseason. Seniors Daniel Verdico, a state qualifier in the 500 free, and Andy Gontoko will lead the Bison team this year, with both encouraging their teammates and hoping to qualify for state in the 200-yard freestyle and sprint events respectively. Ryan Egan, Sean Hodgson, Aidan Nix and Luke Naughton represent the junior class and look to fill the gaps left by last year's large graduating class. Sophomores Tommy Tsiftilis and Daniil Vasiljevs are back and ready to once again contribute to the varsity team, while fellow sophomores Sebastian Aduana, Alex Santiago and Eric Swanson look to make an impact. In diving, Ben Goldberg leads Buffalo Grove and is looking to once again make a return to the state meet.

Conant: Freshman Evan Bestor and Spencer Vecchione will be major players for the Cougars, instantly making splashes in the varsity lineup. State qualifier Justin Lim is back and is looking to make a run at the IHSA state finals in the 100-yard butterfly. Other top returners include Dylan Pokorny, Bryan Cho, Jake Lydon, Spencer Urban, Patrick Recko, Noah Lawson, Konrad Sak, Christian Snopek, Carson Jess, Alex Hirjoi, and Francis Akinosho. Kyle Jones and Caleb Savoy will return to the diving board. Michael Bland may be another athlete to watch. "They are a hardworking, focused group of guys that are all working towards the end goal of bringing our team to the next level," said coach Brian Drenth, "We have three returning state qualifiers in Justin Lim (100 fly), Kyle Jones (diving) and Caleb Savoy (diving) that are excited to qualify again and swim/dive on the Saturday of the state meet. It's going to be an exciting season."

Elk Grove: Coach Keith Kura is confident in his core returners and is ready to see the success that lies ahead of this strong Elk Grove team. Freshman Raphael Lausa is varsity bound and will be integral to the success of the Grens in the 100-yard fly. The leadership from last year's 200 medley and 400 free relay record setters Nick Rosemen and Mike Kulpman will be missed but returning seniors Adrian Wlodarz and Christian Tchilikov have already shown that this year's team is just as capable as before. Wlodarz will be Elk Grove's overall top breaststroker and freestyler, while Tchilikov will contribute to the success of all three relays and sprint free events. Sophomores Christian Krawec and Stefan Jevtic hope to make greater impacts this year, along with senior Jack McCabe.

Fremd: Coach Andrew Kittrell is leading the Viking boys this season. Despite the loss of a strong senior class, Kittrell is looking to continue the success of this young team. The Vikings lost key swimmers in Alex Schillinger in the breaststroke, Danny Konishi and Derek Warnsredt in sprints and relays, and star diver Zach Mega, but have a lot of potential for athletes to step up this year. Sophomore state qualifier Evan Stegall (backstroke) leads a group of returnees that includes Yoochan Lee and Alex Reed. On the boards senior Christian Zukowski will lead the way for the divers.

Hersey: Returning a lot of strong swimmers and hungry for another MSL East title, coach Dick Mortensen is ready to start strong and use the early momentum set the tone for the rest of the season. Freshmen Jack Wojtowocz and Kevin Pollina should make some immediate contributions, while a good number of returners like Misha Nikiforav, Spencer Burkhalter, Marcel Tegos, Kyle Smith, Danny Pollina, Nate Loch, John Dattilo, Steve Hahn, Jack Troyer, Jack Casey and Dylan Kase will continue the success of this deep varsity team. The Huskies also return state qualifiers Gavin Hill (50 free, relays), Ethan Marunde (400 free relay) and Jack Blumenfeld (400 free relay). In diving, all-American and two-time state qualifier Nick Nocita returns. The Huskies graduated state medalist Michael Petro, who placed last year in the 100 fly and 200-yard IM along with the leadership of Josh Irvine, but the Huskies are ready for another fast season and have a lot of athletes who are ready to step up this season's intensity and race against their competitors. "We have a lot of individuals with state aspirations and I as a coach need to harness these individual talents and hopefully convert them into having a successful dual meet campaign," said Mortensen, "We have a large team and hopefully this internal competition will help us throughout the year."

Hoffman Estates: Coach Jenny Toler still has a lot of star power throughout this young Hoffman team. A strong junior class will be integral to the Hawks' success with key swimmers including EJ Merza, Neil Polzin, Dylan Kozlick, and Tom Lan. Merza and Polzin will aid in the free and fly, while Lan and Kozlick will make contributions in the IM and breaststroke respectively. Sophomores Richard Le and Fritz Nastor will also be key to this year's varsity roster, bringing more strength to the 100-yard fly and other stroke events.

Palatine: With a large group of incoming freshmen, coach Kathryn Mroz is excited for this season and beyond. Freshmen Max Adame, Hubert Dybinski, and Alex Kania are looking to make instant impacts on the varsity lineup. Athletes who will continue making strong contributions to the varsity team include Christian Snyder, Sam Adame, Noah Chon, Stefan Filip, and Henry Gabriel in the distance freestyle events. Swimmer Alex Antinov and divers Zach Kolbus and AJ Krambeneer also look to contribute. "I think we will have a lot of tests along the way, but I'm already so impressed by their effort this season," said Mroz. "We are building upon the success of last year and the sky is the limit."

Prospect: Nothing seems set in stone for the Knights this season, but coach Alfonso Lopez sees a lot of promise in this group of eager athletes. A strong class of well-rounded freshmen includes Tim Hays, who is already looking to be one of Lopez's strongest athletes all around, Andrew Tonkovic in the freestyle events, Ben Zwolenik in the IM and stroke events, and Ian McGough in the strokes also look to contribute. Top returners include Justin Fuigel (100 free, 100 back), Aidan Rodriguez (200 IM, 100 back), Kevin Soltys (strokes, free), and Josh Nam (distance free). In diving Jack Epperson will lead the Knights. Looking to fill the holes left by a large graduating class are seniors Nick Lecomte and Michael Konopacki, who will provide strong leadership for the Knights. Caleb Kosinski and Michael Guenard are other up and coming athletes who will certainly help the Knights in the breaststroke event. Roman Myskevych joined the varsity lineup becoming a key player in the distance group and Peter Zielinski stepped up to aid to the success of the sprints. "We're returning 27 of 55 athletes from last season," Lopez commented, "But it's a hungry and focused group."

Rolling Meadows: The Mustangs, led by coach Monika Chiappetta, are a young team this season. Like Prospect, the Mustangs will be experimenting with their lineup allowing for athletes to prove their grit and swim events they may have not had an opportunity to swim last year. Lukas Slifierz is at the top of the team and will be competitive in many events. Slifierz has come in focused and this attitude is trickling down to his teammates. Other top returners include Jacob Hardt, Sam Keeley, Llyod Quadros who will all contribute greatly to the free events among others. Athletes who are stepping things up from last year include Chinappa Maletira, Noah St. John, Brian Behrens, Alex Espino and Alex Burkhardt. Liam Gaza and Vlad Molin will be moving to the varsity level for the Mustangs. Boris Jevtic will be Rolling Meadows' key diver.

Schaumburg: Coach Tim O'Grady lost a lot of strong seniors but with some strong returning athletes the Saxons may find some greater team successes at the individual level. Top returners include Matteas Arostegio in the fly and Chris Suarez in the free, fly and back. Joining the varsity roster is Caleb Whelan in the freestyle events. "We look to improve each year as individuals and come together as a team," said O'Grady, "With many top seniors lost last year, Arostegio and Suarez look to lead a group of newcomers to higher levels."

Wheeling: Wheeling Coach Tod Schwager has a large group of freshmen that will certainly help this growing team. The incoming freshman class of Mason Hergert, Hunter Little, Mark Zmojdzin, Jackson Schmitt and John Papaioannou will all contribute greatly to the varsity lineup, while returners Leo Monaxios, Peter Szczepanski, Paul Szczepanski will continue to contribute.