Boys swimming: Barrington, Fremd class of field at Barrington sectional
Fremd had itself a strong showing at the recent Mid-Suburban League boys swimming meet and the Vikings are hoping to continue that momentum Saturday at the Barrington sectional where berths in the state meet will be on the line.
Fremd is one of eight teams from the Northwest suburbs in the Barrington field where the winning individual or relay and any individual or relay that equals or surpasses the minimum qualifying time earn a spot in next weekend's state finals at New Trier in Winnetka.
The Vikings, under the direction of coach Andrew Kittrell, took second at the MSL meet behind powerhouse Barrington. "Our tapered kids looked great, which puts us in a great position for this weekend," Kittrell said.
Kittrell has eyes on his medley, 200 and 400 relay teams making a run for a state berth, as well as divers Brennan Barrett and James Marchi. Other Fremd state contenders include Yoochan Lee in the 50 and breast, Alex Reed in the 50, Evan Stegall in the fly and back and Paul Ponte in the back.
"The boys have been working hard and have put themselves in a terrific position to be successful," said Kittrell.
Fremd's medley features Ponte, Lee, Stegall and Reed. The 200 is Reed, Stegall, James Steininger and Lee, while the 400 has John Ponte, Reed, Steininger and Paul Ponte.
Barrington won the MSL meet by 23 points over Fremd. The Broncos are led by dual-event MSL winners Jack Hoppe (200 free, breast) and Griffin O'Leary (fly, back) as well as Steven Fischer (500), Sam Burrell (100) and Daniel Langois (500).
Conant ended up third in the MSL meet thanks to strong time drops, which coach Brian Drenth is hoping to see even more of in Barrington.
Caleb Savoy and Kyle Jones are state-qualifying contenders in diving. Both qualified a year ago. Justin Lim has his sights set on 50 and fly qualifications, while also teaming with Spencer Urban (backstroke), Dylan Pokorny (breast) and Christian Snopek (50) in the medley. Drenth noted Pokorny also has a shot individually in the breast. "We're aiming for some more big drops this weekend while getting a few state qualifiers along the way," he said.
Buffalo Grove's Daniel Verdico is a state hopeful in the 200 and 500. He qualified last year in the 500 and fresh off a pair of MSL runner-up finishes in those events. Diver Ben Goldberg (3rd MSL) is looking for a return trip in diving, while Andy Gontko and Alex Santiago are both in the mid-22s in the 50 (state time is 21.85). "Most of our swimmers and divers had personal bests at conference and are hoping for more time props at sectionals," said Bison coach Thomas Cooney, whose 400 relay team is looking to break the school record this weekend.
Palatine has a number of state possibilities with its 200 medley (Sam Adame, Henry Gabriel, Christian Snyder and Noah Chon) and 400 (Adame, Stefan Filip, Chon and Snyder) relays. Snyder is closing in on the fly state-qualifying time, while Chon (breast) and Filip (500) are eyeing big drops in their events.
The rest of the Northwest suburbs-based squads are headed to Glenbrook South in Glenview. Hersey was the highest MSL East finisher at the league meet and took fourth overall.
The big story with the Huskies is diver Nick Nocita, who broke the conference record and won the diving competition last weekend by more than 79 points. "Nick once again showed he is one of the best divers in the state and the best ever to come out of the MSL," coach Dick Mortensen noted. "His chances are extremely high to make the state meet."
Gavin Hill moves out of the 500 and will swim the 100 Saturday, after posting an eye-opening split in the 400 relay at the MSLs. "This will benefit him with more rest as we try and qualify the 200 free relay," said Mortensen.
The 200 relay has Hill, Jack Blumenfeld, Ethan Marunde and Misha Nikiforav. Hill and Blumenfeld are legit state contenders in the 50 and along with Simon Burkhalter and Marunde will be pressing to make state time in the 400 relay.
Prospect's Tim Hays and Kevin Soltys tied for second in the backstroke at conference (53.35) and both are just off the state cut. Hays also won the MSL IM title, going under the state mark for a second time this season.
Knights coach Alfonso Lopez said Soltys and Aidan Rodriguez both have shots in the fly, while the coach has high hopes for the 200 medley relay team of Soltys, Hays, Rodriguez and Justin Fugiel in Glenview on Saturday. The 400 relay team (Soltys, Andrew Tonkovic, Fugiel and Hays) could break the school record in that event.
Elk Grove's Adrian Wlodarz took third at the MSLs in the 100 and fifth in the breaststroke, while Wheeling is led by Mason Hergert in the IM and 500.
Maine West's JJ Sebastian was fourth in the Central Suburban League breaststroke finals, while returning state diving qualifier Ray Ure was fourth at the CSL meet. "We're hoping Ray can repeat on his success from last season," Warriors coach Bob Bruggeman said.