Ryan and Patrick Gridley are identical twins whose similarities in the pool extend far beyond appearances.
The sophomores are both natural backstrokers, New Trier boys swimming coach Josh Runkle said. They even have a similar racing style. They both have back-end speed in the 100-yard backstroke, which was evident at the Central Suburban South meet on Saturday, Feb. 13, in Winnetka. Ryan Gridley won a conference title in the 100 back (53.31). He narrowly defeated New Trier sophomore Tommy Wilson (second, 53.34) and Patrick Gridley (third, 53.82)
Their similarities don’t stop there.
“It’s funny,” Runkle said. “They’re both very similar: good IMers, 200 freestylers, 100 freestylers. Their times are almost always identical.”
Ryan Gridley added that he and his twin brother are about equal in every stroke except for breaststroke. Patrick Gridley is a much better breaststroke swimmer — something Ryan Gridley said he’s come to terms with.
Aside from that, the Gridleys have been practically even throughout their swimming careers. Their relationship, as a result, has been very competitive.
“We both drive each other to levels that we never thought we’d achieve before,” Ryan Gridley said.
It’s also respectful.
For instance, Ryan Gridley edged his brother to win a conference title and Patrick Gridley shook his hand after the race. Ryan Gridley knows, however, that he’s in for another neck-and-neck battle when he and his brother swim in the 100 back at the Niles North Sectional on Saturday, Feb. 20.
“I out-touched him [at conference],” Ryan Gridley said, “but he’s still going to come back at sectionals and state and he’s going to want to beat me.”
New Trier won its 11th-straight conference championship. The Trevians won six events, including all three relays. Sophomore Charlie Scheinfeld won the 100 free (47.33) and the 100 breaststroke (57.94).
Evanston
The highlight of Adrian Lafont-Mueller’s final conference meet took place in the 50-yard freestyle, when the Evanston senior out-touched Rafael De Gouvea by .05 seconds to win a Central Suburban South title.
That Lafont-Mueller edged De Gouvea, a freshman at Evanston, wasn’t out of the ordinary. They have been very close in the 50 free all year, Lafont-Mueller said. The surprising aspect of Lafont-Mueller’s victory was that it happened at the conference meet — an event that Lafont-Mueller said hasn’t always been his best.
The difference, this year, is that the end is approaching.
“It definitely has something to do with being a senior because I have a surgery coming up, so I know this is the last time I’ll be swimming competitively,” Lafont-Mueller said. “That really plays a role in my brain.”
Lafont-Mueller is scheduled to have an osteochondroma removed from his right leg, he said.
Lafont-Mueller has known that he’s had an osteochondroma since seventh grade. The benign bone tumor has grown as he’s grown. Lafont-Mueller’s surgery is scheduled for Friday, March 25, he said.
“It’s not hazardous for me dying or anything, but it could potentially mess up my muscles, so it’s better to get it out now that I’m done growing,” Lafont-Mueller said.
Lafont-Mueller has at least one more meet remaining in his high school swimming career. He and the Wildkits are scheduled to compete at the Niles North Sectional on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Lafont-Mueller, who finished third (48.53) in the 100 free at conference, said he hopes to finally break the 47-second barrier in the 100 free at the sectional. He also wants to finish his high school career alongside the state’s best swimmers when they compete at state on Friday, Feb. 26, and Saturday, Feb. 27, at Evanston.
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“Just to make it to state — that’s the first goal [at the sectional],” Lafont-Mueller said.
Lafont-Mueller was one of Evanston’s three Central Suburban South champions on Saturday, Feb. 13. Sophomore Harel Anolick finished first in diving (505.95), and Evanston freshman Trevor Nelson took second (487.25). Evanston junior Sean McGuire was victorious in the 100 butterfly (53.75).
Niles West
Xander Guerrero has had to acclimate to his surroundings during his first year of high school swimming.
Guerrero said the older members of the Niles West boys swimming team have made this season a lot of fun. The squad’s training trip to Baraboo, Wis., was particularly helpful, he added. It allowed Guerrero, who was the only Niles West freshman to compete at the Central Suburban South varsity meet, to bond with his older teammates during winter break. The Wolves used that trip to train, but they also went out to eat together and went to the movies.
High school swimming “is a lot harder,” Guerrero said, “but it’s a really fun experience.”
Another adjustment for Guerrero has been competing with some of the best distance swimmers in the state.
This year, the Central Suburban South features three competitors who finished in the top six in the 500-yard freestyle at state in 2015. That group includes Glenbrook South junior Sam Iida, the defending state champion, as well as New Trier senior Maxwell Robertson (a UMass recruit) and Glenbrook South senior Tommy Hagerty (Boston U.).
“I feel that, even though I’m a freshman, it’s a great experience for me and I think it’s going to help me prepare for my later years in high school,” Guerrero said.
In the long term, Guerrero said he hopes to get closer and closer to the times the conference’s best distance swimmers logged both last year and this year.
Guerrero’s short-term goal is to break five minutes in the 500 free at the Niles North Sectional on Saturday, Feb. 20. Guerrero swam a season-best 5:09.77 (10th place) at the Central Suburban South meet without a swim cap or a fast suit and without being tapered.
Maine South
Victor Sibiga will taper this week in preparation for the Glenbrook South Sectional. The senior sprinter, like many of his teammates, will dial back his training as the week progresses.
Sibiga’s hope is that the taper — in addition to wearing a fast suit and a swim cap — has the same effect it did at the sectional a year ago, when his times dropped about one second in the 50-yard freestyle and two seconds in the 100 free.
Sibiga’s goal for the sectional is “mostly just improving my times from last year,” he said. “Last year, at sectionals, I swam a [49.15 seconds] in the 100 free [leg of the 400 freestyle relay] and a 22.64 in the 50 free. I’m looking to just push that down as much as I can.”
Sibiga was 10th in the 50 free (23.32) and he tied for ninth in the 100 free (51.33) at the Central Suburban South meet on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Sibiga is confident he’ll drop significant time again this year.
“We’re going to be fast [at sectionals],” Sibiga said.
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @VanDrilSports