After their 2011 championship season, Niles North’s boys swimming and diving team is working hard to continue their legacy. The team is giving it their all and is having a successful start to their 2012-13 season.

This year’s battle to glory is led by senior captains Ian Crane, Earl Kim, Aaron Brown, and Karol Mlynarski.

Last years varsity team consisted mainly of juniors and a few seniors who graduated; but to fill the void, the elite swim team added freshman Alem Jukic, junior David Goodwin and senior Christian Arriaga. Varsity diving, weak in numbers and strong in ability, includes first year diver Daniel Kim (freshmen) and returning diver Hugo Miranda (sophomore).

Returning varsity coach Seth Orlove led his team to victory on Dec. 7 against the Niles West Wolves with a final score of 124-61.

The Novice team coached by Paul Torres also left victorious, winning with 83 points to Niles West’s 78.

Some of the night’s most exciting races included the Varsity 200 Yard Medley Relay. Both first and second place went to Viking relay teams. First place with a time of 1:42.02 was won by Mlynarski, senior Max Wall, senior Chris Riordan, and Brown.

The second place relay lineup was Ben Kuznets-Speck (junior), Dimitar Kirilov (junior), Kim, and sophomore Eddy Kang. They finished with a time of 1:46.43.

Divers Miranda and Kim amazed spectators with their challenging dives. Miranda finished in 5th place with a score of 103.20. After Kim’s 6 rounds of diving, he received 4th place with a final score of 117.00.

The following week on Fri Dec. 14 the boys swam their hardest against the New Trier Trevians. Although the Vikings lost with a final score of 59 to 126 in the varsity division, there were various standout races that brought pride to both the coaches and the athletes.

The junior varsity team, coached by TJ Moran, finished the night with a final score of 38 to New Trier’s 136. However, sophomore Sean Riordan won first place in the 100 Yard Breastroke race with a time of 1:12.64. Riordan earned first place by a margin of 0.05 seconds.

Mlynarski, with a time of 1:44.43, won first place in his 200 Yard Freestyle. Crane and junior Mateo Ruiz also competed in this event and recieved 4th and 5th place, respectively. Crane swam a 1:55.58 and Ruiz finished with a time of 1:58.84.

It’s a good thing the world didn’t end Dec. 21, because if it had the Vikings swimmers would not have had a chance to dominate the Maine East Demons.

The final score proves the overwhelming success for the Vikings with 115 to 62 in the junior varsity division, and 126 to 53 for varsity.

Varsity diver Kim was North’s only diver for the evening, and he finished with a commendable score of 143.90.

The Viking’s swimming and diving team did not disappoint their fans and spectators in these first few meets.

Cheer your swimmers on at the Highland Park Invite on Dec. 27 and at their next dual meet at Deerfield High School on Jan. 11.

Go Vikings!