Elk Grove savoring sweet victories

This winning stuff could quickly become habit-forming for Elk Grove.

A developing Grenadiers girls swimming program took another step in the right direction on Tuesday, as Elk Grove handled Fenton 142-58 with a senior night lineup that didn't require the team's strongest lineup.

For Elk Grove, that's a sure sign of improvement, and everyone involved in the program is noticing the difference.

“It feels awesome, said Elk Grove's Natalia Banasik, a breaststroke specialist and one of four seniors on the team. “This year it seems like we have a bunch of girls who kind of all go the same speed, and that really helps.

Especially in a relay format. Elk Grove is gearing up for this weekend's Maine East relay meet, which the Grens won last year. Coach Dave Toler is hopeful this weekend will bear a similar result.

“We're a much stronger team this year, he said. “We do have a couple of better top kids, but the real difference is our No. 3 swimmer in most events is really a lot stronger than last year.

That's partly because club swimmers are populating Toler's team in Elk Grove's fine pool with more regularity. Freshman Simona Kurta is one of them, and she's already one of the Mid-Suburban League's top 100 butterflyers. Sophomore Anjelica Ford is another, and she's providing great contributions in the 200 and 500 freestyles in MSL duals.

Add in capable seniors like Banasick and Jordan Crocker, and the Grens are suddenly competitive against most of their MSL foes.

And the whole team, clearly, enjoys being a winner.

“It makes a huge difference, Toler said of the possibility of regularly winning meets. “You can see the effect it has, not only with how our swimmers approach meets, but also on how they treat each other, as teammates. Everybody is trying to figure out individually how they can take that next stop, and that's so important.

Fenton coach Jim Struck's team also used a somewhat experimental lineup. As the Bison don't have their own pool, Struck is just pleased to see his swimmers making progress on the basics.

“We're getting better, he said. “We seem to be getting two or three PRs per meet, and that's about right.