Hersey still has high hopes
Hersey entered last week's Mid-Suburban League meet with hopes of finishing as high as second place.
It didn't work out that way, as the Huskies finished fourth. Still, coach Dick Mortensen and the Huskies had nothing to be disappointed about.
Hersey finished with 157 points well ahead of fifth-place Prospect, and just 8 points behind the teams that tied for second, Fremd and Palatine.
And there was no problem with Hersey's performances, which were strong across the board.
The medley relay of Erin Horne, Christine Rovani, Kelsey O'Donnell and Amanda Petro turned in a season-best time of 1:53.17. They were touched out by one one-hundredth of a second by Barrington, but Mortensen has liked their progress all season and has hopes of advancing at least this relay to the state meet.
And then there's Petro. The sophomore had been unbeaten in both the 100 and 200 freestyle this season entering the MSL meet. She ended up second in both races to Barrington junior Erika Elliott, but Mortensen was pleased that close races in both events brought out the best in Petro.
“She's really got a great approach to things,” Mortensen said. “She just loves to compete.”
Chances are good Petro will get a chance to compete against the best in Illinois in two weeks. Both her 100 time (53.88) and her 200 time (1:56.24) from the MSL meet are below state qualifying standards.
Fillies forecast: Barrington coach Jim Bart knew his team this year had a lot of potential, but even he is surprised at how quickly the Fillies have developed the kind of elite depth it takes to score points at the state meet.
At the beginning of the season, he'd hoped to qualify perhaps two relays to the state meet. After Barrington swept all three relays in last weekend's MSL meet, Bart is thinking all three have an excellent chance and it's possible a couple of them could score points at state.
Combined with point-scoring potential from several individuals, such as seniors Anne Jacobsen and Jacqueline Holdsberg, junior Erika Elliott, sophomore Danielle Eliott and freshmen Olivia Hoffman and Mekenna Scheitlin, and it's easy to see that the Fillies could do some damage Nov. 19-20 at Evanston.
“You get a couple relays through, maybe one of them makes top six, it doesn't take all that much more to make the top 10,” he said. “I think we've got a shot.”
Sectional primer: Most of the Mid-Suburban League, plus St. Viator and Maine West, will compete in a sectional hosted by Stevenson next Saturday. Elk Grove, Conant and Leyden will be at York's sectional, and Schaumburg will join the field at St. Charles North.
Diving will begin at 9 a.m. and swimming at 1 p.m. next Saturday at all sectional sites.
Little victories: Barrington's dominance in Mid-Suburban League girls swimming tends to obscure the progress of other programs, but a couple of teams in the MSL East clearly stepped it up this season.
Rolling Meadows finished sixth at the MSL meet, a big improvement from past seasons. Junior Vicky Vockeroth won the 100 fly and took fourth in the 50, the 200 free relay placed third and sophomore Neeka Szacilo placed third in the 500 free.
According to coach Monika Chiappetta, it's all the direct result of hard work.
“I've had other coaches coming up to me and telling me how they're glad to see Vicky win, because they know how hard she works,” Chiappetta said on deck at Barrington.
Szacilo's progress has been less smooth this season, Chiappetta says, due to an aggressive dryland program the Mustangs are trying.
“She's been swimming with sore muscles an awful lot this season,” said Chiapetta, “but we really think it will pay off in the end.”
While a 10th-place finish doesn't sound glamorous, it's a clear improvement for Elk Grove. Grens freshman Simona Kurta placed fifth in the 100 fly at the MSL meet, and the 400 free relay of Angelica Ford (soph.), Natalia Struk (jr.), Jackie Hirschauer (soph.) and Kurta placed seventh.
And Elk Grove was only 6 points away from ninth-place finisher Conant.
“It's a good feeling,” said Elk Grove coach Dave Toler. “Where we really are starting to see the difference is in our relays. We've just got better depth everywhere.”