Blaydes of glory: Stevenson junior third in backstroke
Madison Blaydes … Stevenson diver.
Could happen.
Maybe next year.
“Why not?” Blaydes' swim teammate, sophomore Julia Wawer, said on the first day of this weekend's girls swimming and diving state meet at New Trier.
“She's versatile enough,” the Patriot added. “Look at the events she swam at state last year, and look what's she's doing this year.”
Blaydes, at last year's state meet: 11th place in the 200-yard freestyle; 11th in the 500 free.
Blaydes, on Saturday afternoon, in a finals heat in Winnetka: third in the 100 backstroke (56.96), after entering Friday's prelims ranked 26th (59.79) — yes, 26th — in the event.
“So exciting,” said Blaydes, a junior captain who almost didn't have to climb out of NT's pool after the 100 back. An emphatic jump for joy, immediately after Blaydes had seen her lifetime-best time, nearly launched her out of the water.
“My first 50 (yards) felt fast; I had good turnover,” she said. “Then I thought, ‘OK, final 50, go as fast as you can.' ”
The really good ones make it sound so simple.
“Great swim,” said Stevenson coach Karl Milkereit. “We knew she had it in her.”
Michigan State-bound Michelle Garland had four reasons to smile on Saturday. The Loyola Academy senior and Grayslake resident bowed for four medals, including a pair of bronzes. The Rambler, a club member of Libertyville-based CATS Aquatics, placed third in the 200 IM (2:04.58) and 100 breaststroke (1:04.51) events; swam on Loyola's fourth-place 200 free relay (1:35.27); and took care of the breaststroke leg of the fifth-place 200 medley relay (1:45.22).
“It's been a good weekend,” Garland said after the 200 IM.
Good? Yeah, right. And Aaron Rodgers is just a good quarterback.
All Mundelein freshman Erin Falconer wanted to do this fall was to make it to swimming's Super Bowl in Illinois. But she did much more than that at state.
Falconer sped to seventh place in the 100 free in a school-record 51.88 on Saturday.
“She is such a competitor,” said awed Mustangs coach Melissa Healy, who gets to guide the four-limbed torpedo for three more seasons. “I told her before the race, ‘Erin, the third 25 (yards) are going to hurt, so just dig.' ”
Falconer, sans shovel, pushed through the pain, put her head down and probably bruised her lane's underwater touch pad.
“During those third 25 yards,” she said, “you either die or keep going. My arms … they were hurting, throbbing.
“I kept going.”
Falconer also served as the lead-off leg on Mundelein's eighth-place 400 free relay (3:31.05, with senior Amy Klink, freshman Jennifer Kordik and sophomore Karrie Kozokar). In Saturday's first event, Falconer, Kordik, Kozokar and junior Meghan Falconer collaborated for a 12th-place effort in the 200 medley relay (1:50).
Libertyville junior Morgan Dickson exited NT's natatorium with two sixth-place medals, after clocking a 1:52.43 in the 200 free and a 4:58 in the 500 free.
“Not a very good day,” said Dickson, 23rd in the 800 free and 25th in the 1500 free at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals in Palo Alto, Calif., this past August.
“I gave it my all,” added the Wildcat, who'd set school marks in the 200 free (1:51.6) and 500 free (4:55.64) in Friday's prelims. “Every swimmer can have an off day. I was off today. I'm disappointed now, but I'm not going to stay disappointed.”
New Trier successfully defended its state championship with a 177-point showing in the home water, ahead of Fenwick (162) and Rosary (136.5). Garland and the rest of Loyola's crew placed fourth (126).
Mundelein edged Libertyville 19-18 for 16th place.
North Suburban Conference champion Lake Forest, behind Arkansas-bound Rachel Stoehr's golds in the 200 free (1:49.16) and 500 free (4:50.14), finished 10th (39). Senior Erin Purdy's diving title (405.95 points) paced Deerfield (12th, 29).
Glenbrook South junior Olivia Smoliga got electric in the 50 free again, darting to a state-record time of 22.55; the Titan had set the previous mark (22.66) in Friday's prelims. Fenwick's victorious 400 free relay went 3:25.22, supplanting a state record that had stood since 1999 (3:26.01, St. Charles).