Sethna, Mundelein girls program soaking up success

The timing could have been viewed as not being right for the swimmer who has experienced some of the best times in the history of the Mundelein girls program.

But seven-time state medalist and junior Erin Falconer is happy to be working with head coach Rahul Sethna, who can’t be considered entirely new since he coached the Mundelein girls from 1997-2006 and is also in his second tour as the boys coach.

“Already this year is a lot better than last year,” said Falconer, who won the 100- and 200-yard freestyles at Saturday’s Lake County meet at Lake Forest. “The team has gained a lot more confidence. We’re closer as a team and we’re working harder.

“Personally, this year has been a lot better because he’s more encouraging and helping me out, too.”

Sethna has also been happy with how the change has worked out so far with a talented group hoping to improve on last year’s 13th-place state finish.

“There is always a transition, a get-to-know-you period between me and the girls and vice versa,” Sethna said. “The girls have been great and they’re a spirited group. The best thing is it’s fun to coach them.”

Especially in a meet Sethna called “probably the deepest invite there is for girls swimming.” There were plenty of efforts to build on such as the 200 free relay of Falconer, Rachel Robb, Jenn Kordik and Karrie Kozokar taking second in 1:38.28 to Stevenson’s Julia Wawer, Riley Kirby, Courtney Kamin and Cheryl Xiang (1:37.63).

“There’s such a small margin for error,” Sethna said. “We swam well in the pool but we little things (starts) to improve on.”

Another challenge for the Cougars: Vernon Hills capped a busy month with the trip to Lake County and coach Kedric Greenawalt is looking forward to more of a regular schedule in October.

“We’ve competed well against some of the phenomenal schools,” Greenawalt said. “I’m really proud of the girls. They look good going into the second half.”

Greenawalt was thrilled to see Lisa Cheng back. She finished sixth in the 50 free and seventh in the 100 fly after missing a week of practice with an irregular heartbeat.

Greenawalt also was happy with freshman Sloan Peterit’s lifetime bests in the 100 and 200 free and junior diver Kellie Conte taking ninth.

“It’s a barometer to see where we’re at,” Greenawalt said. “The girls are working really hard and swimming season-best times or better, so it’s really encouraging right now.

“Kellie stepped up and was real close to the top six, so that’s a good confidence booster for her.”

Wildcats growing quickly: Libertyville’s young team continued to make progress even though the Lake County meet was only its fourth of the season.

“We keep getting faster in each one,” said Libertyville coach Erik Rogers. “It’s real exciting that we have another two years with this crew pretty much intact. They’re young and we’re excited to see that we’re ahead of where we thought we’d be.”

That includes freshman Lucy Saucedo, who dropped 5 seconds in the 500 free and took eighth in 5:29.49.