Fitting finish as Fremd, Barrington tie

That new scoreboard above Barrington's pool sure is nice. It lets fans keep on top of the in-progress team score and adds a certain level of drama in the latter stages of a close dual meet.

And Wednesday night at Barrington, there was plenty of drama - probably a little too much for Fremd's liking in what turned out to be a 93-93 tie.

In a great matchup of the Mid-Suburban League's two powerhouse girls swimming and diving teams, Barrington trailed by 6 points heading into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Fremd didn't even need to win that race in order to win the meet - a two-three finish would have sufficed.

But in an odd twist, Fremd's second-best relay did not compete. There was a discrepancy between the lineup Fremd coach Andrew Kittrell had made for himself and the one that actually made it to the scoring table - the official version did not list Fremd's second relay. That meant the meet officials could not let that quartet compete.

Of course, we'll never know if that relay would have made the difference, but it certainly could have swung the final outcome in favor of the Vikings.

As it happens, neither team seemed too concerned about the weird ending. For there was plenty to like for both programs.

"This is how it should be, in spite of the strange finish," said Kittrell. "If you didn't like tonight's meet, then you just don't like swimming. Great performances both ways - and great racing."

One key for Barrington was moving standout freestyler Kirsten Jacobsen out of the 500-yard freestyle, where she's the two-time defending state champion, and into the 100 free. Jacobsen won the 100 in 52.38. She also won the 200 free (1:53.67) and had the final leg on the winning 400 free relay, joining Emma Barnett, Sara Kate Capel and Maggie Emary to finish in (3:35.34).

Jacobsen is still planning the longer races in championship season, but moving her to the 100 against a freestyle-rich team like Fremd made perfect sense - especially considering Barrington's new arrivals. In the 500 free, Fillies freshmen Maggie Emary and Maggie Menso placed first and third in season-best times of 5:08.15 and 5:12.83, respectively.

"We love swimming against Fremd," said Barrington Jim Bart, "because it brings out the best in our kids. I think it works the other way, too.

"There's no shortage of motivation when our teams swim. It was a great meet."

Fremd started with a tight victory in the 200 medley relay, as Grace Grzybek, Loretta Stelnicki, Saki Takumiya and Grace Kneller won in 1:49.42.

Then came a big swing in Barrington's favor. Jacobsen and Emary went 1-2 in the 200 free, and Andrea Vega and Barnett went 1-2 in the 200 IM.

Stelnicki won the 50 free for Fremd in 24.75, but Barrington managed to finish 2-3-4 with Capel, Emma Graves and Emma Toth.

Diving got Fremd back in the meet in a hurry as Sarah McTague (224.20), Sydney Plichta (210.80) and Lauren Shoaf (197.05) came up with a 1-2-3 sweep.

Takumiya and Julia Portmann finished 1-3 in the 100 fly for Fremd. Jacobsen edged Kneller to win the 100 free before Emary and Menso sandwiched their 1-3 finish in the 500 around the Vikings' Erica King.

"Hey, a tie is kind of nice," said King, a senior who also finished third in the 200 free. "We know so many of their girls, and we know they're a great team."

Fremd still trailed by 8 heading into the meet's home stretch.

The Vikings more than made up the deficit with a victory in the 200 free relay with Kneller, Stelnicki, Grzybek and King (1:38.85); a 1-2-5 finish in the 100 back from Grzybek (58.99), Takumiya and Jaimin Huang, and a 2-3-4 finish from Stelnicki, Rebecca Ballo and Shae Taylor in the 100 breast.

Barrington's Vega won the breaststroke in 1:07.66.

Resolving the question of which team is better this year will just have to be settled by the conference meet. That would be Oct. 31-Nov. 1, at Barrington.

Keep an eye on the scoreboard.

"We have tons of respect for each other," said Bart. "I know both of us will be ready to do it again."