advertisement

Guyett makes a splash as Barrington tops St. Charles North

It was worth the wait for standout St. Charles North freshman Audrey Guyett.

Coach Rob Rooney had gone to this point of the girls swimming season without entering her in best race, the 500-yard freestyle.

So a Saturday matchup at Barrington against the two-time defending high school state champ in that race, Fillies junior Kirsten Jacobsen, figured to provide a great test.

Consider it passed with flying colors by Guyett, who took control a little past the race's midpoint and won in 4:57.87, just a few seconds off the pool record. Jacobsen finished in 5:01.69, her best time so far this season.

Earlier, Guyett nipped Jacobsen in a terrific 200 free race, winning by a hundredth of a second in 1:53.61.

Those were among the highlights for both teams on a day when both Rooney and Barrington coach Jim Bart independently referred to the physiological state of their teams as, "fried." That's swimming shorthand for a unique state of energy depletion caused by long, hard workouts and successive meets.

Barrington had a clear edge the in the non-freestyle swimming events and earned a 106-80 victory in a matchup of teams hoping to cook up top 10 finishes at the state meet.

Rooney says he doesn't expect Guyett to struggle with the transition from club to high school, and the early results certainly support that position. Reserving the freshman's top races for top competition seems to be part of the strategy.

"I'm going to move her around a lot this year, depending on the meet," said Rooney. "There's no reason to always have her in the 200 and 500, but it made sense today."

Between Audrey and her sister Monica, also a distance standout who finished eighth in the 500 at last year's state meet as a sophomore, the North Stars will clearly be strong in the freestyles. St. Charles North won both the 200 and 400 free relays, with Jillian Waslawski and Grace Samuelson joining the Guyett sisters. And the North Stars are a stronger team than they were able to show against Barrington, as several key performers were held out of competition due to illness.

"I really like the togetherness part of high school swimming," said Audrey Guyett. "In club, it's more about what you can do invidually. I think it's fun when you're really part of a group like we have."

And having an older sibling frequently competing in the same events hasn't been a problem - in fact, quite the opposite.

"She's always encouraging me," Audrey said of Monica. "I think we help each other."

Rooney is happy to have both Guyetts setting the tone for his group.

"I'd say what they have in common is zany personalities, great attitudes and they're such hard workers," he said. "They're both swimmers who would do anything to help their team."

Key for Barrington were a pair of victories from senior Andrea Vega. She won the 200 IM (2:14.87) and 100 breaststroke (1:09.65) and had a leg on the Fillies' winning medley relay with Kelsey Holmes, Emma Graves and Sarah Kate Capel.

Vega says she's conscious of trying to make the most of what is shaping up as a special season for Barrington. The Fillies feature a nice blend of experienced competitors along with plenty of younger swimmers with big potential.

"I think as a senior, I'm more aware of the little things," Vega said. "You want everybody to be having fun, but it's also important for us to keep our focus."

Other winners for Barrington included Capel in the 50 free (25.35), Emma Graves in the 100 fly (1:02.01) and Mia Chen in the 100 back (1:03.08).

St. Charles North's Grace Samuelson won the 100 free in 55.92, and the Stars also got a 1-2-3 finish in diving from Abby Ponte (208.60), Hannah Nestor (200.05) and Katie Schutz (194.80).

St. Charles North suffered earlier 2-point losses to Hinsdale Central and Naperville North in duals, but neither those outcomes nor a loss at Barrington are bothering Rooney much.

"We're not a great dual meet team right now," he said, "but we're really looking forward to championship season."

Much the same can be said for Barrington, which will essentially go unchallenged in the rest of its MSL duals. The focus for the Fillies now moves to meets like next week's Lake County Invitational and similar weekend tests before the season-ending suite of conference, sectional and state.

"Overall, we're very pleased with the first part of our season," Bart said. "We've got a lot of swimmers who are new to us, and they're really making a difference. I'm looking forward to seeing that development continue."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.