Loyola backs it up at Barrington
How good was the competition on Saturday in the Barrington Invitational?
Well, many expect Loyola Academy to have a great chance at winning a girls swimming and diving state championship next month, and the most recent results provided no reason to think otherwise.
Loyola, which was without senior standout Grace Tierney and also one of its top divers, still managed to take top honors in the seven-team field with 370.5 points.
The host Fillies would be thrilled to take one of the top three places at state, so this setting provided a great opportunity for them to see how they measured up. Barrington finished second with 317 points, well ahead of third-place Lyons Township (257) and fourth-place York (218.5).
Barrington coach Jim Bart was pleased - at least in the final analysis.
"I felt like we were a little bit soft at the start of the meet," he said. "But after the 50 free, we had a little talk, and I thought we had a pretty nice back half.
"Any time you can compete against a team like Loyola, it will help you. It took us a while, but we adjusted well."
Without question, the Ramblers have the finest assembly of backstrokers in the state. Libby Jardeleza broke the pool record by winning that event in 57.47, and teammate Jamie Kolar was second in 58.41. At the JV level, Loyola's Shannon Kearney won in 58.74, and Margaret Guanci was second in 59.32.
That's right - Loyola has four sub-four-minute 100 backstrokers.
"We knew what to expect," said Barringon senior Emma Barnett, who led the Fillies in the backstroke with a third-place finish in 1:00.98. "They gave us the challenge we needed.
"I think it took us a little while to get going, but I think we learned a little bit about ourselves."
The 500 freestyle was certainly a highlight for Barrington, as Kirsten Jacobsen won in 4:56.14 and Maggie Emary was third in 5:06.49. And in the JV 500 free, Maggie Menso won in 5:12.68 and Evelyn Ciskowski was third in 5:31.07.
Those are four performers many varsity programs would be happy to have as their No. 1 in the event, and each turned in season-best times on Saturday.
Jacobsen, the defending state champ in the 200 and 500 freestyles, also won the 200 free (1:52.25), and Barrington senior Andrea Vega won both the 200 IM (2:11.61) and 100 breast (1:07.02).
Barrington had strong efforts in both freestyle relays, but finished second to Loyola in both. The Ramblers gained a huge points advantage in the first event, splitting their talent evenly between two medley relays that both bested Barrington's top group.
As for how this season will turn out for Loyola, well, coach Mike Hengelmann is more than willing to see it unfold at its own pace.
"For us, it's one day at a time, one meet at a time," he said. "That's just the only approach that makes any sense to me.
"We love swimming here. Jim Bart runs a great program, and any time you have a state champion like Jacobsen to race against, it just makes it a little bit more special."
Other top efforts for the Ramblers came from Olivia Andrew, who was second in the 200 free (1:53.87) and won the 100 free (53.83); Maria Kyle, who won the 100 fly (59.50); and Claire Rushin, who won the 50 free (25.16).
Schaumburg finished sixth in the team standings and got a third-place finish from diver Caiti Poland (342.25, 11 dives). The Saxons' top swimming finish came from freshman Ingrid Hay in the 100 back (ninth, 1:06.18).