Neuqua Valley wins DVC meet
Coming into the season Neuqua Valley's Kayleigh Cannon's main goal was to be the No. 1 Wildcat in the 100 butterfly.
Saturday, Cannon proved to be No. 1 in that event in the DuPage Valley Conference as she won the fly, swam the fly on the winning 200 medley, and added a victory in the 200 IM to lead the host Wildcats to the DVC title in their first year competing in the conference.
Neuqua amassed 379 points to lead the field. Last year's DVC champion Naperville Central finished second with 332.50 just ahead of Waubonsie Valley, which scored 331, which was followed by Naperville North (316.5), Metea Valley (252.5) and Wheaton co-op (211).
"I didn't get to swim the fly at sectionals last year," Cannon said. "But I really pushed myself mentally and physically in the off-season and worked on the things I knew I needed to improve in order to make the state cut, such as my underwater and my breakouts."
"Kayleigh came in with the attitude that, 'This spot is mine,'" said Neuqua coach Jason Niforatos. "She was terrific in the butterfly and she had an explosive swim in the medley relay. She was also great in the IM. Everything is falling into line for her. I've been coaching her since she was 12 and it's really gratifying to see her develop as a swimmer."
The Wildcats' Ryan Dulaney won the 200 free and finished second to Naperville Central's Audrey Coffey in the 500 free, and Neuqua's Amanda Brockmeier won the 100 breaststroke.
Wyli Erlechman, Brockmeier and Kristen Stege joined Cannon for the 200 medley relay win in a meet record 1:46.66.
"Our girls have really bought into our process-oriented approach to the season," Niforatos said. "It's not about the time drops, the meet wins, worrying about who you're competing with or where you want to finish at state. It's about dedication to self-improvement and team chemistry and those other results will follow. And by dedicating themselves to the process, the girls have improved all year and finished today in a position that far exceeds what our expectations may have been when we started practice."
In addition to Coffey's win in the 500 free, Naperville Central got an individual title from former state champion Sydney Dusel, who scored a pool record 479.20 in the diving competition. Neuqua's Lauren Beyer with 445.25 and Cloe Pace with 388.80 finished second and third.
"Finishing second in the DVC, the toughest conference in the state, is pretty solid," said Redhawks coach Mike Adams. "Audrey is certainly among the contenders for the state title in the 500 and we always expect and get great results from Sydney."
Waubonsie Valley's Avery Matthew was one of the stars of the day, winning both the 50 free and the 100 backstroke to lead the Warriors to their third-place finish.
The Warriors won the other two relays. Mathew anchored the 200-free relay team that also included Lily Hunt, Rebecca Farber and Emma Tinney. Those three combined with Paige Simpson to bring home a victory in the 400 free relay.
"Being in third place is a great achievement," said Waubonsie Valley coach Katie Peterson. "Our divers are young, so we didn't have the points from diving that would have put us closer to the top two. But we have good swimming depth and some great options for the relays at sectionals. And Avery, as she always does, really went after it in all her races."
Naperville North's positives on the day included Connie Zhang's win in the 100 freestyle.
"I'm pleased to see where Connie is at this point of the season before she begins her taper," said Naperville North coach Andy McWhirter. "She's setting herself up for a good sectional meet and hopefully for an appearance on Saturday at the state meet."