Girls swimming: Rosary's sectional goal? Qualify everyone
Since mid-August, swimming pools across Illinois have been filled with swimmers, practicing both in early mornings and in afternoons.
Practices have been trimmed to just a dozen or so swimmers per team this week in preparation for Saturday's IHSA sectional meets, which are the only time athletes can qualify for next weekend's state meet at New Trier. Event winners qualify and all who swim faster than the state cuts also advance, in addition to sectional championship divers and the highest-scoring at-large divers.
The top-rated team in the state heading into the sectionals is Rosary. The Beads have a long history of state success, including four straight titles from 2006-2009. Coach Bill Schalz's team tied for second last year and is coming off a dominant title-winning performance at the Metro Catholic Conference meet two weeks ago.
"This team gets it," Schalz said. "They know the point of all the meets and all our success is to get kids to the state meet. That's our goal - to qualify everybody in every event. Because of the intense racing we've had this season, our relays are in the top spot in the state and we're in a better spot than we were last year, when we finished second."
Rosary swims at Neuqua Valley against some of the top competition in the state, including the host school, Waubonsie Valley and Naperville Central.
"You can't win the state meet at sectionals or in prelims but you can lose it," Schalz said. "This is the first step and we have to do our job. We need our kids to worry about their jobs within the team, not about the team. They just have to go out and qualify.
The No. 1 ranking comes from Evanston's club team's website, and is based on in-season performances. It carries no weight either at the sectional nor will it matter at the state meet. But it does emphasize how well the Beads have been in competition this season.
Rosary has a core of returning swimmers, including standout junior Alexis Yager and sophomores Camryn Streid and Emily Ryan, but also has a host of newcomers who will make an impact this year.
"My biggest concern coming into the season was what would happen if our freshmen took spaces on the state team from juniors and seniors," Schalz said. "We have kids who swam at the state meet last year who will not be swimming this weekend for no other reason than other kids swam faster, but they supported and cheered for each other."
West Aurora joins Rosary at Neuqua Valley with a goal of qualifying athletes for the state meet. The Blackhawks have had success with their diving program, but the last swimmer to qualify was Jackie Iglesias in 2009.
"I think I've been more nervous than anything this week," West Aurora coach Chris Ranallo said. "I'm more nervous than a lot of the girls."
The Blackhawks have a pair of swimmers with a chance of qualifying. Freshman Gina Jenkins has already set the school record in the 500 freestyle while senior Annika Ness has a chance to qualify as well.
(Jenkins) has a shot; she'll be close in both of her events," Ranallo said. "(Ness) in the 100 back, that's another nailbiter. From what I've seen in practice this week and this past week, they look the best that I've seen them. They say they're ready to go."
St. Charles East hosts a sectional where the top team is crosstown rival St. Charles North, which finished fifth in last year's state meet and won the Upstate Eight Conference title two weeks ago.
"There is a group of teams that have the capability to be one of the top three teams in the state," St. Charles North coach Rob Rooney said. "We've gotten close to it and we're knocking on it again. I'm excited that we're knocking on it with this group of girls."
The North Stars have a strong history in girls swimming, including five Top 10 finishes since the school opened in 2001. The school has not won a state trophy, though this year's team is arguably its strongest.
"Right now, we're trying to focus on being the best we can be on Saturday and to not get ahead of ourselves," Rooney said. "We need to take care of this meet one event at a time and not worry about the team score or anything like that. We have to make sure we do what we have to do and get things done."
Senior Monica Guyett and her sophomore sister Audrey power the North Stars along with seniors Grace Samuelson, Sam Sauer and sophomore Jillian Waslawski, all of whom scored at the state meet a year ago. The team has integrated several newcomers into its lineup this year.
"They're a great group of kids, there's no doubt about it," Rooney said. "They look out for each other. Our seniors got this going for us four years ago. We had a group that included Angie Chokran that graduated in 2010, and we had some rebuilding in front of us. Kids like Lauren Zima and Lauren Reynolds got this going for us, built an atmosphere of enjoyment in being a swimmer, and it carried into offseason training. Now we have seniors who experienced that and they bring that same attitude to our younger girls."
Sectional host St. Charles East brings a strong team to its own sectional. The Saints are ranked sixth in the state and finished second in the Upstate Eight meet two weeks ago. Coach Joe Cabel's team will gain an edge with the meet at its own Norris Center pool, which is also home to the bulk of St. Charles North's athletes, who swim in the offseason for the St. Charles Swim Club.
"Unless you've swum, you wouldn't know it, but there is definitely a home pool advantage," Cabel said. "You know the lighting and you know the walls and you know the pads and you know the blocks. It is a good feeling, having it in your own pool."
Among the Saints' key swimmers are seniors Jordan Morling, Isabel Herb and Lucy Johnson and juniors Anna O'Malley and Amy Pearson - all of whom swam at last year's state meet.
"Our top swimmers are year-round, hard workers," Cabel said. "These kids have been to national meets and they've seen fast swimming and been fast themselves. Sectional and state are big deals, but they've been in the battle before. We like where we're sitting right now. It does come down to the sectional, and we're pretty fired up for it."
The Bartlett/Streamwood co-op is having its strongest season in recent years, and competes at the St. Charles East sectional. Kayla Filipek is one of the state's premier sprint freestyle swimmers. Senior Sarah Hanning is recovered from an injury that blighted her junior season and the Sabrehawks finished third behind the two St. Charles teams at the Upstate Eight meet two weeks ago.
"The girls look good," Bartlett/Streamwood coach Jeremy Meserole said. "This is probably the best team we've had in the last few years. With (Filipek) and with (Hanning) coming back and with Paige (Edmier) coming in as a freshman, we're a little deeper than we've been in in the last couple of years."
The Jacobs/Hampshire co-op heads to St. Charles East after finishing third at the Fox Valley Conference meet one week ago. Izzy Bavaro qualified last year as a freshman and is among the team's top returnees along with Megan Herrera. Huntley also swims at St. Charles East, with top swimmer Kristen Czarnecki hoping to be the school's first qualifier since Chanel Curtis in 2012.
Dundee-Crown, South Elgin and the Elgin/Larkin co-op are among other schools in competition at St. Charles East.
Cary-Grove competes in the Barrington sectional. Four-time qualifier Melissa Rose graduated in May and the team's top finisher at the Fox Valley meet were juniors Ashlynn Baker and Karsen Seeger.