Girls swimming and diving: State meet scouting, Northwest
Girls swimming and diving state finals
Where: New Trier High School, Winnetka
Friday: Diving prelims at 9 a.m., swimming prelims at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday: Swimming and diving finals at noon
Team picture: Rosary, Lake Forest and St. Charles North have the top three spots in the most recent state rankings, but New Trier, Loyola and Oak Park-River Forest will definitely be in the trophy hunt. Barrington has been ranked in the top 10 all year.
Senior moments: Palatine's Kristin Anderson and Fremd's Grace Grzybek enter their final high school competitions in strong positions. Grzybek came up with a lifetime best by a full second in last weekend's sectional meet in the 100-yard backstroke. That has her seeded second in the 100 back, in just about the same time as the top qualifier, Rosary's Athena Ye. The performances at state are always faster, and Grzybek hopes to be able to improve her time with the benefit of a full taper. Grzbek will also race in the 200 IM and has a senior teammate, Becca Rutkowski, competing in the 50 free. Anderson won both the 50 free and the 100 free in the sectional and enters as the seventh seed in the 100 free the eighth seed in the 50. She, too, is hoping for time drops after reserving her full taper for this weekend.
Barrington's Kirsten Jacobsen is seeded No. 2 in the 200 and 500 freestyles and will have a great matchup with Lake Forest senior Reilly Lanigan in both races. Jacobsen's senior teammate, Sarah Kate Capel, will race in the 50 free and on the medley and 200 free relays.
Conant's Sam Wooley earned a spot in the 50 free, and Schaumburg Christian's Gabby Mathys makes history for her school by becoming the school's first state finals representative in any sport; she'll race the 200 free and 500 free.
Junior achievement: Maine West's Julia Boesche competes in both the 50 free and 100 free ... Fremd's Emily Kini is the 100 free.
Super sophs: Maggie Menso of Barrington races in the 200 free, with a seed time very close to the top 12 ... Maggie Emary of Barrington, who placed seventh in the 500 free last year, is seeded sixth in the 500 free and will also compete in the 200 IM ... the Fillies' Emma Graves is in the 100 fly ... Palatine's Ellis Nelson is seeded in the middle of the pack in the 200 IM ... Hersey's Olivia Kusio earned a second straight state meet trip in the 100 breaststroke, as did Fremd's Rebecca Ballo.
Fab frosh: Barrington's Bridget O'Leary made it in the 50 free.
Relays: Barrington will have all three competing, with the 400 free relay the top qualifier among them at seventh. Fremd will race the 200 medley and 400 free relay, and Palatine returns for a second straight year with its 200 free relay.
Record watching: Waubonsie Valley junior Hannah Hunt is the top qualifier in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.36. The state record is 1:01.83, by Stevenson's Ashley Wanland (2007). The 200 free record of 1:46.98 (Jacobsen, Barrington) and 500 free record of 4:46.66 (Adrienne Bicek, Downers Grove North) are threatened by both Jacobsen and Lake Forest's Reilly Lanigan.
Diving right in: St. Viator's Elizabeth Drab is giving new meaning to the term multi-sport athlete. Already a high school state track and field qualifier in the 400 dash and the high jump, and experienced in both gymnastics and soccer, this year she won the Barrington sectional in diving. She'll represent the Lions in diving for the first time in program history. "Elizabeth's an incredibly talented athlete who's exceeding even her own expectations," said St. Viator athletic director Marty Jennings. "She's breaking ground for us in so many ways." Essentially a one-person team with St. Viator, Drab upped her commitment to diving in the high school off-season and it's paid huge dividends. She's hopeful that her highest-scoring dives - among them, a front 2½ tuck - help her find further success this weekend. "If I just focus on one dive at a time, it doesn't seem so intimidating," she says. "I just have to keep my concentration on myself, and not on the other divers or the judges. If I do that and put all my best dives out there, I have a chance to do well."
Making a second state meet appearance is Palatine senior Lizzie Johns, the MSL champ. Joining her from the MSL are Hersey sophomore Madeline Bovino, Fremd sophomore Carly Goodsite and Elk Grove freshman Anna Sprenger.
- Aaron Gabriel