Girls swimming: Waubonsie Valley tops after two days
It's about 55 days until the first day of the girls swimming state meet. But it's never too early to learn how to compete in that atmosphere.
The Waubonsie Valley squad went home happy with winning the seven-team Wildcat Invite at West Chicago by 50 points, 312 to 262, over Plainfield. But just as importantly, the Warriors performed well in a meet whose format is exactly like state competition with preliminary competition on Friday and the finals Saturday. And some of the pomp and ceremony that is seen at state is also part of the mix.
"The girls love this meet with the prelims and the finals. They were able to swim fast on both Friday and Saturday. They swam really well and they know there are things to work on and they look forward to that," said Waubonsie coach Katie Peterson.
The Warriors won all three relays. The day began with the Waubonsie quartet of Kelli Holt, Hannah Hunt, Lily Hunt and Rebecca Farber winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute, 50.18 seconds.
Later, the 200 freestyle relay of Lauren Lee, Hannah Hunt, Emma Hurdle and Emma Tinney clocked in first at 1:41.49 and the 400 freestyle entry of Farber, Paige Simpson, Lily Hunt and Tinney touched the wall first at 3:38.07.
The Warriors went home with two individual champions. Hannah Hunt won the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.72 after setting a meet record of 1:07.26 in the prelims Friday.
"I have been taking a lot of college visits. I have been trying to stay in shape and my teammates have been pushing me hard in practice and I want to stay under the state cut (qualifying time)," Hannah said.
Her sister, Lily, won the 100 butterfly in 59.22. Like many of the competitors, she considers it a special meet.
"We all work together as team. It's a fun atmosphere and it brings us together," she said.
West Chicago/Batavia co-op held off Glenbard West/Glenbard South co-op for third place 182 to 179. Lake Park was fifth (154) and Glenbard North/Glenbard East co-op and Lincoln-Way Central each finished with 106 points.
West Chicago/Batavia coach Nick Parry said he was very pleased with how his team handled another aspect of the meet - a lot of swimming over two days.
"It was a good showing in the sense of getting up and racing when tired. It (the team finish) bodes well for the future," he said.
West Chicago/Batavia earned two individual titles. Two-time state qualifier Natalie Nelson won the 100 freestyle in 54.21.
"I'm pretty happy with what I did. We're still debating on when I should taper. I hope to place in the top 12 (at state) this year," Nelson said.
Freshman Kelly Sego earned the gold meal for winning the 200 individual medley with a 2:11.38 finish.
"Things are going really great. It's a change going from club to high school, a new experience. I'm just going to try my best and look forward to trying to make state," she said.
Other winners from area teams included Jennifer Hauser in the 50 freestyle. Her Saturday time was 24.24, but she set a meet record on Friday with a 23.85.
Jane Denenberg of Glenbard West/Glenbard South co-op won the 100 backstroke in 1:00.61.