Girls swimming: Barrington stands tall at Fremd

With many allegiances in play during Thursday's matchup of elite Mid-Suburban League girls swimming and diving teams, Barrington coach Alex Mikolajewski perhaps had the most unique combination of them.

A Fremd standout in his own high school days, he's in the midst of a memorable first season as Barrington's head coach.

But on Fremd's senior night, Mikolajewski's current team certainly wasn't doing his prep alma mater any favors.

Barrington and Fremd combined to set pool records in every swimming event. The majority of them were broken by Barrington as the Fillies rolled to a 128-58 victory.

Barrington's Bridget O'Leary and Emma Pritchett both won two individual events, but the real measure of this Fillies group isn't the top-end competitors. It's the sheer numbers of quality swimmers Barrington can throw into its varsity lineup.

That was clear after the 200-yard freestyle, where O'Leary won in 1:54.99 and Barrington had the heat's four fastest finishers.

Both teams have one Mid-Suburban West dual remaining, but the meet also served as the unofficial deciding contest for the divisional championship.

While recognizing Barrington's seniors during the diving break, Fremd coach Andrew Kittrell said these Fillies are the top dual-meet team he's seen in his eight years in the conference.

As Fremd learned, Barrington comes at you in waves - and frequently, in Graves.

Sophomore Elisabeth Graves was third in the 200 free, freshman Maggie Graves won the 500 (5:10.41) and senior Emma was third in the 50 free and second in the 100 fly in a season-best 58.96.

Even a rare Barrington loss turned out to be a gain when Emma recovered the bracelet she'd lost at the bottom of the pool during warmups. She says her team expected plenty of success this season, but a smooth adjustment to a new head coach and consistently terrific results have everyone at least a little bit surprised.

"We sat down with Bear (Mikolajewski) at the start of the season to go over goals, and I have to say, I think we're exceeding expectations as a team," said Graves. "It's a result of the work we're putting in. Everyone's just really focused."

Barrington won all three relays. O'Leary's winning efforts came in the 200 free (1:54.99) and 100 free (53.59), while Ally Penrod, despite battling a rough headcold, won the 200 IM (2:09.83) and had legs on all three winning relays.

Catherine Kitzman won the 100 breast (1:07.12), while Pritchett was tops in the 100 fly (58.09) and 100 back (1:00.04). Maria Pritchett grabbed third in both the 200 IM and 500 free.

Senior Emily Bolger led the way for Fremd with four stellar swims. She started by splitting 23.91 on the end of the Vikes' medley relay.

"That's the kind of swim you just don't see very often in an MSL dual," said Mikolajewski. "That's one of the reasons we look forward to this meet - you just know there's going to be good racing."

Bolger provided more of that by winning the 50 free in 24.71, just ahead of Barrington sophomore Julie Vega (25.09).

Later, O'Leary edged Bolger in the 100 free, and Bolger's day finished with a 23.87 split on the 200 free relay.

"We had somewhere between 85 and 90 season-best times, as a team," said Kittrell. "We swam well, and Barrington is the kind of program that is going to pull that kind of performance out of you."

Two-time state qualifier Carly Goodsite gave Fremd a lift by winning diving with a score of 218.00. She is coached this year by Donna O'Brien, who for many seasons was Palatine's diving coach.

Former Barrington coach Jim Bart was in attendance and made it plain and clear that his own personal set of loyalties were still very active - by donning a Washington Nationals baseball cap.

As a group, the Vikings were unable to match up with Barrington.

That, however, was not why the tears were flowing so freely after the meet, prompting one Fremd swimmer to quip, "That's how we fill up the pool here."

Rather, it was the finality of a standout senior class having competed in its final home meet.

In addition to Bolger, seniors such as Rebecca Ballo, Marie Grzybek and Goodsite are the reason Fremd has remained such a force in MSL aquatics.

"Before high school started for me, I thought everything was great - like, this is as good as it gets," said Ballo, who finished second in the 100 breast (1:08.61) and has qualified to the state meet in multiple seasons. "But now is so much better than then. I never want to leave this team."

Bolger's takeway was more focused on the future.

"It's a lot of our underclassmen really stepping up," she said. "I'm happy with my times and everything, but the part that makes me most proud is knowing that we're set up to be a strong team in the future."

Bottom line: Anyone with a strong allegiance to swimming and diving would have been pleased with the show Barrington and Fremd put on.

The Fillies expect a stern test from state powers Lyons Township and Loyola in their invitational on Saturday.

For the Vikings, it's a fond farewell to racing in their home waters this season.

"Mostly, there just this immense sense of pride that I have for these girls," said Grzybek, as the pool deck finally cleared out. "I wish it could go on forever."