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Girls swimming and diving: Freshman Graves wins 500, helps Barrington to MSL title

As she swam the 500-yard freestyle at Saturday's Mid-Suburban League girls swimming championship meet, Maggie Graves had thoughts about all the hard work and preparation she'd put in.

"Every morning and every afternoon," said the Barrington freshman. "Coming to the pool, preparing my mindset, and pulling it all together."

It all paid off Saturday at Conant for Graves, who won the 500 race in 5:01.29.

The freshman's outstanding performance helped lead the Fillies repeat as conference champs.

Barrington (331) outpointed second-place Fremd (244). Hersey (174) was third and Palatine (145) took fourth, ahead of the host Cougars.

"I was a little nervous," Graves said. "It's my first big meet, so it was nerve-wracking - so many good people here. But I've always been a distance person."

The second-place Vikings got off to a good start in the morning session as senior Carly Goodsite took first place diving.

"She was calm, cool and collected," said Fremd diving coach Donna O'Brien of Goodsite. "Carly is very consistent. And she's really calm when she's competing. She's a very steady competitor, and she practices like she competes."

The Vikings also won the 100 backstroke as sophomore Sophia Kuehn posted a mark of 59.70

"I was a little tired," said Kuehn, who'd competed in several earlier events. "But I knew I had to stick to it in the first 50. I was dying, but I held on and toughed it out. I've been swimming against my top two competitors in this race (including Barrington's Maggie Emary) since I was 10 years old and I was able to out-touch them today."

Other big finishes from Fremd included seniors Emily Bolger taking second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free, senior Rebecca Ballo taking fourth in the 100 breaststroke and senior Marie Grzybek placing fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 500.

Barrington's Ally Penrod won the 200 IM in 2:08.77, and she also triumphed in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.75). The Fillies were also winners in the 200 medley and the 200 freestyle relay, and Addy Reader (24.74 in the 50 free) and Emma Pritchett (58:09 in the 100 butterfly) also won individual events.

Barrington was victorious as well in the 400 free relay, and the Fillies' Elisabeth Graves ( 1:54.38 ) had the winning finish in the 200 free.

Hersey's Olivia Kusio won the 100-yard freestyle in 58.74

The Huskies senior said that she'd been more a 50 specialist in the past but is glad she took on the challenge of the 100 this season.

"I started working out, training better and gaining more endurance," said Kusio.

Kusio added that she was confident despite the high level of talent at the meet.

"I always tell myself not to underestimate anyone," she said. "But of course you also want to have confidence in yourself. I came in today feeling like I could do it."

Palatine's top finish came from Jane Smith, who grabbed second place in the 500 free.

Schaumburg's Hana Mollin was second in the 200 IM and third in the 100 fly, and Conant's Megumi Komoto was second in the 100 fly.

Buffalo Grove had a terrific performance, getting top-six efforts from Emily Schulstad in both the 200 free (fourth) and 500 (sixth), along with a sixth from Rachel Hanna in the 100 breastroke to finish sixth in the team standings.

The meet also included a moment of recognition for officials Jeff and Joe Plack, brothers who have provided some 50 years of combined service to swimming and diving.

  Elisabeth Graves of Barrington heads for a victory in the 200-yard freestyle during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Ally Penrod of Barrington wins the 200 IM during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Hana Mollin of Schaumburg takes second place in the 200 IM during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Olivia Kusio of Hersey heads for a narrow victory in the 100-yard freestyle during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Olivia Kusio of Hersey looks for her time after winning the 100 free during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Emma Pritchett, with her first-place medal in the 100 butterfly during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Jane Smith of Palatine, left, celebrates with Becca Galovich of Barrington after they finished second and third, respectively in the 200 freestyle during Saturday's Mid-Suburban League meet at Conant. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
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