Girls swimming: Strong start, and finish, as Vernon Hills wins sectional title

Getting through the first race of the afternoon was a little nerve-wracking, especially for Vernon Hills coach Kedric Greenawalt.

"For a swimming coach, because the first event is the medley, there are so many moving parts and with it comes a lot of anxiety," he said.

The event in question was part of the Vernon Hills girls swimming and diving meet, which brings plenty of trepidation generally, as berths to the state meet at New Trier next weekend are on the line.

After the first race, though, the anxiety was quickly replaced by a big sigh of relief.

Vernon Hills' Claudia Yoon, Nicole Pinter, Aleksandra Skatchkov and Anna Long won in 1:47.25 to grab a spot at state.

"We won that first race and just wanted to keep it going. Let the dominos fall where they may," said Greenawalt, in his 11th season. "We had very high expectations and were looking to win it today."

The dominos certainly fell in the right places. Vernon Hills carried that momentum all the way through, and the result was the school's first-ever sectional title in girls swimming.

The Cougars produced eight sectional champions en route to 303 points, with Warren finishing second (244).

Only a freshman, Casey Craffey had quite a day in qualifying in four events. She won the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.74) and took second in the 500 freestyle (5:01.09). Craffey then paired with Drew Petereit and Ellie and Anna Long to qualify in the 200 free relay (1:36.74). She finished her day by joining Skatchkov, Petereit and Pinter to win the 400 free relay (3:32.14).

"This is amazing. It means so much to win sectionals after all of the hard work we've put in," said Craffey. "You just have to try and block everything out when you're racing. And you have to always be positive. You can't make anything negative."

Skatchkov also qualified in two individual events after winning the 200 IM (2:06.77) and placing third in the 100 butterfly (56.95).

Pinter qualified after third in the 200 free (1:53.75), while Petereit (23.58) and Ellie Long (24.29) also advanced by finishing 1-2 in the 50-freestyle.

Petereit was also a sectional champion in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.42), while Pinter qualified in the same event after finishing second (1:05.84).

The Cougars' Ally Landis also qualified as a sectional champion in diving after amassing 416.75 points.

The Warren girls have also been enjoying one the most successful seasons in school history.

For the first time ever, the Devils beat Stevenson in dual action a few short weeks ago and earned its first conference title, shared with the Pats.

On Saturday, the Blue Devils were swimming with heavy but very inspired hearts as today would have marked Josh Church's 18th birthday. And next week will be one year since Church, who was a junior swimmer for Warren, passed away suddenly while competing in a club meet at Vernon Hills High School.

"He's definitely in here today," said Warren coach Chris Bertana. "It's a real lifting point for us. We have depth across the board and are just looking to get as many through (to state)."

Warren's relays will be well represented, as all three qualified.

Carissa Barker, Jacqueline Goldman and Emily and Megan Wong finished third in the medley (1:48.11), while Barker, Danielle Glisovich, Alyssa Church and Megan Wong then finished second in the 200 free relay (1:37.30).

Church, Glisovich and the Wong sisters then touched second and qualified in the 400 free relay (3:33.43).

Freshman Annalise Stingle also qualified individually after taking fourth in the 100 butterfly (58.04). Senior divers Carly Baun (392.50) and Teagon Albert (374.50) are also hoping for at-large berths to New Trier.

Libertyville freshman Alex Eastmond heads to New Trier after qualifying in four events.

She first paired with Allison Morettini, Emma Gleason, and Paige Rankin to finish second in the 200 medley relay. The same quartet then qualified third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.03).

Eastmond was a two-time individual winner, with top efforts in the 100 backstroke (in a pool-record 58.08) and and the 100 freestyle (52.75).

"I was so nervous last night thinking about today," said Eastmond. "But this is crazy! I wasn't expecting this. I just try not thinking about it when I'm racing. I do that, and things don't end well sometimes."

Gleason, only a sophomore, also qualified individually in two events after winning the 100 butterfly (55.55) and finishing second in the 200 free (1:53.24).

Senior diver Claire Neuberger took second in diving (410.20) and looks to be a lock for New Trier next weekend.

Mundelein senior Maggie Franz finished third in diving (407.85), while sophomore MacKenzie Strong will represent the Mustangs at New Trier after winning four events for athletes with disabilities.

Libertyville (215) was third, Mundelein fourth (202), and Lake Forest fifth (155).

The Scouts' Kendra Joachim qualified in the-500 free (4:58.55) and 100 butterfly (56.36), while sophomore Julia Tanna will compete at state in four events for athletes with disabilities.