Stevenson makes a splash in season opener
If Thursday's opening meet is anything to go by, Stevenson swimming is on track for another great season.
The Patriots took the top spot in 11 of 12 events -- including seven in which they had at least the top two finishers -- in their dual at Glenbrook North. Ashley Wanland and Martha VanLieshout won two events each, Stevenson swept the relays, and diver Kerrin Seymour set a school record for a six-dive event. That combination of strong nights from its top performers and contributions from a deep roster allowed Stevenson to outpace the Spartans 120-66.
"We're excited; it's exciting to be ranked so high and to know we've accomplished so much," said senior April McKee, who won the 100-yard butterfly. "We have a really deep team, so we like to put people in different events and see how we can swim. Usually, the results are pretty good."
That was true from the start Thursday, with the Patriots taking the 200 medley relay (1:52.64) by more than a second. VanLieshout picked up her first win of the night with a 1:55.63 time in the 200 freestyle, and teammate Christina O'Connell took second (2:01.62).
The Patriots followed that by claiming the top three spots in the 200 individual medley thanks to Wanland (2:09.69), Michelle Pliskin (2:19.46) and Emma VanLieshout (2:20.38), then did the same in the 50 freestyle behind Melanie Koto (25.83), Tori Alland (25.93) and Katherine Moy (27.71).
"It was good to have a meet; we hadn't had a regular-season meet yet and the girls were definitely ready to race," Stevenson coach Karl Milkereit said. "It's just been a lot of practice so far, and it was good to get out here and race a great team like GBN. There are always areas to improve, but this was a good starting point."
The last time Seymour dove at a varsity meet for Stevenson, she won a state title. This time, she racked up 251.35 points in six dives to set a school mark. Sam Stenn followed her with a second-place score of 205.05.
"Obviously, with Kerrin being the defending state champ, we're going to lean heavily on her as the season goes along," Milkereit said. "And we've got high hopes for Sam; she can be a state scorer for us as well."
In the 100 butterfly, McKee won with a time of 59.63, and Erin Cunningham finished second (1:02.49) as the Patriots again took the top spots.
"I'm glad about my time," McKee said. "I want to stay under a minute all season and, if I do that, I should be able to hit my goal times for the end of the year."
VanLieshout earned her second win in the 100 freestyle (54.46), pulling ahead of Glenbrook North's Donna Szostak (55.22). Alland (5:12.09) and Sarah Dolejs (5:29.19) topped the 500 freestyle, and the Patriots claimed the 200 freestyle relay (1:42.29) by just under a second.
The Spartans got their only win of the night in the 100 backstroke, with sophomores Kate Dvornitsyn (1:03.10) and Gabrielle Bunney (1:04.17) leading the way. But Wanland easily won her second race of the night, taking the 100 breaststroke (1:03.93) by nearly six seconds, and the Patriots closed with times of 3:43.12 and 3:52.09 in the 400 freestyle relay.
"It's taken us a while to get to this point with our depth, and it's nice to see that paying off for us," Milkereit said. "Martha had really good times. Ashley was consistent and right where she should be at this point of the season. April and Tori were really consistent. All the normal contributors did what they were supposed to. We moved people around and had them in different events, and it was good to see them perform."