Four area competitors ready for state

For the 4 area girls swimmers who qualified for today's state finals at New Trier High School in Winnetka, this event is old hat.

St. Edward's Megan Venlos, Burlington Central's Alex Van Oost, Cary-Grove's Kimberly Kalenda and Crystal Lake co-op's Natalie Walker have all been to the state finals now two or more times.

Crystal Lake co-op's Walker, a senior, is the most state-experienced of the quartet, having qualified all 4 years. She medaled last year, taking sixth in the breaststroke. She's seeded fifth this year (1:05.02) in the event. Stevenson's Ashley Wanland is the top seed at 1:03.32. Walker most recently swam on the same club team as Wanland (Patriot Aquatic Club).

"My strength and endurance have made my times drop," said Walker, who has a 4.0 grade-point average and is ranked 19th in the Crystal Lake Central senior class. "I've gotten better with my other strokes."

Walker would like to repeat her medal performance of a year ago.

"I want to go out with a bang," said Walker, who wants to study at a Division I college, but isn't sure if she will swim. "I want my senior year to be a year I'm going to remember so I definitely want to get a top 6 finish."

Central's Van Oost is the only area competitor who qualified in multiple events. She's seeded 28th in the 200 free and 23rd in the 100 backstroke.

This is Van Oost's third trip to the state meet. She's been a double qualifier (200 free, 100 back) in each of her 3 high school state series appearances. Burlington Central does not have a girls swimming team, so Van Oost only represents the school at the sectional and state levels.

"The experience I have is great. You know what is ahead of you going into the meet," said Van Oost. "The first year I didn't know what was going on. Last year I did improve from my freshman year. Hopefully I can improve more this year."

Van Oost's top time in the 200 has been a 1:56.44 and her top time in the backstroke has been a 59.34.

"I'm really looking forward to this meet," said Van Oost. "I really feel I can do well. You just have to be ready for it."

Cary-Grove's Kalenda is making her second state finals appearance. She'll swim in the 100 freestyle this year after qualifying in the 50 and 100 free as a freshman. She's seeded 17th (53.57) in the event. The top 12 finishers today move on to Saturday's finals.

"You have to go fast the whole time. There is no looking back," said Kalenda, a junior who also swims for the Patriot Aquatic Club in the off-season. "I'm going to just clear my mind and think about the race. I really want to drop some more time and make it to the top 12."

For St. Edward's Venlos, this is her second trip in as many tries in the 200 freestyle.

"I've learned how to pace better," said Venlos, a sophomore who only represents St. Edward at the state series because the school has no swimming team.

"I'm a more controlled swimmer rather than going all out right away. Before, I would go all out until I got tired and then try to beat it until the wall. Now I definitely have more strength at the end of the race."

But Venlos says success in a big race like the state meet boils down to mental approach.

"The biggest thing in any race is the mental part of it," said Venlos. "You have to be positive about everything. If you think you are going to do it, you are going to do it. If you think you can't, you are not going to do it."

Venlos finished 30th at state in the 200 as a freshman. She's seeded 30th in the event this year.

"I wasn't real happy last year," said Venlos, who swims during the club season for the St. Charles Swim Team. "Last year I learned what I was like. This year I think I can go in there and race and swim well."