A winning effort in defeat

The Warren girls swimming team had a lot to be excited about following Wednesday's home dual meet against powerhouse Stevenson.

Even though it was Stevenson scoring a 107-79 victory.

"We raced very well, and this was a big turning point for our kids," Warren coach Erik Rogers said. "They believe they can swim with top competition."

Perhaps the most telling moment came when Warren's 200-yard freestyle relay (1:43.29) edged Stevenson (1:43.31).

"That was so exciting," senior Laura Chou said. "We wouldn't have won a close race like that last year."

Kristen O'Connor swam the anchor leg for Warren.

"That was nerve-wracking," O'Connor said. "When I lunged for the wall, I didn't know if we won or not."

Added Rogers: "She's 6-foot and has a (long) reach. Not very many people are going to out-touch Kristen."

O'Connor teamed with Chou, Bethany Drebing and Ally Calewarts on the relay.

O'Connor also was impressive in winning the 100 freestyle (54.65).

"We're looking for her to have some big time drops," Rogers said.

Chou placed first in the 100 butterfly (1:01.09).

"I'm working on streamlining my kick and really pushing on the second 50," she said.

From a team standpoint, Warren is excited to see how it will stack up at Saturday's Lake County meet. The Blue Devils placed first earlier this season at the Fremd Invitational.

"We were as fast (today) as we've been all season," Rogers said.

Although Stevenson mixed up its lineup quite a bit, the Patriots still had some extremely impressive performances. In the 400 freestyle relay, Tori Alland swam first and staked the Patriots (3:42.47) to a commanding lead. Alland also dominated in the 200 individual medley (2:14.71), finishing almost eight seconds clear of her closest competitor.

Erin Cunningham placed first in two events, the 50 freestyle (25.96) and the 100 breaststroke (1:10.33).

In the 500 freestyle, Stevenson's Lauren Pontello (5:34.03) and Rebecca Alberts (5:36.91) came from well off the pace to finish first and second, respectively.

"They were pretty far back and they showed good (tenacity)," Stevenson coach Karl Milkereit said.

Stevenson's Kerrin Seymour (234.30) dominated the diving part of the meet. Teammate Samantha Stenn placed second (193.10). Warren's Anne Wright came in third (169.70).

"We had some good swims, and we came on at the end of the meet," Milkereit said.