Competition brings out best in champion Rosary

Taken at face value, Sunday's Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference meet was its usual crazy self - 13 teams at both frosh-soph and varsity levels swimming for league honors.

But there is a second side, and no team exemplified the chase for sectional spots more than the eventual conference champion Rosary Beads.

With frosh-soph swimmers performing better than the state qualifying standards in some events, spots for the team's sectional lineup are as valued as they are hotly contested.

And as Rosary walked away from the meet at the Vaughn Center in Aurora, most of the final answers had been rendered.

"This meet is a giant swim-off for our sectional team," said Rosary coach Bill Schalz. "We had so many races where it came down to that. I could do our sectional lineup today. I know exactly where everyone's going to be. There are a couple of relay places still to be figured out, but I know where the individuals will be."

The win was Rosary's third straight. In each of this run of conference championships, the Beads have followed with three weeks later with an IHSA state championship.

"The varsity did well," Schalz said. "Our goal was 400 points. We were seeded 1-2 or 1-3 or 1-4 all day long. For us this meet's often about how we swim against ourselves."

Rosary defeated second-placed Fenwick 389-343, but despite that relatively wide margin, the Beads still needed a bit of a kick-start at the opening of the meet.

"Our frosh-soph girls stepped up and raced," Schalz said. "The meet started and we didn't have a lot of emotion and I was a little worried. Then our first frosh-soph relay stepped up and they all started cheering and our enthusiasm was there the rest of the day. It's cool how the varsity swimmers are still playing mother hen to the younger swimmers and looking out for them."

Rosary swept swimming honors. Kally Fayhee was named the senior swimmer of the meet. She won the 200-yard and 500 freestyles, finishing ahead of teammate Emily Launer each time. Fayhee also swam on Rosary's champion 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Rosary freshman Rachel Burke was the meet's junior varsity swimmer of the year. Burke, who will compete for the varsity in the sectional and state meets, won the junior varsity 200 and 100 freestyles - both with state-qualifying times.

Schalz was named conference coach of the year. Fenwick's Mary Kate Campbell, the conference champion, was named the diver of the year.

Rosary won all but two varsity events. Benet senior Sarah Galvin won the 100 backstroke, and St. Ignatius junior Chloe Ott won the 100 breaststroke.

Benet was fifth and St. Viator seventh in the standings.