Redhawks' Lamb finishes like a lion
There's probably never been a coach in any sport more thrilled with a second-place finish than Naperville Central Jon Carlson was after the Redhawks' Erin Lamb came in second in the 200 freestyle race at Saturday's state meet finals.
"That is one of the most fantastic swims that a Naperville Central swimmer has done in the history of the school," Carlson said after the race. "This is just terrific."
Lamb who swam a 1:54.02 in sectionals that gave her a No. 10 seed in state, shaved nearly two seconds off that to 1:52.06 in Friday's preliminaries to squeak into the finals in sixth place.
On Saturday she dropped to 1.51.35 to finish second to Bloomington's Monica Drake, who touched at 1:48.11.
"I can't believe this happened," said Lamb, who had never gone below 1:53. "I worked really, really hard this year. I'm so glad I could do this in my final year."
Carlson said that Lamb's position in the outside lane next to Drake turned worked to her advantage.
"We looked at the heat sheet, and I said, 'You've got a terrific swimmer next to you. You've got nothing to lose. Go with Monica and try to stay as close as you can,'" Carlson said. "Erin didn't have to race the whole field and she wasn't distracted by all the activity that would have been around her in one of the middle lanes."
"Keeping everything light helped my mental state today," Lamb said. "I stayed relaxed and tried to do the same thing I did yesterday, only better."
Carlson's thrill of almost victory was enhanced by the respect and admiration he has for Lamb as a person.
"Erin is in the top 1 percent of not just athletes but kids with character in our program," he said. "She's a great student. She's involved in leadership positions in all kinds of school and community organizations. She helped organize the meet we had with Wheaton to benefit the fight against breast cancer. She does it all and she puts her heart into everything. Today's race was an example of someone swimming with pure heart."
Rosary, won its third straight state championship with 184 points, winning all three relays and setting state records this weekend in both the 200 medley and the 200 freestyle relays.
New Trier and Hinsdale Central were tied for second with 101 points, and Waubonsie Valley, with its best finish ever, came in fourth with 85 points, moving up from ninth place a year ago.
Hinsdale Central's Abby Grilli finished third in the diving, and Caitlin Connor was third in the 500 freestyle. The Red Devils' 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams both finished third.
The Warriors placed their 200 medley relay second and their 200 freestyle relay fifth and also scored points in the 400 freestyle relay, winning the consolation race to finish seventh.
Waubonsie's Elena Carvell was third in the 100 butterfly, and Megan Sellers was fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
"We work the whole season to peak at this meet," Carvell said. "We really beat ourselves us in practice and that's why we didn't do too well during the season. The extra rest we had helped this weekend."
Downers Grove South, with 77 points, was fifth, the highest it had ever finished. The Trojans' Adrienne Bicek was the state champion in the 200 IM and second in the 500 freestyle. Haley Sims was second in the 100 butterfly.
Benet was another team that achieved its best state performance, finishing 10th with 45 points. The Redwings' Sarah Galvin was second in the 100 backstroke, and the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays both finished sixth in Saturday's final.
Wheaton co-op's Danielle Reminger was sixth in the 100 butterfly, and Jessica Wellick was fourth in the 500 free.