Hersey closes in on East crown
With Christine Rovani recovering from a perforated eardrum, Hersey's girls swimming team might have seemed a bit vulnerable as it hosted Prospect on Thursday at Olympic pool in Arlington Heights.
But it turns out Prospect standout Meg Dix was a late scratch from the meet due to illness.
"We thought the door might have been open for us," said Prospect coach Alfonso Lopez, "but that didn't turn out to be the case."
Instead, Hersey won 117-69, keeping them unbeaten through the Mid-Suburban East with just one dual remaining, against Elk Grove next week.
On senior night for Hersey, the Huskies' freestyle depth was just too much for Prospect to match. Hersey won all the individual freestyles and both freestyle relays, enabling Huskies coach Dick Mortensen to defeat essentially the same Prospect team he'd coached just last season.
"It's always fun to swim Prospect," said Hersey senior Kathryn Korff, "and we had a little extra motivation this year because our coach came from there."
Korff was one key for Hersey. She won the 50 free in 26.36, keeping her on track for a chance at eventually making the state meet in that event. Korff also placed second to teammate Amanda Petro in the 100 free and anchored both freestyle relays.
Petro, a freshman, continued to impress, winning the 200 free in 2:01.29 and the 100 in 56.40. Other Hersey swimming wins came from Caroline Stoklosa in the 500 free (5:56.34) and Erin Horne in the 100 back (1:06.19). In diving Hersey's Kate Reszotko (208.15) edged Prospect's Christina Pekar (202.80) in a matchup of two of the league's elite performers.
In a busy week that features both homecoming festivities and the Jamboree Invitational on Saturday at Olympic, Mortensen was happy to claim victory in a meet where both teams share similar strengths.
"It just so happens that a lot of our strong events are their strong events, and a lot of our weak events are their weak events," Mortensen said. "But things ended up going our way."
Prospect and coach Alfonso Lopez had plenty of individual highlights. The Knights started with victory in the medley relay with Ali Alesi, Jessica Cavaiani, Greta Pietraszek and Kelly Wilson. Pietraszek went on to win both the 200 IM (2:23.83) and the 100 fly (1:05.52), and Cavaiani won the 100 breaststroke (1:13.01).
"We're kind of in a phase where everybody is kind of stuck, in terms of times," said Lopez, a former Prospect swimmer himself. "Mentally, that's kind of hard on people, but sometimes, that's the best you can do. We just want to be able to maintain where we are now, and then get ready to drop times at the end."
Both teams are looking forward to Saturday's Jamboree, a spectacle which will include a visit from the homecoming courts as well as a musical soundtrack for the meet.
"It'll be fun," said Lopez. "Everybody looks forward to it - there's a real nice, competitive group of teams that will be there. And because of tonight's meet, our kids will have a little bit better feel for the pool."
Schaumburg 108, Conant 78: Sammy Schuckles and Kristy Bessler both won a pair of individual events as the host Saxons earned an MSL West triumph. Schuckles won the 50 free (26.64) and the 100 back (1:00.83) and Bessler was tops in the 200 free (2:07.13) and the 100 free (58.49) and Schaumburg won all three relays.