Scouting: St. Charles East sectional
St. Charles East sectional
When: Diving events begin at 9 a.m. Swimming events begin at noon.
Advancement in diving events: The first-place winner from each sectional, plus any diver whose score is among the next 32 top-scoring divers from all sectional meets who did not win first place will advance to the state meet at New Trier on Nov. 20-21.
Advancement in swimming events: The first-place winner in each event in each sectional and any swimmer or relay team which equals or surpasses the state qualifying standards will advance to the state meet at New Trier on Nov. 20-21.
Outlook: This sectional features 12 teams and individuals from six additional schools. One individual expected to qualify for state is senior Megan Venlos of St. Edward. She has advanced to the big meet in Winnetka the past three years in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard free. This year she will swim the 200 free and 100 free, races in which she has already surpassed the respective state qualifying standards of 1:57:03 and 53.99. "She is seeded first in the 200 at the sectional and second in the 100," said acting Green Wave coach David Venlos. "She actually has a very good chance to make the Saturday finals at the state meet this year." South Elgin (8-1) looks to continue its successful season, led by sophomore Hannah Reuger in the 50 free and senior diver Taylor Greene. "Both of these girls have been working hard all season to prepare for the sectional meet on Saturday," Storm coach Meghan Kubek said. "I am hoping all of their hard work and talent will pay off." Jacobs finished second at the Fox Valley Conference meet last Saturday. Leading the Golden Eagles is junior Kristin Horney, who qualified for state in the 50 free last year and won the FVC title in 24.97, just a smidgen shy of the state qualifying time of 24.84. "We are hopeful that she can drop the remaining .13 of a second this Saturday at St. Charles East," Jacobs coach Tracy Balla said. The Golden Eagles are a young team with only one senior, thus Balla said "this year is about exposing the team to the sectional meet and building upon our successes from conference." Dundee-Crown's top state contender is sophomore Colleen Champa. She will compete in the 100-yard butterfly. Having overcome injuries the last two years, Champa is "currently swimming stronger than ever," according to coach Kendra Everett. "I fully expect with her taper this week and the amount of energy in the pool at the sectional meet that she will qualify." Huntley does not have a team but will send six individuals to the meet, none of whom have exceeded qualifying standards this season. The Elgin-Larkin coop does not have a probable qualifier, but three seniors aim to finish their careers with personal bests: Lauren Sprague (200 IM, 100 backstroke), Alex Haugan (500 free, 200 free), Sarah Glowinski (200 IM, 100 breaststroke). Bartlett-Streamwood coop coach Nancy Kalush doesn't expect any of her swimmer to qualify for state but said, "My expectation is to finish at the top of the schools in our district... but most importantly have fun!"
Vernon Hills sectional
Outlook: Cary-Grove is the only area school competing at Vernon Hills, where 13 teams and individual swimmers from eight more schools will vie for state qualification. The Trojans haven't been able to meet their own expectations during the regular season due to injuries and a pervasive flu bug. "We had a hard time recovering and regaining time drops when many top swimmers were out for at least a week of the season," Cary-Grove coach Caitlin Sullivan said. "While we have had numerous great swims this season, we have not yet had any swimmers achieve the state qualifying standards." However, Sullivan said the exciting atmosphere of the sectional meet could result in "great" times by junior Courtney Mega in the 100 backstroke, sophomore Molly English in the 50 and 500 free, Brianna Musielak in the 100 breaststroke and Lauren Curtis in the 200 and 100 free.