Scott leads Rosary's charge for 4th straight title

Coming off her third straight incredibly successful state meet, Olivia Scott did an interesting thing.

She started working harder.

Not that Scott, a Rosary senior this year, had coasted through any of her freshman, sophomore or junior seasons. But as she readied for her final turn as a high school athlete, she found an extra gear.

And as Scott, her Beads teammates and the rest of the state's elite swimmers gather today at New Trier for the first day of the state meet, the benefits of all that hard work are about to be seen.

"She definitely has worked hard," Rosary coach Bill Schalz said. "We work hard, so she's worked hard over the years. As she's gotten older, she's gotten better with the things that it takes to improve."

We're not just talking about an average swimmer who dedicated herself to the sport. Scott is a three-time individual champion and has finished no lower than second in the five individual races in which she has scored at the state meet. She has also been integral to the Beads' three straight state championships.

"This year was a big change for me," Scott said. "We lost a lot of seniors last year. It's been a big change. I'm a senior now and one of the oldest on the team. Diana Norkus, Mackenzie Powers and I are the captains. We have a lot of responsibilities. I have to be one of the ones to lead."

And there's one of those changes that happens to all seniors. In a very real sense, this is Scott's team - along with Powers and Norkus. And like every stellar seniors who compete in today's prelims or Saturday's finals, the feelings they have are different from those younger athletes.

"There's no doubt that's a big part," Schalz said. "At this point, we've won three titles. As a senior, you don't want to go in winning your freshman, sophomore and junior year but not winning your senior year. Our teams have all been close and supportive, but there's certainly some rivalry in the classes. While (Scott's) been on three state championship teams, none of them have been 'her team.' Now she and (Powers and Norkus) can say 'this is ours.'"

Scott enters this year's meet as one of the most decorated swimmers in state history. She won the 100-yard butterfly as a freshman and sophomore and has one title and two runner-up finishes in the 200 individual medley.

But there's also a gap - and it comes in last year's 100-yard butterfly. Figured to win the event, Scott false-started in preliminaries when someone made a noise behind the blocks just before the start of the race and she flinched. She half-raced and half-coasted through the prelim race, and still recorded a time that would have made the finals - a race ultimately won by Powers.

"She would have won it," Schalz said. "(Powers) admitted that if she had raced it in the finals, she would have won it. I was asked by somebody whether (Scott) was going to be thinking about that race and my thought is that I hope she's thinking about it. I hope she gets ticked off. I do think she's a little ticked, has a little chip on her shoulder and wants to show what she can do."

For her part, Scott downplayed the impact of the lost opportunity. A win last year would have put her in position for a "career sweep" in the 100 butterfly - something only done twice in state history and last done by 2001 Rosary grad Mary Descenza.

"After the DQ happened, I was really upset," Scott said. "I'm not going into try to redeem myself. I want to try to get a best time for myself. I want to try my best to score points for the team."

That doesn't mean Scott has somehow lowered her expectations for where she wants to finish in Saturday's finals.

"No one likes to lose," she said. "Before all of my races, I think 'I want to win.' I can't think 'oh, I want to get second.'"

It was that competitive streak that first brought Scott to love swimming. The Aurora native said she started when she was 8-years old.

"I was on a summer swim team, a small park district team," Scott said. "I used to play soccer and I was trying out new sports and was only going to do it for the summer. I started doing it and I fell in love with it and it sort of took off from there."

Scott said the idea of being in the water, which was always nice on warm summer days, was one appeal. But there was something else - the sport tapped something in her that has kept her involved these last 10 years.

"I like to race," Scott said. "I'm really competitive and I like to race people."

As she developed as a swimmer, Scott said she began to realize she was fast. Not only was she racing, but she was winning.

"I didn't really think I was that fast when I was little," she said. "But when I got older, when I started going to Junior Olympic meets and racing other people in the state that I started feeling that I was pretty good at this."

By eighth grade, Scott was swimming for the Academy Bullets with Schalz as her coach, and it was at that point that she chose do go through the process of application to attend Rosary.

"There is definitely a change," Schalz said. "Club swimmers are still age-group swimmers. Then their next big meet is a high school meet and you never know how a freshman's going to react to that. When she was 13, going to bigger meets than just the club meets, that really helped prepare her for the state swim meet."

Scott admits she and Schalz have clashed at times. However, she also admits she's happy she chose to attend Rosary and to swim there.

"We butt heads sometimes, but I wouldn't want to have any other coach," Scott said. "I wouldn't have gotten to the level I am at without him as a coach."

This year, Scott is seeded second in the 100 butterfly and the 200 individual medley. For the first time, she will swim in Rosary's 200 medley relay. She has always participated in the school's two freestyle relays, but will this year compete in the 200 freestyle relay as well as the medley relay.

"We have five 100 free girls who can go in the 400 free relay," Schalz said. "That's a solid relay and I'll pick the four best to see if we can step up and race it. (Powers) will swim the back, (Scott) the fly and GiSun Pak will be in the breaststroke - and Katherine Hare will anchor the medley. All four of those girls are swimming their specialties and all four can final in their individual events."

When this weekend ends, Scott's high school career comes to a close. She has already decided to attend national powerhouse Auburn from next year.

"It was really tough," Scott said. "A lot of my friends who've been through this said 'you'll be crying a lot.' I said 'no way.' It took me a long time to make my final decision. It was the only thing I thought about for two weeks. I didn't really cry, but I'd yell a lot and get frustrated really easily. Now, I'm really excited to join them and to improve in swimming and everything."

And when her career is over, how would Scott like to be remembered?

"I don't want to think of (the season ending) right now," Scott said. "But I'm sure it'll be sad at first. I've grown so much. I've met so many people. When the time comes, I'll feel content about my high school career and be ready to move onto the next phase. We've accomplished so much as a team. I want to score points and help us win again."