Warren, Hersey lead the way in Jamboree
It’s good to be part of Hersey’s girls swimming program these days.
Coach Dick Mortensen’s team added to its impressive season with a second-place finish in the 12-team Hersey Jamboree it hosted at Olympic Pool in Arlington Heights on Saturday.
Warren, buoyed by individual victories from Jessie Grasty in the 200-yard IM and from Paige Wells in the 50 free, edged the Huskies for the team title. The Blue Devils finished at 193.5 points, ahead of Hersey (181.5) and Maine South (149).
Mundelein had a winner in Amy Klink in the 100 backstroke (1:02.46) and finished fourth at 145.5, followed by Prospect (131), Buffalo Grove (127) and St. Viator (105). Cary-Grove was 10th (77), Jacobs was 11th (62.5) and Elk Grove finished 12th (55).
“Warren just had a little bit more depth than we did, said Mortensen, “but overall we had a great day.
A great week, in fact. The Huskies on Thursday turned away what figures to be their most serious challenge in the Mid-Suburban East in a dual format from Buffalo Grove, which puts them in position to repeat as the division’s top team.
And on Saturday, the breakthroughs continued to come.
Hersey’s medley relay of Erin Horne, Christine Rovani, Kelsey O’Donnell and Amanda Petro won in a meet-record time of 1:53.83.
And sophomore Amanda Petro continued her remarkable unbeaten individual season with victories in the 200 free (in a meet-record 1:57.87) and the 100 free (54.82). Perhaps her best swim of the day came at meet’s end, as she anchored the 400 free relay of Horne, Bethany Figiel and Rovani with a blistering 53.33 split to pass Warren and give Hersey a closing victory in 3:47.68.
Perhaps most pleasing to Mortensen was how the success of last year’s team seems to be carrying over. That group, led by individual state-qualifying sprinter Kathrynn Korff, provided a template of success for this year’s much younger but probably just as talented team.
And Korff, now competing for the Illinois swim team, was back on deck Saturday to provide support for her alma mater.
“It was really nice, because she was able to answer questions for some of our younger kids, said Mortensen. “I know she became Facebook friends with one of our freshman sprinters, Lenna Fotos, and that’s great. That kind of thing can only help.
Warren’s main point-scorers were Wells (second in the 100 free, 54.93) and the 200 (Gabby Mercado, Katie Travelstead, Shannon McKearnan, Bethany Drebing) and 400 free relays (McKearnan, Grasty, Drebin, Wells), which both placed second.
Buffalo Grove had individual winners in sophomore Veronika Jedryka (500 free, 5:24.65) and Sara Fasching (100 fly, 1:02.03). Those two also placed second, Jedryka in the 100 back and Fasching in the 200 free.
In diving, Prospect’s Christina Pekar won at 210.65 and her sister Sarah was third at 188.75. Splitting them in second place was Hersey’s Katie Dewar at 190.70.
Prospect junior Jessica Cavaiani turned in a season-best time in placing second in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.31), and the Knights’ medley relay of Greta Pietraszek, Cavaiani, Grace Gruendel and Meg Dix placed second in 1:54.76.
St. Viator’s top finishes came from Megan Shover in the 50 free (third, 25.92), Erin Primdahl in the 100 fly (second, 1:02.20) and Melanie Battaglia in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.77).
Elk Grove’s Simona Kurta placed fourth in the 100 fly (1:02.56) but was just one-half second off the winning effort by Fasching.