Barrington orchestrates impressive win against Fremd

Barrington diver Nicole Kim and senior swimmer Emma Toth set the tone with their stringed-instrument performance of the National Anthem as the Fillies' girls swim team hosted Fremd on Thursday.

Then their teammates followed suit with a neatly syncopated victory in a meet featuring the top two programs in the Mid-Suburban League.

This one was all Barrington, which won 123-63.

Senior standout Kirsten Jacobsen won the 100 and 200 freestyles, and senior Sara Kate Capel won the 50 free.

The Fillies' sophomore class was a force, as Maggie Emary won the 200 IM, Emma Graves won the 100 fly and Maggie Menso had runner-up efforts in the 100 and 200 freestyles.

Freshmen Bridget O'Leary (500 free) and Catherine Kitzman (100 breaststroke) also got in the winning act for Barrington, which swept all the relays.

Capel, a state qualifier last year in the 50 free, knows this has the potential to be a very special Barrington season.

"We have such a competitive team," she said. "You can tell that has an effect - everybody's always pulling for each other, so we can all get better together."

Especially formidable in the freestyles, Barrington earned 1-2-3 finishes in the 200 free (Jacobsen, Menso, Sarah Langlois) and 500 free (O'Leary, Maria Pritchett, Langlois).

Fremd senior Grace Grzybek earned the Vikings' only swimming victory in the 100 backstroke (59.67); divers Morgan Faulkner, Carly Goodsite and Emily Zukowski picked up big points with a 1-2-3 finish.

"We talked a little bit before the meet about what it means to be a Viking," said Fremd coach Andrew Kittrell. "It comes down to things like competing to the best of your ability, showing good sportsmanship to the opponent, and then holding your head high. We did all those things, so I'm pleased."

It's been a challenging season for Fremd as it trains and hosts home meets in Palatine's pool, as the Vikings' own facility is under renovation.

Grzybek is trying to use the lessons from last year's seniors - the group which helped Fremd to an MSL title - as this year's group meets the current challenges. One of them finding success would be sophomore Emily Bolger, who came up with a best-ever split on the Vikes' 400 free relay.

"I've tried to incorporate a little bit of each one of our seniors into how I'm approaching things this year," said Grzybek. "We're a pretty young team, but it was fun to see everybody stepping up today."

Barrington coach Jim Bart will use every meet to gather information toward developing his best end-of-season lineup.

"I like where we are," he said. "But we've got a long way to go, and a lot of decisions to make."

Bad news for the rest of the conference: Barrington is young, too.

All those moving parts might be a challenge to sort out, but they're already making some sweet music now. Chances are it will only get louder.

"It's kind of cool," said Toth, one of only three seniors in Barrington's varsity lineup. "You look around at these freshmen and sophomores, and you know, even after the seniors from this year are gone, we're going to be a very good team."