Girls swimming: Hersey’s Glinko surprises herself with super sectional time; Fremd claims team title

Ever felt ecstatic and stunned beyond belief at the same time?

Hersey junior Claudia Glinko has. Her facial expression — as soon as she saw her personal-best and state-qualifying time (57.96) in the 100-yard backstroke at Saturday’s Barrington girls swimming and diving sectional — revealed both emotions glaringly and delightfully.

Glinko’s eyes got Ferris-wheel big, and her mouth was stuck on say-ahh mode in a doctor’s office as she looked up in the stands at her parents, Greg and Ewa, and her little sister, Isabella.

The Husky’s bobbing countenance from Lane 5 screamed, “Did I just swim that fast?” to her family members.

“Big relief,” she said later, alluding to having coming up short Saturday in her bid to advance to next weekend’s state meet in the 100 butterfly.

Glinko also anchored the third-place 400 freestyle relay to a program-record time of 3:36.55, after legs from Anna Anderson, Abby Stonequist and Emily Steinberg. The previous mark of 3:36.88 had stood since 2011.

“I’m so proud of the way Claudia handled the pressure of this meet, especially after the 100 fly,” said Hersey coach Dick Mortensen. “Happy for her, too.

“She had to hang out with only me at state last year because she was our only qualifier. I’m sure she’s thrilled that she’ll get to spend time with a few of her friends at state this year.”

Reigning Mid-Suburban League champion Fremd claimed more hardware on Saturday, topping the 13-team sectional meet with a 258-point total. Dundee-Crown co-op (Dundee-Crown, Jacobs and Hampshire) finished second (226), followed by Hersey (220), Barrington (150) and Buffalo Grove (132).

Fremd junior Ellie Patla did Ellie Patla things, again: set pool records, piled up four state berths. Patla sped to pool marks in the 200 free (1:48.54) and 100 free (50.48). She also swam on a pair of victorious relays (200 free, 1:37.4; and 400 free, 3:31.56).

Sophia Pentchev, Anna Hinshaw and Caterina Gaido joined Patla on the former; Pentchev and Anna and Ellen Hinshaw collaborated with the Wisconsin-bound Viking on the latter.

Fremd coach Andrew Kittrell was named the sectional’s swimming coach of the year.

“He cares more about us than our times,” said Vikings senior Noora Nahlawi, Saturday’s 100 breaststroke champion (1:06.97) and one-fourth of the runner-up 200 medley relay (state-qualifying 1:46.58, with Anna Hinshaw, Pentchev and Gaido). “Our mental state, our approach to swimming, is what’s most important to him.”

The unofficial co-swimmers of the meet through five events were D-C’s Anastasia Komarova and Rachel Johnson. Komarova, a Jacobs freshman, joined Johnson, Kaitlyn Tomaszewski and Eliana Niemi in winning the 200 medley relay (1:46.36). Johnson then touched first in the 200 IM (2:03.66), and Komarova zipped to a first-place 24.3 in the 50 free, recording a considerably faster result than her seed time of 25.53.

Komarova donned sunglasses before climbing a start block to receive her 50-free gold medal.

“The sunglasses came in our team’s goody bags, along with cookies and stress balls,” she said. “I had a positive attitude, a good mindset, in the 50 free. I went all out.”

Former gymnast Ella Yang, a Barrington junior, shone brightly off the boards in the sectional’s morning segment, edging Buffalo Grove sophomore Allison Houston 489.65-483.4 for the diving title.

“I focused on consistency,” said Yang, a first-year diving club member (Windy City) this past summer. “I woke up feeling good, ready to dive. But I did not think I’d take first.

“I just wanted to qualify for state.”

Houston broke the Bison 11-dive record she had set at the MSL meet last weekend. Her 6-dive mark of 260.2 this fall supplanted the BG record that was set in 1989. Houston’s classmate Emily Krause placed third in diving (472.05) ahead of other likely at-large state qualifiers: Barrington’s Iris Stennet (462.75) and Fremd’s Mihika Tillu (442.1).

BG’s Joe Eckert was recognized as the sectional’s diving coach of the year.

Bison senior Ella Houston, Allison’s big sister, won Saturday’s 500 free in 4:56.15 and also qualified for state in the 200 free with a runner-up time of 1:51.63, in front of classmate Payton Menely (3rd, 1:54.96) and state qualifiers Anderson (1:55:09) and Isabella Fontana (1:55.5) of Crystal Lake South co-op.

“I wanted to go faster in the 500 free,” said Ella Houston, the reigning state runner-up in the distance event. “I’m going to work hard on my turns before state; I need to swim into them more.”

“Ella,” Bison coach Mike McPartlin said, “has been pushed only twice (vs. Patla in a dual meet and vs. Whitney Young’s Joy Cheng at the Hersey Jamboree) in the 500 free this season. I’m really looking forward to seeing how she does in Friday’s state prelims.”

The two-day state meet starts Nov. 14 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.

Lake Zurich junior Alicia Czosnyka earned a third trip to state Saturday after clocking a runner-up 2:04.96 in the 200 IM. She then took second in the 500 free with a state-qualifying 5:01.55.

“I’m proud of her and I’m excited for her,” said LZ coach Jill Kragseth. “Alicia trains hard and sets high goals for herself.”

Other state-qualifying swims at Saturday afternoon’s Barrington sectional: Pentchev (1st, 100 fly, 57.03); Johnson (1st, 100 back, 54.85); D-C’s 400 free relay (Tessa Iverson, Olivia Burczynski, Niemi and Johnson; 2nd, 3:35.42); Niemi (2nd, 100 free, 52.63; and 3rd, 100 back, 58.59); Anderson (3rd, 100 free, 52.92); Barrington sophomore Elizabeth Williams (3rd, 500 free, 5:08.27) and Hersey junior Kayla Brace (4th, 500 free, 5:12.23).