Girls swimming: Neuqua Valley’s Piater, Fremd’s Patla among stars on first day of state meet

Friday at the girls state swimming preliminaries in Westmont, Neuqua Valley senior Carolina Piater reflected on her four years in the program.

“I’ve just gained so much more confidence now than I had in my freshman year, and I’ve grown so much,” she said.

“Back then, I looked at the older girls and I said, ‘I can’t believe they’re so fast.’ Now being one of the older girls myself is so cool.”

Piater has had success at the prelims in the past, advancing to Saturday by, as she said, ‘finishing 15th or 16th.’ But she had never finished in the top eight, which would have put her in the championship swim on day two of the meet.

Until now.

In the 200 free prelim at FMC Natatorium, Piater posted a time of 1:49.84 to finish second and punch her ticket to the championship race. She dropped more than three seconds off her qualifying time in the process.

“This is amazing,” she said. “Just to be able to do this is insane. An adrenaline rush today, knowing these will be my last races, and knowing that I’ve worked so much harder than any year before made me not give up.”

Neuqua Valley coach Chris Ranallo said Piater has been an “absolute lightning bolt” for his team.

Ranallo added that he counts on the senior because of “her mentality, her work ethic, and her great overall team presence.”

In that same 200 free, Ellie Patla of Fremd finished first at 1:46.74, while Ella Brace of Hersey, a freshman, was third (1:49.98).

“She’s very motivated,” said Huskies coach Dick Mortensen of Brace. “She came in today not really nervous, just very confident. Ella had a good warmup and felt really good. She’s a fighter too.

“Once she gets ahead, she’s not going to let anybody beat her.”

Other qualifying race winners of note Friday included Paige Kowal of Rosary in the 200 individual medley, and Aria Grossenbach from defending state champion Stevenson in the 50 free and the 100 free.

Fremd’s Patla won the 500 free; Thea Bike of St. Charles North was fastest of all in the 100 back, while Stevenson captured the 200 free relay.

Hinsdale Central was second in the 200 free relay. The top individual finishes for the Red Devils came from Lilia Barber, runner-up in the 100 fly, and Nicole Sun, second in the 100 free.

Hinsdale Central coach Bob Barber said that Sun, a sophomore, is benefiting this season from participating in the finals as a frosh last year.

“That takes the nerves away for sure,” said the coach. “Now she’s understanding how the layout of this meet is, the size of the meet, and all of the people who are here to cheer us on.

“Nicole has definitely brought a lot of help to us this season. She’s hard-working, driven to be better each day, and is very technical in the way she approaches her practices.

“The way she races, she just gives you everything she has.”