Repeat victory in breaststroke for Barrington's Fogle

There was no state record in the 100-yard breaststroke for Barrington senior Emily Fogle, but she did get to savor the taste of victory once more.

Fogle took command of the race early and stayed comfortably ahead of the entire championship heat on Saturday at New Trier High School, finishing in 1:02.64 to repeat as state champ.

Her time was also a bit slower than the one she delivered in Friday's preliminaries - that one, a 1:02.27, was the fastest Fogle has yet performed the race, and it's the third-fastest time in the history of IHSA swimming.

"In any meet, you really can't ask for more than a personal best, and I got that (Friday)," Fogle said. "I guess I'm a little disappointed with my time today. I wanted to be a little bit faster, but that's just part of swimming."

Fogle did deliver a best time earlier in Saturday's session in the 200 IM (2:05.20), faster by nearly a second than her prelim effort. She finished third in the finals, also an improvement by one place on her seed time.

Fogle also led off Barrington's 200 free relay, which held its seed position, finishing fourth in 1:37.31. After Fogle came juniors Kate Valentine, junior Anne Jacobsen and sophomore Erika Elliott, who produced a split of 23.9, her first time under 24 seconds.

Of Fogle, Elliott said: "She's a great teammate, the best. She's such a hard worker in practice, so supportive of all of us, and just such a great swimmer."

Barrington coach Jim Bart said that directing Fogle presented an unusual problem for him because of the elite level she'd reached.

"The thing for me was finding a way to keep her challenged," he said. "For someone like Emily, you need to find a way to keep improving, keep things going forward."

Bart said he thought Fogle's victory the previous year helped this time around.

"We learned a lot last year," he said. "With being prepared and getting ready, I thought she did a nice job."

Rosary, buoyed by senior Olivia Scott's state record effort in the 100 butterfly (53.09) and another individual win in the 200 IM, cruised to its fourth straight state title under coach Bill Schalz with 177 points. New Trier (129) was second, and Fenwick (96) edged Evanston (86) for third.

The Fillies placed ninth with 53 points. If Barrington's top-seeded medley relay had not been disqualified on Friday and had gone on to win Saturday, the Fillies could have finished with 96 points, which would have placed them fourth.

Diving also had a champion who'd been there before. And like many of her dives, the career of Stevenson senior Kerrin Seymour had nearly perfect symmetry. As a freshman, she won a state championship.

As a senior, she's a champion again.

Seymour nailed the first dive of her final three, an inward 11/2 in the tuck position. She received scores ranging between 7 and 9, which turned out to be enough to vault her past Deerfield sophomore Erin Purdy and Hinsdale Central senior Abby Grilli, who'd been barely ahead of Seymour entering the finals.

Seymour finished with a score of 439.25, New Trier's Paige Grant took second at 434.10 and Grilli was third at 431.55.

The key, Seymour said, was being able to relax.

"My freshman year, I really didn't know what to expect from state," she said. "This year, I don't know, it just seemed fun - you know, I'll do my best, and hopefully that's good enough."

Sandwiched between her state titles, Seymour finished fourth as a sophomore and third as a junior, giving her a remarkably successful career. Though many divers have won multiple state titles, only two others - Fremd's Hanna Shin and Rockford Auburn's Carrie Zarse - won in their freshman and senior years.

Palatine junior Mallory Fisher finished eighth with a score 379.90, an improvement of two places from the previous year.

"Overall, I felt like it was a pretty good weekend," said Fisher, who battled shoulder and wrist injuries in the final weeks of the season. "I wasn't looking for anything specific - just stay consistent, make the best of the experience and see what happens."

Barrington senior Anna Etherington took a similar approach and was also pleasantly surprised.

"I went into the season thinking it would be really great just to make it into the state meet," she said. "So once I made it, I was just thinking, 'I'll just give it my best and stay positive, no limits, just go out and do it.'

"So for me, top 12 is great."

An experienced and successful pole vaulter with the Fillies' track and field team, Etherington said the close quarters and intense setting on deck at New Trier helped bring out her best.

"I absolutely love it," she said. "Same thing in track - I like that feeling. It makes me better."

Fogle is looking forward to her college days at Purdue and a long-term goal of breaking the one-minute barrier in the 100 breaststroke.

First, though, it's a fond farewell to her time as a Barrington girls swimmer - arguably the best in its history.

"It's like this is the end of a big part of my life, so in that way, it's kind of sad," she said. "It's been a privilege to swim with these girls every day."