Stevenson's Seymour is a champion - again
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 during Saturday afternoon's state meet at New Trier, 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.
Seymour's coach, Don Carmichael, was happy to have witnessed the arc of her remarkable career.
"It's been a great honor to be her coach," he said. "She's the most talented diver I've ever coached."
One key to her consistent success, Carmichael said, is Seymour's ability to perform under pressure.
"In this setting, if you hesitate, it's over," he said. "She's always been somebody who was able to thrive on that. It actually made her better."
Another senior, Melanie Rowland, also put the finishing touches on her high school aquatics career. Her future is at Towson University in Maryland, but she was pleased to be able to reflect on four years at Vernon Hills that had a happy ending.
She placed sixth in the 200-yard freestyle and 11th in the 500, personally giving Vernon Hills a tie for 26th place in the team standings.
"My times weren't exactly what I wanted them to be today," said Rowland, "but I have no regrets. I left it all in the pool."
Libertyville's Maggie Boling qualified for the championship heat of the 100 breaststroke but was disqualified for a butterfly kick indpendent of her pullout from the wall.
Her coach, Erik Rogers, was disappointed at the outcome Saturday, but he remianed nothing but thankful to have had the senior on the team.
"She's everything you want in a swimmer," he said. "She's one of our hardest workers, one of our captains - the kind swimmer you need your other kids to look up to."
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.