Barrington hopes to build on relay tradition

Traditions are part of the state meet experience for the Barrington girls swimming team.

The Fillies have made a habit of qualifying for the state meet in all three relays - the 200 and 400 freestyles, and the 200 medley.

They normally make a stop for a carb-laden breakfast before Friday's preliminary session on their way to whichever North Shore school is hosting the meet. This year, it's New Trier, and the prelims begin at 3:30 p.m. today, with finals slated for 1 p.m. Saturday.

On the years they opt to stay overnight in suites near the meet site, the Fillies have another tradition. They cook for themselves in order to save time that otherwise would be spent waiting for food to arrive in a restaurant. And they've been known to overcook a bit and set off smoke alarms with dishes that are a little bit too well done.

This year, they plan to limit their burnin' to the swimming pool.

The Fillies have the top seed in the medley relay, but there's a big group of teams closely bunched behind them.

In the 200 free relay, they have the seventh seed and seem capable of moving up.

The 400 free relay is the one that might determine what kind of meet Barrington ultimately has. Though currently seeded 28th, coach Jim Bart feels it can improve significantly - and he's not the only one.

"We figure each of us can go between one and two seconds faster," than at last weekend's sectional meet, said Barrington junior Jacqueline Holdsberg. "You add that all up, we're four, five, six seconds faster."

That kind of quantum leap would indeed have the Fillies scoring big points, which is, after all, the point.

Bart's program regularly sends a large contingent to the state meet, and often he concentrates his best swimmers on the relays. That's a strategic decision based on a simple standard: If a swimmer has a realistic chance to score in the top six in an individual event, that swimmer gets the opportunity to swim individually, irrespective of the team's relays needs.

If not, the team's opportunity to score points on relays wins out. Relay points are double those in individual events, so the math holds up.

There are other benefits as well.

"I just find when you get all your relays in, there's a little bit different mentality," Bart said. "Everybody's in the thing together, really trying to help each other."

Erika Elliott, a sophomore, and Anne Jacobsen, a junior, will compete on all three relays. On the medley relay, Jacobsen will handle the butterfly leg and Elliott will have the freestyle leg. Both were part of Barrington's seventh-place state finish last season, when relays again played a large role in its success as the medley and 200 free relays both finished fourth.

And this year, both would have had great chances to qualify individually in other events - Jacobsen in the 100 back, Elliott in the 100 free. Instead, they're limited to one individual race apiece - Jacobsen in the 100 fly, and Elliott in the 50 free.

Both, however, understand the reasons for the team-first approach.

"I really like relays," said Elliott, a sophomore. "I like the way you're really relying on your team's support, how you're all kind of depending on each other. I think it makes it a little easier to relax and concentrate on the race."

Jacobsen probably did have at least an outside chance to finish in the top 12 in the 100 backstroke, but she doesn't question Barrington's team-first, relay-centered approach.

"Hey, coach Bart's the boss," she said. "We all understand that this is really a team."

For Kate Valentine, relays are the only event of the weekend. She'll be on both freestyle relays, and it will be her first experience as a state meet competitor.

"For me, it's really an honor to be on the relays," she said. "I mean, just being around a swimmer like Emily (Fogle) is pretty awesome. I just want to be able to do my part."

Fogle's part figures to be quite interesting. She'll have the breaststroke leg of the medley relay, and she'll also be on the 200 free relay.

Fogle also has a great chance to defend her title in the 100 breaststroke, possibly in a state-record time, and finish somewhere in the top six in the 200 IM. But she understands that Barrington's team fortune is tied to its relay performance.

"A good taper is about 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical," she said. "It's all about confidence at this point, and the extra rest you get before the meet - not having morning workouts for a few days - really helps with that. Everybody seems to be riding just a little bit higher in the water."

Fogle is planning to finish a standout career with a bang, both individually and on the relays.

"I know the adrenaline is going to be pumping," she said. "There will be some nervousness. They key to is keep centered with all of that. It's good to excited, but you want to be controlled in the water."

Whatever happens to Barrington, it will happen together as the 400 relay finishes. Holdsberg likes the symmetry.

"It's a great way to end the season," she said. "We're truly a team."