North Stars best of best

There wasn't anywhere in the state where they swam as fast as they did at St. Charles North on Saturday afternoon.

And the honor of the fastest team in the fastest sectional went to the host North Stars.

In a sectional that qualified a state-best 59 swimming entries -- and at least 1 diving entry -- to next week's state meet, St. Charles North led the way with 18 qualifiers. That total helped the North Stars to their 288.5-232 victory over Marmion.

"The process of this meet is all about the character of your kids and being able to handle the pressure of a one-time only meet," St. Charles North coach Rob Rooney said. "There aren't too many times in your life where you have one shot to get something done. The boys did a great job today with the one shot only deal."

The North Stars qualified all three relays and are represented in every swimming event heading into Friday's state preliminaries at Evanston. St. Charles North qualified both sectional entries in 7 of 8 individual events.

"We've got a ways to go," Rooney said. "We've got six days to take care of some stuff. We've got to get ourselves back and ready for next week."

Only two North Stars swimmers were fully-rested for Saturday's meet, and both turned in qualifying performances. Jason Edgar qualified in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

"This is where the hard work pays off," Edgar said. "There's no better feeling than when everything goes into place and goes right."

Edgar's performances send the junior to the state meet for the first time.

"It's just amazing," Edgar said. "It's surreal. It really hasn't sunk in yet. But it feels awesome. I think the whole team stepped it up today."

Jamie Hampton, another of the North Stars junior swimmers, qualified in the 500 freestyle, an event in which 10 swimmers bettered the state qualifying standard.

"I was prepared well and my team encouraged me before my race," Hampton said. "They encouraged me during my race to reach my full potential."

While swimming is seen as an individual sport, the team aspect could be seen throughout Saturday's meet.

"When the team comes together, it really shows in the pool," Hampton said. "We're ready to go. We've got some good chemistry going and we're expecting some big (time) drops."

Marmion qualified all three of its relays and a further 11 entries to the state meet. Similar to St. Charles North, Marmion's best swimmers were not rested for the sectional meet.

"We're there," Marmion coach Bill Schalz said. "We got in all the swimmers that we wanted to do. St. Charles North had a great day today. It'll be fun and exciting next week."

The Cadets saw some tremendous time drops from their few swimmers who were rested for the sectional. Among them was freshman Ben Kanute, who dropped 10 seconds from his seeding time and qualified as in the 500 freestyle.

"I felt great," Kanute said. "I was happy I was tapering and not going hard through the meet."

Kanute's qualification came in his only sectional swim, and he recovered after taking an extra stroke heading into his final 25 yards.

"I'm really psyched to be at state," Kanute said. "I just kicked it in at the end."

St. Charles East finished fourth in the meet and sends 2 relays and 5 individuals to the state meet.

Among those qualifiers was Ken Tiltges, who advanced in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke. Tiltges' breaststroke time (1:00.16) set a pool record -- and came in the "slow" heat, the next to last of four qualifying heats.

"During the off-season, I swim in this pool and I knew what the record was," Tiltges said. "It's kind of been a long-term goal. To do it now is kind of cool."

B.J. Roth also advanced in his two events, the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle.

"Our entire team did great today," Tiltges said. "The time we all dropped shows the work we put in the entire season. This one meet shows everything we've done."

Batavia and Kaneland, two schools without swimming teams during the regular season, each advanced one swimmer to the state meet. Batavia senior Albert Roth won the 200 individual medley and was second in the 100 butterfly. Kaneland freshman Grant Alef qualified in the 500 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.