Girls swimming: Stevenson swims to fourth straight sectional crown
Stevenson swimming coach Art Kasemets came up with the pugilistic team motto — “Ready to Rumble” — in the preseason.
“The girls took it from there,” he said, referring to the appearances of a plastic championship boxing belt and a pair of boxing gloves at recent meets, including Saturday’s Stevenson swimming and diving sectional in Lincolnshire.
“I knew back then that there would be quite a fight for state trophies by at least five teams.”
His Patriots had a knockout of a meet on Saturday, earning an eight count — make that eight wins at the 12-event meet — and 13 other state-qualifying berths en route to the program’s fourth straight sectional title and 12th since 1998.
The state meet will be held Nov. 15-16 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
Reigning North Suburban Conference champion Stevenson amassed 317 points in its home water Saturday, ahead of runner-up and reigning Mid-Suburban League champion Fremd (187) and Mundelein (third place, 139).
While standing on the awards podium’s highest step, Stevenson sophomore Aria Grossenbach held the belt and a first-place medal near her smiling face after each of the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. Her times of 22.92 and 49.74 in the sprints supplanted pool and school records held by … Grossenbach.
She had clocked program records of 23.16 in the 50 free and 50.86 in the 100 free as a 15-year-old freshman at last year’s state meet.
“I ask my freshmen every year to be sponges during the season,” said Kasemets, named Stevenson Sectional Coach of the Year. “Aria is a leader this year; she leads our practices.”
The sectional ended on a high and ear-splitting note, as Patriots sophomore anchor Vanessa Miecznikowski — trailing Fremd’s 400 free relay anchor by nearly a body-and-a-half distance when she entered the pool — caught up to the Viking near the end of the last 25 yards and touched the final wall at 3:31.68 to Fremd’s 3:31.92.
The din produced by the crowd in the stands and the swimmers and coaches on deck rivaled that of a jet taking off.
“I love it,” Miecznikowski said of serving as an anchor for junior Shay Donovan and seniors Karina Cantero and Amanda Chang. “It gives me a chance to achieve something for the team. It’s motivating, knowing my teammates are counting on me.
“I swim fast for them.”
Patriots junior Nelli Sandor motored to an impressive first-place time of 1:02.87 in the 100 breaststroke after exploding off the block with a seed time of 1:05.11. Classmate Linnea Florin won the 100 butterfly in 55.85 and then celebrated immediately with teammate and lane neighbor Claire Wang, who posted a runner-up and state-qualifying time of 56.48.
Stevenson senior Lada Volkov (490.9 points) and junior Cassidy Carlborg (486.75) finished 1-2 in diving.
Fremd sophomore Ellie Patla zipped to a first-place 1:49.67 in the 200 free and qualified for state in the 500 free (second, 4:56.87) and as a member of two runner-up relays (200 free, 400 free).
“Ellie,” Vikings coach Andrew Kittrell said, “swims with joy. That one loves to be in the water, loves to race. She’s fun to watch.”
Mundelein hadn’t qualified a relay to state since before the pandemic, Mustangs coach Rahul Sethna noted. Two Mustangs quartets, 200 medley and 400 free, advanced to state on Saturday. Amelia Willis, Karina Schwalbach, Gracyn Gigiano and Lauren Tableman combined for a runner-up time of 1:47.32 in the medley relay and collaborated again — in a different order — for a fourth-place 3:34.04 in the 400 free relay.
Tableman had endured a tough meet before the final relay, missing state cuts in the 50 free and 100 free by agonizing tenths of a second. But she came up big as the second leg in the final relay of the day.
“As soon as Lauren went 52.5, I knew we’d be okay,” said Sethna, who received more swift swims from Willis in the 100 backstroke (first place, 56.13) and in the 100 free (second, state-qualifying 51.29). “‘Full send’ — that was our message to our relay swimmers today.”
Lake Zurich sophomore Alicia Czosnyka might have had the time drop of the day, paring nearly 7 seconds off her seed time in the 200 IM to win in 2:03.95.
“I just tried to race the girls and not be nervous,” said Czosnyka, who trains at RISE Aquatic Club in Libertyville because LZHS does not have a pool. “No way did I think I’d go 2:03. I was shocked when I saw my time.”
Buffalo Grove junior Ella Houston won the 500 free easily, matching the feat she had achieved at last weekend’s MSL Meet. The water Bison churned to a 4:50.7 on Saturday, more than 6 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
“I got up this morning and was excited to swim,” said Houston. “I like the 500 and I like the mile.
“I could never swim the 50 free.”
BG placed fifth in the team standings (106 points), bettering sixth-place Barrington by 10 points and eighth-place Palatine by 54 points.
Carmel Catholic senior Hannah Green qualified for state with a runner-up 58.07 in the 100 back.
Fremd sophomore Mihika Tillu (476.75 points) and Barrington senior Eva Coonrad (460.6) finished third and fourth, respectively, in Saturday morning’s diving segment.
“Mihika has powerful takeoffs,” Vikings diving coach Donna O’Brien said of the first-time state qualifier. “She got it done.”
Said Fillies diving coach Lisa Christianson: “Eva trains year-round and eats, sleeps, breathes diving. She has clean lines and can rip any dive.”
Diving champ Volkov bounced back nicely right after missing her second dive, nailing a back one-and-a-half somersault with a one-and-a-half twist (DD: 2.5).
“Lada is a combination of hard work and dedication,” Pats diving coach Jon Roby said.
Other state-qualifying results included Stevenson’s 200 medley relay (first place, 1:45.2; Lydia Cobb, Kate Motl, Florin and Cantero); Stevenson’s 200 free relay (first place, 1:35.89; Florin, Karina Zakabluk, Aika Elzey and Grossenbach); Stevenson freshman Daniella Berger (first place in the Athletes with Disabilities’ four events — 200 free, 50 free, 100 free and 100 breaststroke); BG’s Houston (second, 200 free, 1:50.65); Stevenson’s Donovan (second, 200 IM, 2:05.24); Stevenson’s Sandor (second, 50 free, 23.78); and Fremd’s Noora Nahlawi (second, 100 breaststroke, 1:04.45).
Also, a pair of Fremd relays, 200 and 400 free, get to compete at state next weekend. Patla is on both, as is sophomore Anna Hinshaw. They’ll join Katherine Schillinger and Caterina Gaido (200 free) and Sophia Pentchev and Eric Myers (400 free).
Third-place swimmers who also qualified for state included Stevenson’s Wang (200 IM, 2:06.61); LZ’s Czosnyka (500 free, 4:58.62); and Stevenson junior Heidi Swerkun (100 back, 1:05.27).
At Deerfield: Maine South (255), Libertyville (238) and Hersey (175) went 1-2-3 in a highly competitive sectional field, with South’s Hawks entrants emerging victorious in 8 of the 12 events.
Maine South’s Maeve Przekota won the 200 IM (2:06.76) and 100 back (57.69), and teammate Sarah Juiris won the 50 free (23.27) and 100 free (50.95). South’s Sophia Wandel was the only state qualifier in the 500 free (5:08.28) after advancing to state in the 200 free (first place, 1:54.2).
South’s triumphant relays were the 200 free (1:37.03) and 400 free (3:31.15). Juiris, Gabi Szymanski, Kendall Bai and Amelia Aguila swam for the former, and Szymanski, Wandel, Przekota and Juiris hit the water for the latter.
Libertyville’s 200 medley unit relay of Elle Klotz, Ellie Shafer, Madison Southwell and Annie Lock collaborated for a first-place 1:47.36. Southwell (57.84) and Warren’s Elizabeth Richie (58.3) went 1-2 in the 100 fly.
Hersey’s top performer was sophomore Claudia Glinko (fourth, 100 back, state-qualifying 58.19).
Vernon Hills diver Olivia Tran plunged to a runner-up total of 461.3. Junior teammate Sophia Kamarauli bronzed in the 100 back (58.16).
At Leyden: The host school finished fourth (130 points). Eagles sophomore Julia Zorniak took sixth (330.6 points) in diving.
At York: The host Dukes topped the field with 249 points, followed by Schaumburg (second, 223), Rolling Meadows (sixth, 102).
York won the 200 medley relay and got first-place showings from diver Mia Carone (475.4 points) and Sophia Amendola (100 back, 56.83). Gabrielle Miller, Kathleen McCarthy, Amendola and Samantha Szejner linked for a 1:43.69 in the triumphant relay.
Schaumburg senior Zuzanna Krasnicki topped the 50 free field with a 23.4 and served as the lead-off leg on a pair of victorious relays (200 free and 400 free). Diana Bobiv, Veronika Mieczkowski and Annabel Banicz joined her in the 200 free (1:36.77), and Bobiv, Banicz and Nina Gwin swam the other legs in the 400 free relay (3:31.36).
Rolling Meadows junior Elise North touched second in the 50 free (state-qualifying 23.95).