Neuqua V. wins 3rd straight UEC title

The elite athletes who constitute the core of the Upstate Eight Conference girls swimming and diving teams were up to their old tricks Saturday afternoon at St. Charles North.

But the single-division league championship was once again determined by the depth, balance and relay dominance displayed by Neuqua Valley.

The traditional power captured its third straight conference title, turning back determined efforts by St. Charles East and St. Charles North with 295 points.

Waubonsie Valley, which had two individual champions, was fourth, followed by Metea Valley, Lake Park, Bartlett, South Elgin and Elgin.

Gia Dalesandro, Maggie Maxstadt and Megan Childs were the workhorses for the Wildcats’ latest league championship.

Dalesandro won the 100-yard backstroke after finishing runner-up in the 100 butterfly, and Maxstadt anchored a pair of relay triumphs.

Maxstadt was quick to credit coach Brandon King as the difference for the Wildcats.

“(King) is probably the best coach I’ve ever had in high school,” Maxstadt said after helping the Wildcats’ 200 freestyle relay win in one minutes, 39.31 seconds. “This (the 200 relay) is a preview of what we can do. There is not a weak link in our relays.”

Dalesandro, Maxstadt, Courtney Taylor and April Niccolai opened the meet by winning the medley relay; for the afternoon Neuqua Valley would garner 90 out of a possible 96 points in the three relays.

Dalesandro, runner-up in the 100 butterfly, came back to win the 100 backstroke, the lone athlete to better the minute-mark.

“I would have to say that I was most pleased with my 50 back (leg in the medley relay),” Dalesandro said. “The rest of my times weren’t anywhere near my best.”

Childs was also brought home an individual title in the 100 freestyle after a second-place result at 200 yards in the same discipline.

The Wildcats’ junior leader was also a member for the second-place 400 relay quartet, and Neuqua Valley also received important contributions from Eileen Skowronski and Sydney Gathe.

“The mental edge in swimming is so important,” King said. “That’s what we had over the rest of teams today.”

Madeline Hunt powered Waubonsie Valley with her championship effort in the 50 freestyle and a second-place result to Delasandro in the 100 backstroke.

“It’s really hard to tell if you’re in the lead or not,” Hunt said of her 24.63-second clocking in the 50.

Senior Taylor Eggenberger earned the Warriors’ other title with a one-sided victory in the diving competition.

Megan Sellers’ conclusion to her day could not have been scripted better.

The first female state qualifier in any sport in Metea Valley history won the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.29.

“I thought (the race) was going to be a lot closer than it was,” the three-time state finalist in the event said. “I was pretty happy with my times.”

Taylor Johns’ third-place showing in the 500 freestyle anchored the Lake Park effort.

“I want to keep on progressing and keep on swimming better for the sectional,” Johns said.

The Neuqua Valley team championship overshadowed an otherwise brilliant day for St. Charles East senior Emma Smith.

With two career state runner-up performances to her credit, Smith was the individual sensation of the nine-team meet with her pair of conference-record championships.

The Yale-bound Smith erased the seven-year benchmark former Neuqua Valley state champion Melissa Marik established in the individual medley by performing the four separate disciplines in 2:06.74.

Smith denied St. Charles North freshman sensation Megan Popp, who was one-tenth behind the conference record previously held by Marik, to win by nearly four-tenths of a second.

But Smith was even more daring in the 500 freestyle, breaking Laura Lipskis’ 12-year standing conference record with her clocking of 4:59.05.

The sub-five-minute time over the 10 laps also broke the North Stars’ pool record.

Smith came back in the meet-closing 400 freestyle relay to team with Mary Snyder, Ashley Shanel and Nicole Chapko to claim the Saints’ third title on the afternoon.

“It feels really good (to be the new conference-record holder),” Smith said. “I was really happy with (also breaking the pool record in the 500 freestyle). We’re definitely at the end of the hard part of the season. I’m looking forward to a good (state series).”

The other linchpin for the Saints was junior Chapko, who has had to alter her normal sequence of events after an off-season knee injury.

Chapko, third in the 100 butterfly, was also a key contributor on the Saints’ second- and third-place relay quartets in the 200 freestyle and 200 medley.

“I feel really confident with our (400 freestyle) relay,” said Chapko, the anchor.

The junior, a returning state qualifier in the individual medley and 100 breaststroke, has been limited to the butterfly and freestyle after dislocating her knee last summer.

“We had some great swims by some young kids today,” St. Charles East coach Joe Cabel said. “(Second-place overall) was a great meet for us.”

Snyder and Stephanie Garvin went 2-3 in the 100 freestyle for the Saints, who totaled 253 points to the 211 secured by St. Charles North for second overall.

With Smith dominating the meet with her new league records, Lauren Zima was not about to be left in the dark regarding top-flight performances.

The Minnesota-bound senior from St. Charles North became the final multiple individual titlist with her twin wins in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

Zima held back Neuqua Valley specialists Childs in the freestyle and Delasandro in the butterfly to record the North Stars’ only titles.

The senior was also the key cog on the North Stars’ respective second- and third-place relay efforts in the medley and 200 freestyle varieties.

“I knew there was going to be awesome competition,” said Zima, a returning state medal-winner in the 100 butterfly. “I usually have a stronger back half (in the 200 freestyle). We have worked so hard this year, fighting through injuries. (A good team showing at conference) would be a great motivator going into the sectional.”

“That was great for (Zima) and the program,” St. Charles North coach Rob Rooney said of Zima.

Popp secured a second runner-up finish to Sellers’ kick in the 100 backstroke, and the North Stars’ Anna Burns was the third individual silver medalist with her second-place showing in diving.

Hannah Rueger was the star performer for the athletes from Elgin-are U-46 in attendance.

After a less-than-pleasing 11th-place finish in the 50 freestyle, the Storm four-year varsity member had the best local showing in any of the individual races with a fifth-place swim in the 100 freestyle.

Rueger also played central roles in relay finishes for the Storm in the medley and 200 freestyle races.

“My 50 (freestyle result) was a little disappointing, because I consider that to be the better of my two (individual) events,” Rueger said. “I was very happy with where I finished in the 100, though.”

Rueger teamed with Carly Mette, Emily Logan and Morgan Reeves in the meet-opening medley relay; the senior swam the butterfly leg in leading the Storm to eighth place in the event.

“It’s a nice relief from freestyle,” Rueger said of switching her normal anchor duties in the event.

“I think everyone of the girls had a personal best this season,” South Elgin coach Denise Bourgoin said. “I’m always more concerned with time than place.”

Kerstin Ford anchored the Bartlett fortunes.

The junior was ninth in the 100 breaststroke, and the Hawks’ Cecily Herby was the only other individual to place with her individual medley performance.