Girls swimming: St. Charles North 2nd at own invite
There was a real-world opportunity to measure the heart in St. Charles North's girls swim team on Saturday when adversity materialized in the North Stars' annual invitational.
It turns out the team's heart is off the charts. Leading most of the meet despite being seeded to finish second, the North Stars suffered when their 200-yard freestyle relay was disqualified.
The wet hosts dug deep, produced strong results in the final third of the meet and nearly won the meet when Neuqua Valley saw its 400 freestyle relay disqualified.
"In a way, it is good preparation for championship time of the season," St. Charles North assistant coach Jennifer Olsen said. "The kids have to be ready in case things don't go their way. It doesn't usually go the way you forecast it."
North Stars head coach Rob Rooney was out of town for a wedding. One of the team's star swimmers - Monica Guyett - was on a college visit.
But in Audrey Guyett, Monica's younger sister, the North Stars have a star, and the sophomore won the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle.
Other North Stars veterans also had strong meets. Sam Sauer provided a crucial win in the 100 backstroke when points were needed late in the meet. Sauer was also second in the 100 backstroke.
"All of us on the team are run down," Sauer said. "It's October and it's kind of hitting us right now. But we tried to push through this meet."
Facing adversity, Sauer said there was little doubt the North Stars would rally.
"We put that (200 freestyle relay) aside and made sure to look at our upcoming events," Sauer said "We made sure we were behind each other's lanes, cheering each other to give it our all."
With stellar swims from unsung heroes like Mallory Jump, the North Stars slowly took control. Jump was fourth in the 200 IM and fifth in the 100 butterfly. Rachel Ponte was fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
"(Ponte) gave it everything she had in the breaststroke," Olsen said. "She was swimming in an outside lane and she stepped up."
After Sauer's success and Ponte's inspiring swim, Sauer, Jillian Waslawski, Grace Samuelson and Guyett won the 400 freestyle relay by 5 seconds.
"At the end of the day, all the things that happened point toward what these kids are learning on the journey," Olsen said. "Even though they came up short, the character they showed and the fact that they were still fighting for it was good."
The Bartlett-Streamwood co-op finished a strong sixth. Kayla Filipek won the 50 freestyle and also claimed the 100 freestyle title.
"My 50 went pretty well," Filipek said. "That's the fastest I've gone this season. The 100 was OK, but there's still a lot I need to do with it."
The Sabrehawks also got a fourth-place finish from Sarah Hanning in the 100 butterfly and the 400 freestyle relay finished second.
"(Hanning) is a senior who has been a solid flyer and backstroker," Bartlett-Streamwood coach Jeremy Meserole said. "She swam her sophomore year here and then she was injured last year. She has been a nice boost."
The Batavia-West Chicago co-op was ninth. The tandem of Myanna Cook and Natalie Nelson keyed the team's results. Nelson as sixth in the 50 freestyle and fifth in the 100 freestyle while Cook was third in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 butterfly.
"Usually we're not very good here," Batavia-West Chicago coach Nick Parry said. "We're beat up and sick and hurt. But I am happy with how we did. Normally, we blow up at this meet and this year, we didn't."