Girls swimming: Fremd in fine form vs. Hersey

For an early season Mid-Suburban League girls swimming and diving dual meet, this one nearly had it all.

Great depth for both teams, and each of them powers within their respective divisions. Excellent diving, competitive individual races and hotly contested relays all the way through.

Just one thing was missing: Hersey's coach, Dick Mortensen.

He participated as best he could from his hospital bed on Thursday, while recovering from surgery to address a burst appendix. True to form, he was keeping track of things from afar.

"Flyers looked great," Mortensen observed, via text message, after hearing of their times.

Indeed, Huskies senior Jenny Lutz was terrific in taking second place in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:01.24, keying a 2-3-4 Hersey finish with teammates Julia Gerstung and Bianca Teves.

But Fremd had plenty of firepower, too, and enough to win as the Vikes prevailed 108-78.

The relays were one key, as Fremd managed to win all three. The common thread in each of those efforts was junior Emily Bolger, who actually had a hand in designing the meet lineup for Fremd coach Andrew Kittrell.

Bolger also produced an individual victory in the 100 back but says she takes special pride in performing with her teammates.

"I love the relays," she said. "They're just more fun, and I never have any problem getting ready to race them."

There were plenty of bright spots for Hersey, including Olivia Kusio edging out Fremd's Rebecca Ballo in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.84-1:07.87) and Abby Johnstone winning the 200 free (2:07.91) after a close race with the Vikes' Anna Miller.

But Fremd's divers negated Hersey's strength in that event by getting a winning effort from senior Emily Zukowski (213.15) and a fourth-place finish from Carly Goodsite (203.80). In between were Hersey's Alexandra Heidrich (212.65) and Madeline Bovino (211.80).

"We got what we expected to get here, which is great competition," said Hersey diving coach Tom Schwab. "We did fine, and we know we can improve - and we will."

Freshman Sophia Kuehn was a force for Fremd in winning the 200 IM (2:13.42) and 100 fly (1:00.32). Freshman teammate Sarah Rothmeyer won the 500 free (5:45.44), sophomore Lauren Savage took the 50 free (25.75) and Miller and senior Emily Kini provided a 1-2 Vikes finish in the 100 free.

In case anyone is wondering whether Fremd's victory had anything to do with Mortensen's absence, think again.

"We all knew what to do," said Kusio, a two-time state qualifier and the conference's defending champ in the 100 breast. "Every single one of our coaches is awesome, and they did a great job of getting us ready."

Thursday's meet starts a busy stretch for Fremd, which has another dual Friday against Glenbrook South before an invitational at Lyons on Saturday.

It sure looks like Fremd is a team that bears watching in the long run.

"We've got a big team, so it's taking a little while for everybody to figure out exactly how and when to cheer - like for the relays," Bolger said.

Prospect d. Conant: The visiting Knights came up with a 1-2 finish in the 400 free relay to wrap up a 106-80 victory.

Prospect won the medley relay as well and got a winning 217.55 score from diver Meghan Schmit. Individual Knights winners included Kaitlin Sattley (200 free), Samantha Berkley (100 fly) and Megan Pfeiffer (100 back).

Conant had a double winner in Aly Wooley (50 free, 100 free) and also had top finishers in Esther Song (100 breast), Sarah Erne (500 free) and Lea Cejvan (200 IM).

Schaumburg d. Wheeling: Hana Mollin and Hannah Pearson both came up with a pair of victories as Schaumburg earned a 126-52 victory over host Wheeling.

Mollin was tops in the 100 back and 100 fly, while Pearson won the 100 breast and 500 free.

The Wildcats got a pair of victories from Megan Hergert (50 and 100 free).

Buffalo Grove d. Palatine: The host Bison excelled in the sprints, getting a 1-2-3 finish in the 50 free from Samantha Swanson, Katie Wasilewski and Sarah Harner and a 1-2 finish in the 100 free from Swanson and Alexandra Jedryka in a 96.5-88.5 victory.

Palatine had double winners in Ellis Nelson (200 IM, 100 fly) and Jane Smith (200 free, 100 breast), and single victories from Katelyn Kurrie (100 back) and Sydney Aikman (diving).

Barrington d. Rolling Meadows: Fast times abounded as the host Fillies topped Rolling Meadows 131-50.

Top efforts came from Barrington's Bridget O'Leary in the 200 free (1:55.37) and 100 fly (1:00.00), Ally Penrod in the 100 free (53.72), Maggie Emary in the 500 free (5:02.10) and Catherine Kitzman in the 200 IM (2:14.93) and 100 breast (1:07.70).