Glenbard West-South co-op feels joy of victory for first time
The Glenbard West-South girls swimming co-op hadn't won a meet all season.
Not an invitational, not even a dual meet.
The Glen Ellyn schools fixed that problem Saturday, winning the Wildcat Championships at West Chicago with 277 points.
It was also the first time the team had won the Wildcat invite.
"They raced hard," Glenbard coach Chris Flamion said. "They were watching the scoreboard. They knew what was going on."
Host West Chicago-Batavia-Geneva co-op placed second with 253 points. Plainfield co-op was third with 208, Lincoln-Way Central scored 204 and Waubonsie Valley 190. Lake Park finished sixth with 101 points, and Glenbard North-East co-op scored 62.
Glenbard West-South sophomore Kate Morris set a pool record while winning the 100 freestyle in 51.18 seconds, "which was my goal going in because last night (in the prelims) I was about a tenth off, so I really wanted that. I was really excited about it."
Morris also won the 50 freestyle, and she did it despite dealing with Achilles' tendinitis.
Teammate Molly Rosenthal won the 500 freestyle in 5:10.75, pulling away from West Chicago-Batavia-Geneva's Michaela Herwig the last couple of laps. Herwig placed second in 5:14.21, the reverse of their finish in the 200 freestyle.
"I saw her the whole race, and I was like, ready to pick it up a little sooner, but Chris kept on saying, keep it down," Rosenthal said of Herwig. "Stay steady, don't go too early, because in the (200) free I went too early and then died. The last 100 I was like, all right, I'm just going to go."
Morris and Rosenthal are just two reasons Flamion expects this season to be the best in team history.
"We are as good as we've ever been," Flamion said. "We have a really strong senior class. We've got some really strong freshmen. We've got one of the best swimmers (Morris) in the state. And it's a good balance. We can cover everything."
Ashley Sego won the 100-yard breaststroke for the host team, and Kelly Sego won the 200 IM.
"Overall pretty happy with it," said West Chicago-Batavia-Geneva coach Nick Parry, whose team is evenly comprised of students from the three schools, spawning the nickname "The Tri-op."
"We had some really nice swims. We competed well. Glenbard West just outswam us in some spots," Parry added.
The Tri-op also won the 400 free relay and the 200 medley relay.
Lily Hunt of Waubonsie Valley won the 100 butterfly.