Girls swimming and diving: Schaumburg's Mollin cherishes second-place medal
Nina Mollin swam her way to a second-place medal Saturday at the girls swimming state final tournament at New Trier.
The Schaumburg sophomore excelled in the 200-yard individual medley in Winnetka, taking the runner-up position in the time of 2:02.44.
Mollin finished just 1.34 seconds away from a state championship as Callahan Dunn of Lyons (2:01.10) took the title.
"I came out today knowing I was seeded second, and wanted to race as hard as I could," said Mollin.
"She's a great competitor," said Saxons coach Tim O'Grady of Mollin. "She's got a great spirit, she's a fantastic teammate, and she really shows up in the big races."
Mollin said that throughout the race, she wasn't exactly sure what position she was in.
"I didn't know I was second," she said. "I thought I was maybe fourth or fifth, but I felt that I was getting close to Callahan. I was surprised - and amazed - when I found that I had finished second. Last year I was sixth (in the IM), this year second - maybe next year, first?"
"Callahan just got away from her on the backstroke," added O'Grady. "Nina's goal today was to stay with Callahan as best she could in the backstroke to give herself a chance."
Annika Wagner of Maine South, a senior, was awarded two second-place medals Saturday, in the 200 free with a time of 1:47.16, and in the 500 free (4:51.17).
Jane Smith from Palatine took third in the 500 free and fourth in the 200 free.
"She's had a stellar four years," said Pirates coach Katie Kupka of the senior, who will swim for the University of Missouri team this fall. "Jane has competed on Saturday at the state tournament the last three years, and I think that experience has helped her.
"The best thing about Jane is that she has this infectious, positive attitude. The confidence that she has, and that positive attitude, really has led to all the success that she's had."
Michelle Kaner from Maine West, a freshman, earned sixth place in the 100 backstroke, while sophomore Madison Dohrn of Schaumburg was right behind in seventh.
Another freshman, Maggie Papanicholas from Hersey, distinguished herself while earning the third-place medal in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:03.19.
Area divers stepped up as well in Winnetka as Barrington's Anna Mae King (434.10) took second place; Anais Gonzalez Posso of Palatine (414.90) was ninth; and Lucy Ordway of Barrington (401.10) took 12th place.
"Anais does her best when she has a positive mindset," said Kupka. "She came out here and had fun today."
Alyssa Schwengel of the Fillies was 10th overall in the 50 free with a 23:83, while the Barrington 400 free relay team (Emily Bucaro, Lauren Holman, Lilian Reader, and Schwengel) finished 11th.
Individually, Reader was fourth in the 500 free (4:53.44), while teammate Maggie Graves (4:54.15) placed sixth.
Bucaro, a sophomore, also took home the eighth-place medal in the 200 free, with a time of 1:52.27.
"I know my coach (Alex Mikolajewski) was worried about what the times would be today," said Bucaro. "I had to focus, and he told me that I shouldn't think about my times, just worry about where everyone else was and try to go out and finish first in my heat. I knew what to expect out here after the prelims, and coach always says just to go out in the prelims and try to get your best placement for the finals. I just kept positive and had a lot of fun."