Metea Valley hosting a very competitive girls swimming sectional championship with trips to the state meet next Saturday on the line. Neuqua Valley is coming off a DVC Championship victory but with so many talented teams and swimmers, the sectional plaque is up for grabs. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
200 Medley Relay
The first race of Metea Valley girls swimming sectional meet is the 200 Medley Relay. The order goes backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and ending with the freestyle. Naperville Central swimming with Eden Goettsch, Clare Shiffer, Elaina Veome, and Lauren Collins in lane two. Metea Valley utilizing Halle Reifsnyder, Marley Schroeder, Amanda Schmitt and Allison Leslie in lane seven. Naperville North with Lizzie Patterson, Kelsey Wessel, Aimee Duhammel and Chloe Chen. Neuqua Valley turning to Natalie Sierzanowski, Ruhee Chetan, Emily Wu and Lizzie Rosenberg in lane three.
Starting off with a win at a time of 1:43.36 in lane four is Rosary behind Lauren O’Connor, Elizabeth Nawrocki, Becky Rentz and Olivia Moore.
200-Yard Freestyle
Next up is the 200 freestyle. Naperville Central’s Sophia Hayes in front in the early going in lane five ahead of Chloe Chen from Naperville North in lane two and Lainey Devine from Benet Academy in lane four. Ruby Meier from Waubonsie Valley in lane seven and Allie Casanovas from Rosary in lane three. Down the stretch, Hayes runs out of steam while Devine makes her move, getting to the wall just two tenths of a second over Chloe Chen to get the state qualifying spot and first place finish. Redwing Coach Sue Welker and her teammates are fired up for the senior.
50-Yard Freestyle
Next is the fastest race of the day, the 50-yard freestyle. We will see seven state qualifiers come from this event. In the final heat, Eden Goettsch from Naperville Central in lane five gets the win over Becky Rentz from Rosary. Fellow Redhawk Lauren Collins actually finishes third, even though she swam in the second to last heat. Anna Karubas from Neuqua Valley and Allison Leslie from Metea Valley are also heading to state. Goettsch is also going to state in the 100 backstroke after finising second.
100-Yard Butterfly
Now to the 100-yard butterfly after the break. Rosary with two strong swimmers in this one with Becky Rentz and Lauren O’Connor. DVC Champ Amanda Schmitt swimming hard in lane three for Metea Valley. Naperville North senior Aimee Duhammel, who qualifies for state in the 100 back later in the meet, looking strong in lane five as well. Rentz takes the win by about two seconds over Duhammel as Schmmitt takes third and O’Connor 4th, all them hit the time to qualify for state. Waubonsie Valley’s Bella Plude takes 5th and comes a half second from making state for the Warriors.
Reese Navarro Swimming Well in AWD Division
Naperville North freshman Reese Navarro swimming well as the lone representative in the Athletes with Disabilities Division as she qualifies for state in all four events she competes in, including the 50, 100, and 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke.
100-Yard Freestyle
The 100-yard freestyle features another competitive race to no surprise. Lainey Devine in lane four looking for her second win. Mia Ceballos from Plainfield in lane five, Chloe Chen from North in lane six, Anna Karubas from Neuqua in lane seven and Sophia Hayes from Central in lane three. This race finishes much faster than the 200 free as five swimmers qualify for state. Lainey Devine does hit the wall ahead of Ceballos, giving Benet two wins on the day. Chen third, Karubas 4th and Hayes 5th and all heading to state next week.
500-Yard Freestyle
Now it’s time for the long distance race, the 500-yard freestyle. Going into the final laps, it’s a race between two swimmers. Caroline Pendlay from Naperville North and Katie Gresik from the Oswego Co-Op. Gresik takes the win at 5:01.05 but Pendlay qualifies for state as well just two seconds behind and well under the 5:10 state qualifying time.
200 Freestyle Relay
Time for another relay, the 200 free variety. Some great freestyle swimmers in the sectional so this should be a fun one. In lane four is Neuqua Valley with Ruhee Chetan, Lizzie Rosenberg, Emily Wu and Anna Karubas. Oswego in lane three with Chloe Diner, Caitlin Stoddard, Madeline Liska, and Katie Gresik. Metea in lane two with Amanda Schmitt, Halle Reifsnyder, Sarah Voakes and Allison Leslie. Waubonsie in lane seven with Avery Ball, Cassidy Baugh, Colleen Quaid, and Anna Honcharuk. And Naperville Central in lane six with Sophia Hayes, Lauren Eschmeyer, Lauren Collins and Eden Goettsch. Oswego is the first place finisher with Neuqua in second and Central third. Rosary and Metea all make it to state with Waubonsie finishing 6th less than one second shy of the state qualifying time.
100-Yard Breaststroke
Only two races left as we have the 100-yard breaststroke. We actually take a quick look at the second to last heat where we see Megan Furuichi from Neuqua Valley and Paige Malinowski from Benet Academy celebrating as they hit the state qualifying time, an impressive feat for the pair. Now to the final heat and as you can imagine, plenty of great swimmers in this event. Elizabeth Nawrocki from Rosary in lane five outpaces the competition ahead of Chloe Diner from Oswego in lane four and Ruhee Chetan from Neuqua Valley in lane three. Olivia Moore from Rosary in lane six, Clare Shiffer from Naperville Central in lane two and Imogen Duffy from Benet, who also qualified for State in the 200 IM in lane seven also makes the state time and breaks the school record in the event! Eight swimmers in total moving on to next week!
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Not much drama for the team championship heading to the final race as Rosary holds a big lead, but everyone wants to finish on a high note and qualify as many as they can to state as we wrap up with the 4X400 free relay. Oswego is the favorite in lane four with Chloe Diner, Madeline Liska, Juliana Pignato and Katie Gresik. Naperville North in contention in lane five behind Chloe Chen, Lizzie Patterson, Klara Gilvydis, and Aimee Duhamel. Both teams would qualify for state but pulling away to win the 400 relay is Neuqua Valley, who get all three relays through to state. Lizzie Rosenberg, Anna Karubas, Emily Wu and Ruhee Chetan get the job done here to help the Wildcats to a second place finish. A great day of competition as the Rosary Beads win the 2022 Metea Valley girls swimming and diving sectional championship.
Complete Sectional race results can be found HERE!
