We dive into our latest girls swimming with a heavyweight DVC battle between Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central. Both teams enter as the top two teams in the conference, with neither losing a DVC match this season. That will all change tonight at the pool in Central, where only one will win. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Redhawks start with a relay win
We get things flowing with our first race of the day, the 200-yard medley relay. It’s a four-on-four between both schools, and the event starts in favor of the home team. The Redhawks in lane 5, featuring Aubrey and Penelope Walker, Leah Fortt, and Amelia Kreamer, have Central soaring early. They take the race three seconds over second, with a time of 150.57.
Now to individuals, in the 200-yard freestyle event. The Wildcats look to start individuals strong, and they do just that with a win. Sofia Piater is the recipient of the first wall touch, as she sets the tone for the individual events, claiming the top spot with a time of 1:56.90, to put the Cats in the win column.
Another 200-yard trial is up; this time it’s the IM race. It is two for two in individuals so far, not just for Neuqua, but the Piater siblings as well. Coralina Piater follows her sister to the top and paces the competition, winning the race by six seconds over teammate Rosie Wong in second place, with a time of 2:13.17.
Neuqua racks up the first-place finishes
The shortest race of the day is our last race before the dive break, the 50-yard freestyle. Both teams are eager to enter the intermission with an individual win, and it would come down to the Wildcat in lane two, against the Redhawk in lane three. The result is a hat trick for Neuqua as Rylie Capps outswims Elyse Gensler by half a second to claim another individual race for the blue and yellow.
We resume with races after diving into our 100-yard butterfly. The Cats are licking their chops for another first-place finish, and they are served another win. It’s delivered in the form of Sofie Diorio, who gets it in a three-way race to the line ahead of teammate Rosie Wong and Redhawk Natalie Wesolowski. Neuqua maintains individual control of the race as we head deeper in the match.
Another 100-yard race, this one the freestyle. It comes down to another three-way showdown to the finish. Two on one for the Wildcats in Bree Pepping and Charlotte Lee and Molly Moore for Central. It is Pepping in lane four, propping up another individual race win for Neuqua, winning by .11 over teammate Lee.
We jump right into our longest race of the night, the 500-yard freestyle. The difference in length is no hurdle for Neuqua, as Carolina Piater earns multiple wins on the night, pacing the field well behind her and claiming the high spot again with an overall time of 5:17.37.
The Wildcats take home another DVC dual victory
Central looks to regain its footing as we head back in the relays with the 200-yard freestyle. It’s another race to the line between the two sides, but this time the Redhawks in lane five edge out the Wildcats in lane four. The team of Lily Wolski, Molly Moore, Elyse Gensler, and Lexi Goldstone take it with a final time of 1:39.89. The RedHawks have dominated the relays on the night.
But Central’s momentum is short-lived, as we head back to individuals in the 100-yard backstroke. It’s another Piater on top for Neuqua; this time Sofia dashes off to another win. Neuqua sweeps the final races, as well as the individual races across the board, as they hand the Redhawks their first DVC loss of the season by a score of 112-73. Each team has one DVC meet remaining as we head towards the Postseason.
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