Neuqua Valley hosts this year’s DVC girls swimming and diving championship, which always brings a high level of competition to the water. The Wildcats went undefeated during regular-season conference meets and hope to secure the DVC crown in their home pool. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The 200-yard medley relay gets the festivities underway. The Waubonsie Valley group of Mirabelle LaCoursiere, Brooklyn Landtiser, Abbey Brown, and Estelle Castaneda races in lane three. Neuqua’s collection of Taylor Tuch, Sophie Diorio, Rosie Wong, and Bree Pepping hits the water in lane five. The fastest quad in the pool to start the day is from Naperville Central, where Lexi Goldstone, Molly Moore, Maddie Saccameno, and Lily Wolski. They take the win at 149.42 as Wolski narrowly hits the wall ahead of Pepping. Waubonsie finishes third with Naperville North in fourth.
The Wildcats rack up first-place finishes
The 200 freestyle dives in next. Madelyn Hartsell from Waubonsie and Aly Rivero from Metea Valley compete against Taylor Tuch and Carolina Piater from Neuqua. This race is all Wildcats as Piater pulls away for the win at 1:53.11. Tuch touches the wall in second with Rivero in third.
The 100-yard butterfly floats into the water for one of the most competitive races of the night. Sofie Rutkowski from North, Mirabelle LaCoursiere from Waubonsie, Maddie Saccameno from Central, and Malika Madiman from Waubonsie are all near the front along with leaders Jelenna Gamilla from Metea and Annika Anderson from Neuqua. All the way at the top in lane eight, it’s Anderson who takes first place just a hair ahead of Gamilla and Madiman.
Just before the break, the fastest swimmers hit the pool for the 50-yard freestyle. Some talented young swimmers are in the hunt, including a pair of Huskie freshmen, Ella Hansen and Adeline McKenna, and Metea sophomore Olivia Linduska. But in the end it’s the veteran experience from Neuqua senior Sofia Piater, who narrowly edges Linduska at a time of 24.24.
Carolina Piater also wins the 500 freestyle over Molly Moore from Naperville Central, adding to the Wildcat win total.
Naperville Central adds another win
Neuqua looks to keep the good times rolling in the 100-yard breaststroke. Rachel Carter from Metea, Elyse Gensler from Central, and Brooklyn Landtiser from Waubonsie fight to get to the front along with Molly Moore from Central and Sophie Diorio from Neuqua. Diorio takes the win at 1:08.82 by just under a second with Moore as the runner-up. Landtiser finishes in third.
Naperville Central looks to keep pace with Neuqua at the top of the team standings. Senior captain Lexi Goldstone helps the cause as she takes a win for the Redhawks in the 100 freestyle at 53.36 seconds, just ahead of Laney Lund from Naperville North in another tight battle. Estelle Castaneda from Waubonsie is right behind them in third place, with Aly Rivero in fourth.
Sofia Piater sets a new DVC record as Neuqua takes the team title
After Neuqua wins the 200 freestyle relay, the Wildcats cap off a great meet with another first-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. Sofia Piater glides past the competition in lane four, setting a new DVC meet record with a time of 56.37. Lexi Goldstone finishes in second with Kamylle Centeno from Waubonsie in third and Laney Lund in fourth. A new conference record caps off a memorable day for the Wildcats, who win the DVC title with a team total of 305. Central finishes in second with Waubonsie in third. Metea Valley will host the sectional meet on November 7th.
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