Another article from a broadcast journalist

Title goes Neuqua Valley’s way
Sunday, October 09, 2005
The St. Charles North girls swimming invitational fielded some of the best teams in the state. Of the top 15 teams at last year’s state tournament, six of them were among the 13 competing squads in the North Stars pool Saturday.

As it turned out, last year’s fifth-place state finishers Neuqua Valley captured this year’s St. Charles North team title with 333 points, edging Stevenson, which had 327.5. Hinsdale Central, St. Charles North and Champaign Centennial rounded out the top five.

Host St. Charles North held up well against the tough competition. But North Stars coach Rob Rooney was a little mixed in his review of his team’s performance.

“We’re still looking for some questions to be answered regarding relays,” Rooney said. “But we swam close to our seed times so we’re right where we need to be.”

Kaylee Jamison took first place in the 50-yard freestyle and second place in the 100 butterfly.

“I think my times are right where they need to be,” Jamison said.

Jamison also feels good about the team’s season-long progress as well as their attitude.

“I think as a team our enthusiasm is just awesome,” Jamison said. “We’ve really come together.”

The North Stars’ Catherine Nosal showed her strength during the freestyle events, placing third in the 200 and
second in the 100. She was edged in the 100 by Meghan Mason of Neuqua Valley. Wildcats coach Curt Herrin has been pleased with Mason’s recent improvements.

“She made some great corrections in her freestyle events and in her race strategy and that’s going to pay huge dividends off down the road,” Herrin said.

The Wildcats enjoyed an excellent day that included seven first-place finishes. Along with Mason’s win, Kathleen Patterson won the 200 IM in 2:08.93.

But as has been the case so many times, Melissa Marik dominated. She took first place in four events and set new meet records in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.22 and the 100 back at 56.42.

“My 200 free was the best time and our relays did well,” Marik said.

Second-place Stevenson received several strong performances. Katie Michelau won the 100 butterfly in 58.42 while
Ashley Wavland set a meet record by completing the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.52. All in all, coach Karl Milkereit felt good.

“About half of us had season-best times and the other were right at their best times,” Milkereit said. “Consistency is what we’re looking for.”

Hinsdale Central showed its depth as it took third place. The Red Devils had nobody place in the top two in any event, but they placed in the top five in nine out of the 12 events. The Red Devils captured third in the 200-medley relay and Katie Heenan took third in the 500 freestyle.

West Chicago had several top 10 finishes, including ninth in the 200-medley relay, and Katie McLeland’s 10th-place spot in the 500 freestyle. For the Wildcats, the meet wasn’t so much about the standings as it was progress and personal improvements.

“We’ve been working extremely hard in practice and it’s really showing off,” West Chicago coach Len Penkala said. “The team has done a much better job this year at being consistent throughout the year and not having swings up and down. I’m happy overall.”

— Adam Bartolo

Next week, playoffs!