I actually really like that the LF coach is putting Pyshnenko in the 200 relays and the 50 free. Maybe she gets put in the 400 free relay on Saturday? I actually think that LF would get more points if Haley Nelson would scratch the 200 free and do the 3 relays and 100 back. If they load up their free relays, I think they win both of them. I just don't know how many points she'll end up with in the 200 and it's hard swimming 200's fast in back-to-back days.
Some other big story lines from this sectional include Mundelein making some big time drops, Libertyville's medley relay loses, and a stud sophomore (Anhelina Kutsko, apparently a foreign transfer student) from Grant High School looks to be a big player in the 50 and fly.
Time for some highlights and look at the times:
Medley Relay
... LF drops 3 seconds in a week to go a 1:45.21. They just have to hold that time to make top 6. The question is can their breast and fly legs hold on? I'm going to guess that their final time will be about the same. I expect Nelson and Pyschnenko to drop time and the other two to add. Note: Pyshnenko was 22.77! 2nd seed going into state.
... Libertyville has taken a lot of criticism even though they've been the top ranked medley relay all year. They continued to drop their time, but not in big fashion like LF or Warren, two other schools that made the cut. The only real difference from their Conference to Sectionals splits is their breaststroker. Macey Neubaurer was a 29.53, which pretty much made for the 0.7s time drop from conference. I'll be interested to hear what the Mundelein and Warren fans think of the Libertyville relay now, since that was previously a pretty hot topic earlier. 9th seed going into state.
...Warren gets their medley through with a nice beginning and ending split (26.89 and 24.14 from Courtney Barker and Danielle Glisovich).
... The fastest back split was from Lakes = Madison Rinaldi in 26.39. More on her later.
200 Free
... Erin Falconer (Mundelein) dropped 2 seconds down to a very fast time 1:50.30. Her speed is very obviously coming back. She was out in a 52.8 then had a 5 second deviation in her 2nd 100. Does she have 4 more seconds to drop? I think that's what it'll take. 1:46 low or 1:45 high. 2nd seed going into state.
... Haley Nelson (LF) also drops 2 seconds down to a 1:51.72. If she can hold that, it will be borderline top 6. If she adds a second, she gets 0 points. I like her in 3 relays and the back. It's more likely for her to be fast in all four races not just on Friday, but on Saturday when you actually score the points. Either way, a very nice 200 swim for her. 3rd seed going into state.
... No other 200 qualifiers... that's weird. This is a very sparsely qualified event like the 500.
200 IM
... Reilly Lanigan (LF) drops about 3.3s down to a 2:04.65 to easily win. Her splits are impressive, because there is no weakness. 27.3, 31.0, 37.5, 28.6. I'm going to say that she's going to win. Gabrielle Serniute posted a time 2 seconds faster, but DGN always does a full taper and just tries to hold on at State. That might be doable for the 50's and 100's, but Lanigan looks too strong. Great swim for her... but not too great. 2nd seed going into State.
... Jennifer Kordik (Mundelein) has a fantastic swim a drops 5 seconds down to a 2:06.53. If she can hold that time, it could very well be top 12. That's a lot of time to drop for not being fully tapered, so I'm going to say that she was tapered down. That's my guess. Maybe they're saving her fastest tech suit and a shave to try and hold on. Great swim, but I don't feel great about her holding onto it. 10th going into State.
... Ella Needler (LF), Emma Richert (Libertyville), and Madison Rinaldi (Lakes) were the other qualifiers. Needler had a huge 3.5s drop to make the cut (2:09.07), Richert dropped about 1.4s (2:09.45), and Rinaldi about 2.8s (2:10.35) to just barely make it in.
50 Free
This was fast from the top to the bottom. I think there are at least 2 girls (Pyshnenko and Courtney Barker of Warren) who will make the top 6 and maybe a third with Kutsko. The 3 were 23.66, 23.77, and 23.87. Lake Forest gets 2 girls through. Maybe Madeline Smith could sneak into top 12 to score a couple points? That'd be huge for LF.
... Other qualifiers include Madeline Smith (LF) in 24.28, Lisa Cheng (Vernon Hills) 24.37, and Lucy Saucedo (Libertyville) going the cut exactly 24.59.
... Pyshnenko 5th seed, Barker 10th, Kutsko 13th.
100 Fly
You have Reilly Lanigan and Anhelina Kutsko leading the pack again. Both are high seeds going into state; 2nd and 6th respectively. I'm really interested to see what happens with Kutsko of Grant, because she pretty much swam her seed times. If she has crazy drops at State like a lot of people do at Sectionals, she could easily win 2 events. That's a big "if", but it's not unreasonable.
The fly is going to be an awesome race for places 1-5, because I fully expect Lanigan, Kutsko, Kelly McNamara (AT-WB), Maria Jardeleza (Loyola) and Rachael Kelch (Notre Dame) to all be in the hunt.
... Lanigan (LF) came back a full second faster in the 2nd 50 to beat Kutsko 56.47 to 56.80.
... LF teammate Josephine Annin continues swimming well and drops to a 57.49.
... Staci Herchenbach (LIB) drops another second to go down to a 57.89.
100 Free
The 100 free, like the 200 free, didn't have many qualifiers. Only three made it, but they had one of the best in the state. Erin Falconer (MUND) swims a nice 51.07 with an even 2 second deviation between 50s. I previously thought this was going to be an easier event, but with the addition of some fast freshmen and people moving into the event, Falconer has her work cut out for her.
... Madeline Smith (LF) has another good swim and drops exactly a second to go 52.53. If she could go that, she might sneak in top 12. That's hovering right around a top 12 time.
... Lisa Cheng (Vernon Hills) makes her 2nd individual cut and gets in with a 53.03.
500 Free
This event had some good drops for girls with 2 of them going the cut, but none of these swims will make it back on Saturday.
... Elise Vondra (LF) drops 8s down to 5:05.94
... Hannah Lange (McHenry) drops 5s down to 5:09.93
200 Free Relay
These teams don't have 200 and 500 swimmers, but they managed 5 sprint relays to get cuts with LF leading the way.
...LF easily won in 1:36.50, dropping 2s from the previous meet. Pyshnenko added a half second to her medley split. I wonder if there's race fatigue since she hasn't been competing. Maybe Saturday will be very challenging, since she hasn't had much racing practice. Either way, Lanigan and Smith hold it down with 24.0 and 24.1. 8th going into State.
... Mundelein posted a nice swim dropping over 1.5s. I don't know what to think about this relay. I really don't know where it's going to end up.
... Libertyville's 1st and 3rd legs were slower or almost the same as their open swims. If they just get a little more from those two legs, they're in scoring position with a 1:47 low-mid.
... Warren has a nice leadoff and anchor leg to help them make the cut at 1:38.45. Two 25's won't cut it to make it back on Saturday.
100 Back
4 qualifiers here and 3 with serious scoring potential. Most importantly, Haley Nelson could score huge points to help LF get team points.
... Haley Nelson (LF) 56.76 a fast swim. Just holding onto that should be close to top 6.
... Madison Rinaldi (Lakes) 57.01 a nice swim. Has potential for Top 12.
... Courtney Barker (Warren) 58.28 and looks like she's not fully tapered. I like her chances for top 12 at least, top 6 potentially too.
... Clare Wieland (LF) gets in with a 58.41
100 Breast
I think Jennifer Kordik (MUND) and Macey Neubauer (LIB) battled it out last week at conference, and they were at it again at Sectionals. Kordik wins again in a blistering 1:04.60 to a 1:04.85. It looks like they swam it stroke for stroke, because their splits were pretty much the same. It'll be interesting to see if they're able to hold on to these times. These times would definitely get them top 12. Maybe this year a 1:04.5 gets top 6? They're seeded 4th and 5th going into state.
...Kayla Smith (LF) drops 4s for a 1:05.87.
... Only 3 qualifiers.
400 Free Relay
LF drops 6s down to 3:28.84 and the fastest Sectionals time by over a full second. This relay is going top 6 I think, but I'll say that I'm a little worried about they non-HaleyNelson and non-ReillyLanigan swimmers. It seems like those two girls had big drops. I don't think there's enough gas left for me to think that this relay could win. Either way, 3:28 is flying!
... MUND goes from a 3:40.70 to a 3:33.00. I could actually see this relay going higher than the 200. Falconer and Kordik did not have great splits here and I can see both of them going much faster.
... A rare event -- Libertyville and Vernon Hills tied for 3rd at 3:34.95. I don't know Libertyville well enough and can't tell if they have more taper left or wasn't there so I can't say if they were shaved. I assume they were all suited because of the conference meet. To only drop a second makes me think they might be able to drop a bit more for top 12. Not sure. That's a tough one. Vernon Hills had a monstrous 8 second drop, so I'll go ahead and say that Sectionals was their goal.
And that's it! Lake Forest won by a ton with Mundelein taking 2nd and Libertyville coming in 3rd.
Good luck to all the girls, coaches, and parents! In the past, the Mundelein and Warren fans were very vocal, so I'm looking forward to reading your comments!