Junior Mia Marin, Wildcat Chronicle Athlete of the Week for the period between Oct. 29 and Nov. 4, placed third in the 100-butterfly at the IHSA sectional competition, earning her an individual spot on the state team.

Throughout the season, Marin has experienced a range of emotions regarding swimming.

“It was a really thrilling and fast season. It was great seeing very fast races swam by our team that records were broken and best times happening left to right. Highs of swimming is being able to drop time in an event you haven’t dropped in a while and achieving a time you’ve been wanting to reach. In swimming, it can be very frustrating when you don’t go as fast as you hoped or expected. As an athlete you always strive for the best, so it’s really easy to feel disappointed and upset when things don’t go as planned,” Marin said.

As an alternate, Marin is more than happy to attend the state competition, support her team, and step in if an event occurs in which she has to fill-in for a fellow teammate.

“I’m still training and going into state – or any big meet – focusing on my stroke and making sure I’m working on my underwaters, and little things, like good turns and starts to have a great race. Eating well is also very important especially before a meet, so I also focus on that,” Marin said. In

In addition to moving up in the seeding ranks, Marin enjoys watching Coach Parry and Coach Joshua May “cheering like crazy” from the pool deck. One of her biggest challenges is facing down her nerves before an event, but encouragement from her coaches and team helps.

“The nerves right before swimming standing behind the block will forever get me, but once you hit the water, you need to get out of that head space and trust in yourself and swim your race,” Marin said.

Batavia High School senior Hollyn Ambre also had an impressive sectional performance: she participated in both the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relay, while also placing fifth in the 50-yard freestyle, and third in the 500-yard freestyle.

Despite her own impressive performance, one of the highlights of the season centered around a teammate.

“Honestly, it was seeing Megan Sego get the 100 fly state cut. I’ve see that girl work so hard this season to get it, and she was finally able to get under the minute and then some. It was an amazing race to watch and I’m super happy for her!” Ambre said via email.

Ambre’s strategy heading into state involves as much preparation as possible, and remaining calm and collected.

“If you get too in your head, it might mess you up. Save the thinking for the five minutes I’ll have in the water during the race,” Ambre said.

She looks back on the past few months as some of her favorites.

“It went by way too fast. We won every dual meet for the fifth year in a row. I think, as a whole, this was one of our best years in and out of the water with team bonding and just overall speed. We had some great moments, and when they weren’t so great, the team was ready to step up and help get anyone right back on their feet,” Ambre said.

Although Christmas is still some time away, Ambre explained that the team will listen to Christmas music on the bus to Westmont – a tradition that dates back several years.

“It’s really easy at a meet like this to focus on what you could’ve done better, but it’s super important to acknowledge that you’d done all you can, and that it’s over and it’s time for your next race,” she said.

Geneva High School sophomore Claire Conklin also had an impressive run at sectionals, placing first in the 100 and 50-yard freestyle, as well as assisting in both the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays, which contributed to the team’s first place win and overall success.

She is currently ranked fourth in the entire state of Illinois.

As she approaches the state competition, Conklin is feeling prepared.

“Going into state, my strategy is to do everything I can beforehand to set myself up for success. When I get there, my focus is on racing, the people around me and being competitive,” Conklin said.

Despite being from different schools, the girls on the team participate in rituals and activities together in order to create a stronger bond among teammates. 

“As a team, we always do a team cheer before the meet starts and we cheer for each other during races. At practice leading up to the state meet, we sometimes knock on a piece of wood on the pool deck for good luck.” said Conklin

With an impressive second place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, and a time of 57:84, only 4 seconds less than the first-place winner, junior Megan Sego had a solid season this year.

“The highlight of sectionals was listening to the results at the end of the meet and all of my teammates and I jumping up and down when we heard that we won,” Sego said.

Sego, from Batavia High School, would not have the opportunity to swim for a high school team if not f0r WEGO’s coop arrangement. Neither Batavia nor Geneva has an indoor swimming pool on campus, nor in the local community.

“I would say that we work together very well. I think that by having more people on the team by sharing as a co-op, we get to learn more about each other and be able to treat everyone as one team,” Sego said.

She enjoys the team’s bonding activities, which include “pasta parties, weekend hang outs, and chants and cheers during meets to keep us going.”

Like many of the swimmers heading into state, Sego mentioned that maintaining a positive mentality before a race can be a struggle. However, she looks back on the 2023 as her favorite thus far.

“I had so many friends on the team and new people that I befriended along the way. We had some highs like winning many duel meets and bigger meets, and some lows, whether it was losing or maybe giving up in ourselves at times, but we found ways to break through it,” Sego said.

After her second-place individual finish in the 200-yard freestyle event at sectionals last week, as well as her relay team’s first place finish in the 200 free, sophomore Audrey Lindstrom from Batavia High School could barely contain her excitement.

“My favorite moment of the meet was when my team realized we won for the first time since 1992,” Lindstrom said.

She is no stranger to the state competition, and is eager to return again. If there is one lesson Lindstrom has taken away from swimming, it is to persevere.

“When you don’t get a time you wanted, or perform as good as you wanted, swimming has taught me to keep trying and to never give up on yourself,” Lindstrom said.

According to Lindstrom, the camaraderie the coop team has is unmatched.

“I honestly love having people from other schools because it gives me a chance to meet new people. We have pasta parties on Fridays before a meet where we get to bond,” she said.

As the state meet looms ahead, Lindstrom is focused.

“My strategy is to support my team and to keep a positive mindset. I think I am physically prepared and now it’s time to mentally prepare,” Lindstrom said.

For senior Amelia Murphy, winning first place at the IHSA sectional swim meet was the highlight of the season. The Geneva High School student, who has verbally committed to Illinois State University where she intends to continue her swimming career, considers herself lucky to be part of the WEGO team.

“Many of the girls I do (or have) swam with in the past during club season, which helped because I already knew so many girls,” said Murphy.

Murphy placed first in the 100 free at last weekend’s sectional meet with a time of 1:52:53, which is even faster than her 2022 time in the same event at state last year.

While it can be challenging to face the mental blocks of “knowing I’m racing other girls that are equally as fast, or faster, than I am,” Murphy is determined to leave the FMC Natatorium without regrets, and with a little luck on her side, is bound to perform well.

“I personally have a warmup/shake out routine I follow before each race. But specific to high school season, we always have a piece of paper near the blocks that has an outline of a hand saying ‘high five for good luck’. I always make sure to high five that piece of paper before each race at home,” Murphy said.

Heading into state, Murphy will give that paper one last high five, and intends to “leave everything I have in that pool. It’s my senior season, I want to go out knowing I put everything I had into my final races.”

While West Chicago Community High School senior Cora Garling is quick to say she will not officially be competing at state, the previous Wildcat Chronicle Athlete of the Week expressed she is more than happy to cheer her team on as an alternate.

For Garling, the season has been one of tremendous growth.

“We kept showing up and getting the job done and improving, timewise and just teamwise too. We grew as individual swimmers and as a unified team by the end,” Garling said.

While swimming does come with ups and downs, Garling takes them in stride.

“Highs would definitely be the sectional meet where we were able to beat a really great team. Our two freestyle relays were very exhilarating. Especially the 400 free relay because we were behind St Charles North, then took the lead, then had to hold on and keep their best swimmer from catching us. And we held her off!” Garling said.

Over the past few months, through regular practices that bring students from the various schools together, the team has developed a strong bond.

“Swimming naturally has a way of pulling people together because we all like to share our pain with one another. And really, what’s nice is that even though we go to different schools, we all get jumbled up into lanes with people we don’t know. You’re stuck with those 5-8ish people all season and get to know them well,” Garling said.

She looks forward to enjoying the meet and cheering on her teammates in Westmont this weekend.