Lights beam down onto the stadium, the smell of chlorine accompanied by the humidity is prominent in the air. Swimmers fill the pool as they run through their warm ups.
The girls’ swim team – a cooperative effort between West Chicago, Geneva and Batavia’s high schools – has maintained momentum throughout the 2023-24 season. Seven girls from the team headed to the IHSA state tournament on Nov. 10-11 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont to fight for victory.
“I always loved being able to represent West Chicago and feel honored to have spent my last 3 years of high school as a ‘partial wildcat’. It is electrifying to be able to compete at such a high level and extremely rewarding to contribute to the visibility of WEGO in the swim world,” senior Amelia Murphy said via text message.
Not long after the IHSA swim commentator came onto the microphone to direct and inform the public that events will commence, the National Anthem was sung, and stillness hit the stadium: so quiet one could hear a pin drop. The silence was promptly met with a roaring cheer from family and students who came out to support their fellow swimmers.
“There was a high level of energy for each of the races and this year there was great support from teammates who didn’t qualify but came out to cheer the team on,” Amelia Murphy’s father, Glenn Murphy, said via text message.
The Prelims
West Chicago made it to state in the 200 Freestyle, 50 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, 100 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle Relay and 400 Freestyle Relay.
The 200-yard medley relay was up first, a race in which all four main strokes are swam, including fly, back, breast and lastly freestyle. During these 2 laps, each stroke is completed by one swimmer in a specific order.
Before other schools, including West Chicago could properly compete, flashing lights and alarms went off across the stadium. A fire alarm had been activated, and everyone was told to seek the nearest exit. The alarm allegedly went off because of the steam coming from the concessions, and attendees were told to come back before too many individuals could leave the stadium.
“When the fire alarm went off, it was absolutely terrifying. I was already extremely anxious and nervous for my race, and having to evacuate right before I was suppose to swim was the last thing I wanted. (I’m not kidding, I cried.) Thankfully, I had another WEGO swimmer, Audrey Lindstrom in my heat with me, so we could figure it out together,” Amelia Murphy said via text message, while mentioning her gratitude towards her teammates along with her coach, Nick Parry, for guiding her through this incident.
Swimming 200-yard freestyle were Amelia Murphy and Lindstrom. Murphy swam a 1:51.75 with a heat place of second and finishing fifth in the prelims, moving her to the finals. Lindstrom swam a time of 1:53.16 getting her fifth in her heat, and also qualifying her for finals. Finishing in first, beating Murphy by only 0.39 of a second, was Gianna Cappello from Downers Grove North, while Kate Farrell from Burlington Central placed third.
Sophomore Claire Conklin swam the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.11, placing third in heat, while Hollyn Ambre finished with a time of 24.14, placing seventh in heat.
Update: 12:00 p.m. on Nov. 11
The swimmers who placed well in prelims returned to the FMC Natatorium on Nov. 11 for the final day of competition and continued to put strong results on the scoreboard.
Amelia Murphy, who previously vowed to give it her all at the state meet, finished sixth in the 200 free with a time of 1:52:47. Teammate Lindstrom placed eleventh in the same event.
“Swimming is everything to me, not just a sport or a hobby. It taught me discipline and time management skills, but also gave me a second family. These girls that I have gotten to know, whether over the span of a few months or a decade, have been my rock. Swimming has given me so many opportunities and connections that other people do not have, and I consider myself extremely lucky,” Amelia Murphy said via text message.
Update: 1:00 p.m.
Shortly thereafter, Conklin came in 12th place in the 50 free. She would go on to finish 15th in the 100 free.
“After swimming my 50 and 100 free in finals, I felt a sense of relief because all of my individual events were completed, getting rid of some of the nerves. I was also sad though, because that meant the season was almost over,” Conklin said via text message.
Update: 3:40 p.m.
Up next, Lindstrom and Ambre crawled their way up the 500 free charts, coming in at 12th and 16th place, respectively.
Update: 4:35 p.m.
The 400 free relay team comprised of Ambre, Conklin, Lindstrom, and Amelia Murphy finished their event in seventh place.
Update: 6 p.m.
The West Chicago Wildcats placed 12th overall at the IHSA State swimming series with a total score of 54 points.
“I feel that placing twelfth is a huge accomplishment for our team, especially because this is the highest we have been ranked since 2004,” Conklin said via text message.
