Oak Park and River Forest had the stars, but Fenwick took home the hardware.
Spurred by two state-meet veterans and a host of newcomers, the host Friars won their own girls swimming sectional for the 14th consecutive year on Saturday.
Fenwick edged crosstown rival OPRF 315-307 to top a 15-team field. Northside was a distant third with 179 points.
“The exciting part was the girls rose to the occasion,” Fenwick coach Renee Miller said. “We have a pretty young team.
“I graduated six from the (2015) state team and out of 14 total (in the sectional lineup) I only have five that are returning.”
Fenwick began the meet on a high note by winning the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute, 45.30 seconds. The quartet of junior Brooke West, sophomore Perri Stahl, junior Grace Rogoswski and sophomore Ciara Mulcahy edged OPRF by .44 seconds.
“It’s amazing that we can win this,” Miller said. “I replaced three of my swimmers (on that relay) and we are still pretty strong.”
Fenwick was the only team to qualify in the meet-closing 400 freestyle relay. Mulcahy, Rogoswski, Stahl and West timed 3:34.69 to swamp runner-up Riverside-Brookfield by over seven seconds.
Fenwick barely missed sweeping the relays. The 200 free squad of Mulcahy, Rogoswski, Stahl and senior Kelly Frumkin clocked 1:36.85, just .27 behind OPRF.
In the individual events, senior Ellie Carlson won the 200 individual medley in 2:11.96, while Rogoswski won the 100 butterfly in 58.18 and West captured the 100 backstroke in 57.07.
West also made the cut in the 100 freestyle, where she timed 52.04 to finish third, while Mulcahy advanced in the 50 free, taking second in 24.3, and Stahl qualified in the 100 breaststroke with a runner-up 1:05.64.
Rogoswski and West will be making their third appearances at state, while Carlson, Mulcahy and Stahl are going for the first time.
West has the best shot of earning a top-12 medal at state. She had the ninth-fastest sectional time in the state in the backstroke and 12th-best in the 100 free.
“I think Brooke is a really strong worker,” Miller said. “Brooke is really excited and energized by her experience from last year and wants to build on that. This year she’d like to score.”
The area also will be well-represented in diving. OPRF sophomore Sophie Lever won the sectional title with 413.50 points, while Fenwick senior Marianna Kania and OPRF freshman Yasmin Ruff earned at-large berths by scoring 382.75 and 382.45, respectively.
LTHS swimming
The Lions qualified all three relay teams and won five individual events to secure the Downers Grove South Sectional team title. LTHS finished first with a score 323.5, followed by rival Hinsdale Central (266.5), Downers Grove South (236), Mother McAuley (150) and Hinsdale South (140).
In the relays, LTHS won the 200 medley relay as freshman Callahan Dunn, sophomore Julia Kral, sophomore Mary Kate Gannon and senior Paige Mitchell recorded a winning time of 1:45.65.
The 400 freestyle relay of senior Maeve Swinehart, Mitchell, freshman Eleanor Tuerk and Dunn placed second (3:33.29). The Lions’ third state-qualifying team of junior Madison Wanless, Mitchell, Gannon and Dunn finished third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:37.71).
In the 200 freestyle, Mitchell was first with a time of 1:53.49. Dunn (2:08.30) and Kral (2:09.19) took first and second, respectively, in the 200 individual medley. Other individual event winners for LTHS included Gannon in the 100 butterfly (56.88), Meehan in the 500 freestyle (5:07.09) and junior Maggie Barney (1:05.06) in the 100 breaststroke.
RBHS swimming
Riverside-Brookfield finished fourth with 176 points at the stacked Fenwick Sectional. The host Friars won the sectional with 315 points, followed closely by rival Oak Park and River Forest (307). Northside edged the Bulldogs for third place with a score of 179.
RBHS senior Julia Keller was the Bulldogs’ lone state qualifier. She won the 500 freestyle by touching the wall at 5:15.36. The 400 freestyle relay team of sophomore Veronica Cariveau, freshman Claire Kawiecki, Keller and Alyssa Schwartz also swam well with a time of 3:41.98 to earn second place.
-Marty Farmer contributed to this story.
