Probably the only time Riverside Brookfield High School senior Hailey Vlcek has been a slow about swimming was in deciding to pursue the sport. After taking lessons at age 6, she didn’t join her first team until the summer she was 10 at the Village Field Club in LaGrange Park. Soon afterward came her first Academy Bullets club team that fall.
“A lot of girls started when they were 5 or 6. I wasn’t like a top age-grouper or anything. I started getting good in high school,” Vlcek said. “I’ve had to build up with so many hard practices, so much hard work just to get to this point, and I’m grateful and astonished how much hard work I put in that paid off.”
Vlcek quickly made up for lost time. At her final state meet Friday and Saturday, she improved upon her six individual all-time school records during two more all-state performances at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
“She’s a special kind of swimmer you hope to get at least once in your career,” RBHS coach Mike Laurich said.
The Bulldogs’ only top-eight, all-state swimmer, Vlcek was fifth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.07) and honorable mention all-state in the 500 free (10th, 4:57.67) by breaking her former school record by 1.74 seconds.
“I’m really happy with my 200 free in prelims (1:49.65). My 500 free, I just dropped a lot,” said Vlcek, who will swim at Illinois. “I’m really proud of myself and grateful for everything. I’m mostly proud of how much hard work I put into swimming in the past four years.”
Top-eight performers in Friday’s preliminaries competed for the state title Saturday. The next eight times competed for ninth.
In the 200 free final, Vlcek actually swam faster than in 2023, when she was third (1:51.05), the highest state finish by any RBHS girls swimmer or diver, or fourth in 2022 (1:52.30).
On Friday, Vlcek’s 4:59.41 in the 500 free broke her 5:00.87 school record from sectionals, Nov. 9, but she ended up ninth, 1.18 seconds from the top eight.
“It’s a lot faster this year. It’s insane. My 500 time last year would have qualified [for the championship final],” she said. “It’s all faster, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s really cool to see how fast everybody’s going.”
At sectionals, Vlcek also dropped her 200 free school record to 1:49.58 and swam 1:49.65 Friday. She holds all-time school records for the 100 butterfly (59.08), 100 backstroke (51.49) and 200 individual medley (2:08.83), all improved or set this season, and the 50 free (24.22).
“She rewrote the record board at our school,” Laurich said, “a great leader, great teammate. You know you’re getting everything when she gets up there, a gamer. She’s going to be missed but she’s going to be great in college. She could make pretty much any state cut that’s out there. She’s not even close to being as fast as she can be (in specific events), which is cool but scary.”
Vlcek displayed some of that versatility at state. Last year, she finished 14th at state in the 100 free (51.75) after also qualifying for state in the 500 free in 2022. The other two of her four events at sectionals helped RBHS relays go after state cuts. Add to that Vlcek’s RBHS pool record for the 200 free and frosh-soph school records for all of her varsity-record events but the 50 free.
At sectionals, Vlcek broke Hinsdale Central’s 200 free pool record for a third time. She has a combined four pool records for individual events at Joliet West and Andrew and a Joliet West record in the 400 free relay with junior Maria Ellis, sophomore Maggie McCoy and freshman Lizzie Ryan (3:49.53, Sept. 19).
“I want to be most remembered for my work ethic and supporting the team,” she said. “I always like to be there for my teammates, whether it’s telling people good luck or good job after their races, and during hard sets cheering people on. I don’t want to be remembered just for my times.”