No pool? No problem. The Niles North girls swimming and diving teams has had a successful season so far.
The varsity team participated in three invites so far this season Their first was the Early Bird invite held at Niles West on Sept. 9, the Vikings got fifth out of six teams.
However, at their next invite on Sept. 22, the girls swam fast and strong and got first place at Elk Grove’s Invitational.
Their last invite of the 2012 season was on Sept. 29, where they received a second place trophy for their efforts.
The Highland Park dual meet took place on Sept. 27. Although both the junior varsity and the varsity team lost, it was a night of close races and personal records.
Junior varsity swimmer Cheri Sonderman achieved a personal record and first place with her 200 yard freestyle swim. Her final time was 2:25.65, touching the wall 1.22 seconds before the second place swimmer.
Sophomore Megan Crane and freshmen Iana Wolff, Azra Advic and Selma Jukic won first place in the varsity 200 yard medley relay. The girls triumphed over Highland park with a collaborative time of 1.59.00 seconds, just 0.8 seconds faster than the Highland Park Giants.
Freshman Azra Advic added her name for the fifth time to the Niles North record board during the Highland Park meet with her 200 yard IM swim time. Advic swam a 2:16.80, tying Laura Hopper’s record from 1980.
Paul Torres, head coach of the girls swim team felt that the night was an accomplishment. “Although it was a loss, the Highland Park swimmers, divers, and coaches were definitely taken aback by the improvement in the overall team,” Torres said.
Niles North’s junior varsity scored 51 points to the Giants’ 132. The varsity teams were tied neck-and-neck for a majority of the meet, and the final score was 81-105, Highland Park.
Niles North had two divers competing against Highland Park in the varsity division: first year diver sophomore Anida Pekovic, and returning varsity diver senior Amanda Chung.
Both the Vikings and the Giants kept spectators on the edge of their seats throughout the six rounds of dives.
Pekovic took fifth place with a final score of 82.95. Chung took third place with a final score of 120.0 points.
The Vikings’ next meet will take place against Glenbrook North on Friday, Oct. 12. Come support your swimming/diving team on Senior Night at Niles West High School on Friday, Oct. 19 against the Maine East Blue Demons!
