OP_090116

opprairie.com Sports
the orland park prairie | September 1, 2016 | 45
Girls Swimming
Young Sandburg swimmers hoping to make up for recent grads
Tim Carroll, Assistant Editor
As with any team entering
a new season, the Sandburg
High School girls swimming
team lost some important
members to graduation.
Although some uncertainty
accompanies that attrition,
many of the Eagles that
remain are well acquainted
with the spotlight. After taking
second place in both this
past year’s conference and
sectional championships,
Sandburg girls swimming
hopes to build on the experience
and take home those
titles in 2016.
Many of the girls on the
team were not around for
the conference and sectional
meets this past year.
Head coach Anna McBride
said she got a great freshman
turnout, with 16 new
members coming out for the
team.
Only five of the girls who
swam sectional are back for
the 2016 season, and three of
them are juniors this year.
“There’s a lot of spots for
people to step up and fill new
positions in terms of leadership,
and also in terms of
spots on lineups that maybe
wouldn’t have been available
to them in the past,”
McBride said.
The Eagles may not have a
ton of experience in the pool,
but they should not have any
problems with team cohesion.
“I think we bonded really
well as a team and that we
felt together,” junior Bella
Wrobel said. “And even
through the times that we
didn’t do as well as we wanted,
we still stayed together
and made sure that everyone
was happy about what they
were doing and that they
were trying as hard as they
possibly could.”
One of the big swim caps
to be filled this season is
A new-look conference
offers shot at redemption
Tim Carroll, Assistant Editor
Things are not going
to be exactly the same in
terms of the Sandburg girls
swimming team’s competition
within the conference.
With the closure of Lincoln-Way
North and the resulting
consolidation of the
Lincoln-Way schools, the
Eagles will see some old
competition at new schools.
“Our conference is going
to look a little different,
though, with the changing
of the Lincoln-Way
schools” coach Anna Mc-
Bride said. “I don’t know
which swimmers are going
to be at which schools this
year.”
But this development will
not quell Sandburg’s desire
to get back at the teams
that kept the Eagles from
Clare Lawlor’s. Lawlor, who
was a state medalist this past
season, competed mainly in
the sprint freestyle events.
Junior Madison Stuursma
will be tasked with filling
Lawlor’s spot in the lineup,
as she will be competing in
the sprint freestyle.
“Clare Lawlor was a huge
impact on our team” Stuursma
said. “But now that she’s
gone, we want to see what
we can do without her.”
reaching the promised land.
McBride said she may not
know who will be swimming
for which schools, but
she does know she would
like to avenge the conference
and sectional runnerup
finishes handed to the
Eagles by Lincoln-Way
East and Lockport, respectively.
“They were both really
close meets,” McBride said.
“We have a pretty young
team, so I think that’s a motivator
for them, in terms of
coming back.
“Those would be our biggest
local rivals.”
The Eagles will have
their chance at vengeance
during the regular season,
all within the span of
a week. They are slated to
meet East at home Oct. 6
and visit Lockport Oct. 12.
Fast Five
A look at the first five meets for the Sandburg girls
swim team
• host Lincoln-Way Central, 5 p.m. Sept. 1
• host Oak Park-River Forest, 5 p.m. Sept. 7
• at Niles West Invite, 9 a.m. Sept. 10
• host Joliet, 5 p.m. Sept. 22
• at Fenwick Varsity Invite, 1 p.m. Sept. 24
While McBride was
pleased with how hard her
swimmers were working
to get ready for the season,
there is still some work to be
done in filling out the lineups.
She said she hoped that
a couple of swimmers would
step up and claim spots in
the 500-yard freestyle.
“That’s a little bit different
of an event, being that it’s
the longest event,” McBride
said. “So, it helps when
Junior Bella Wrobel, of the gold team, completes her first leg of the 200-yard individual
medley Thursday, Aug. 25, at Sandburg’s Blue and Gold Meet.
Photos by Tim Carroll/22nd Century Media
Senior Kamila Guzy (left) and junior Nicole Manuel cheer on their teammate, as she
competes in the junior varsity 200 IM event.
people get more experience
swimming it.”
While her team is relatively
young and not all the
lineup spots are completely
sewn up, McBride knows she
has the talent to compete.
“We always, as a program,
traditionally have had a goal
of winning the conference
meet, because it is a team
meet,” she said. “That’s always
been one of our goals.
“It’s a very tough goal, but
it’s very motivating for us.”