GA_111419

glencoeanchordaily.com sports
the glencoe anchor | November 14, 2019 | 29
Girls swimming and diving
New Trier takes care of business at CSL South meet
5
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
If there’s a secret to
high-level performance
when a swimmer isn’t
feeling her best, New
Trier sophomore Leslie
Wendel might have it figured
out.
“It’s always a mental
game. If you don’t feel
good, you can always trick
your brain into thinking
that you do,” Wendel said.
“It works. You can pump
yourself up and have a
good race, even if you’re
not feeling it.”
Wendel did just that at
this year’s Central Suburban
League South invite.
Despite feeling tired
and sore from a hard
practice one day prior,
Wendel won the 100-
yard butterfly in 57.02,
just seven-hundredths of
a second behind the the
CSL South meet record
of 56.95.
Wendel, Carly Novelline
(100-yard backstroke),
Kaelyn Gridley
(100-yard breaststroke),
and Katie Lipsey (1 meter
diving) all won individual
CSL South titles at this
year’s meet, held at Glenbrook
North on Saturday,
Nov. 10.
New Trier also got wins
from its relay teams in
the 200-yard medley and
400-yard freestyle events
to win the team title in
Northbrook.
“They did great. I was
really proud of all of them
today,” New Trier coach
Mac Guy said. “We had a
number of girls that were
finishing their season
today and a lot of them
did really well and had
lifetime best times. We
had some really excellent
swims and our diving performances
this morning
were great.”
New Trier’s varsity divers
took three of the top
four spots in the morning
session, with Erin McNally
placing second behind
Lipsey, and Maggie Seftenberg
placing fourth.
The sophomore Novelline
finished nearly three
seconds ahead of the
field to win the 100 back
in 56.22, after she had
already done something
exceptionally well outside
her comfort zone, placing
second in the grueling
500-yard freestyle event.
“Carly was great in the
500 (freestyle) and that’s
something we don’t typically
ask her to do,” Guy
said. “She was excellent
today.”.
Senior Emma Eldring
finished second in the 50-
yard freestyle and third
in the 100-yard freestyle,
while the sophomore
Gridley won the 100
breaststroke and swam
hard throughout the day.
“Kaelyn Gridley was
rock-solid and exceptional
in the 50 (freestyle)
and in the (200) relay, and
Leslie Wendel just missed
a conference record in
the 100 (butterfly) so that
was pretty awesome. She
had a great day. She was
also third in the 200 (freestyle).”
Guy was also particularly
pleased with a pair
of freestyle top finishes at
the jayvee level from Olivia
Abbott-Havers.
“She’s such a sweet kid,
she’s new to the area, and
she won both the fifty and
hundred (freestyle),” Guy
said. “That was exciting
to see.”
New Trier’s title-winning
200 medley team
consisted of Novelline,
New Trier’s Leslie Wendel swims during one of her races at the CSL South conference meet Saturday, Nov. 9, in
Northbrook. Gary Larsen/22nd Century Media
Gridley, Greta Pelzek, and
Joelle Ohr, and the Trevians’
400 free relay team
of Pelzek, Wendel, Novelline,
and Jane Sanderson
ended the day’s swimming
on a high note, edging out
second-place Evanston by
fifty-five hundredths of a
second.
Sanderson also placed
second in the 100-yard
backstroke, while Charlotte
Fondren and Charlize
Escasa placed second
and third, respectively, in
the 100 breaststroke behind
Gridley. New Trier’s
200 free relay team of
Ohr, Wendel, Gridley, and
Alyssa Knaus also finished
second.
“They did great. I
thought everyone performed
well, especially
the seniors that are leaving,”
Wendel said. “Not
everyone went best times
but the our cheering was
good and we had a great,
positive energy. It was so
much fun.”
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