As her final race in her home pool drew closer, Barrington senior Kirsten Jacobsen sat on a bench next to her teammates, eating a snack with such a calm demeanor, it was impossible to tell if what was about to be at stake was on her mind.
Barrington and Stevenson’s girls swim teams were neck-and-neck at the top of the Barrington Sectional standings on Saturday, Nov. 14. Jacobsen had already qualified for state in three events earlier in the day — the 200-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 500-yard freestyle.
But this moment was special. It was her chance to go out on top with classmates Maggie Emary (sophomore), Emma Graves (sophomore) and Bridget O’Leary (freshman) in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The Fillies delivered in pulse-pounding fashion, thanks to a state-qualifying time of 3 minutes, 30.74 seconds, just a tenth of a second faster than second-place Stevenson. It wound up being the difference, as Barrington finished with 280 team points, just enough to capture their own sectional title over the Patriots (264 points).
Jacobsen’s time (4:51.51) in the 500 freestyle shattered the old 1986 pool record of 4:54.02. She also broke the pool record in the 200 freestyle with a 1:50.40.
“Breaking those records was a goal of mine today, especially knowing this was the last time I would be swimming in this pool,” Jacobsen said. “It meant a lot to have my teammates here contributing to this moment, too.”
Jacobsen then abruptly but politely stopped answering questions so she could join those teammates in the shallow end of the pool, where a celebration ensued.
No Barrington swimmer finished lower than sixth place at the sectional meet.
“Even though we have senior leaders on the team like Kirsten, our team is a young team,” said Fillies coach Jim Bart. “We’ve got a number of freshmen and sophomores on the team. Every one of our kids was able to get on that awards stand. It was a true team effort. I’m real proud of them. You can’t do much better than they did.”
The other Fillies who qualified for this weekend’s state meet at New Trier are Catherine Kitzman (freshman), Maggie Menso (sophomore) and Sara Kate Capel (senior).
Like Jacobsen, who has won individual state titles in the 200 free two straight years and three consecutive years in the 500 free, Capel has been to the state meet before. She plans on drawing from that experience in hopes of bringing home gold on the stand this weekend.
“I’ve learned in past seasons it’s OK to be in pain when you’re swimming,” Capel said. “You’re supposed to hurt. I’ve also learned a lot about endurance, and a lot about working as a team. It might be an individual-looking sport, but in reality, it’s all about the team. How well we do at the state meet will have a lot to do with how we perform as a group. And we definitely want to go out on a high note.”
Tim Froehlig is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @TFroehlig
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