Highlighted by five new state records , the 2021 Illinois Girls State Swimming and Diving Championships was held on Nov. 12-13 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.
New Trier captured their first team state championship since 2013 with a score of 182 ahead of Barrington (100) and Hinsdale Central (100) who tied for second. It marked New Trier’s 14th overall title, which is the most of any school in Illinois high school history.
Click HERE for full results and team scores.
Top 5 Team Scores:
1. Winnetka New Trier – 182
2. Barrington – 100
2. Hinsdale Central – 100
4. Oswego East Co-op – 98
5. St. Charles North – 97
Kaneland’s Leah Hayes picked up her first gold medal in the 200 IM where she touched the wall in 1:56.38. In prelims, Hayes was timed in 1:56.62, marking the first time an Illinois high school swimmer broke the two-minute barrier in the event. Her time bested Annika Wagner’s state mark of 2:00.13 from 2018.
Just a sophomore, Hayes captured her second gold medal in the 100 free. Her time of 48.34 broke the state record of 48.88 set by Olivia Smoliga from 2011.
Winnetka New Trier’s Carly Novelline, Kaelyn Gridley, Alexis Wendel, and Charlize Escasa won the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:39.65, breaking their own IHSA record of 1:40.43 set back in 2019.
Novelline, a Virginia commit, also won the 100 back in 53.46. Future Duke Blue Devil Gridley later went on to win the 100 breast in 1:00.13 after throwing down a 59.92 during prelims. She broke Ema Rajic’s 2016 state mark of 1:00.77.
Deerfield sophomore Annika Parkhe dominated the 200 free, winning by five seconds in a final time of 1:45.53. Her time broke the state record of 1:46.66 set by Rachel Stege in 2019. Parkhe then flew to the top of the podium in the 100 fly, clocking in at 53.00. Her prelims time of 52.72 lowered Olivia Scott’s record of 53.09 from 2009.
Hinsdale Central’s Kit Schneider was the only swimmer in the field to crack the 23-second barrier in the 50 free, sprinting to the top spot in 22.98. On the boards, Arlington Heights Hersey’s Allyson Blumenfeld won the 1-meter diving with a final score of 471.00.
Lake Zurich’s Olivia Dorshorst cruised to first in the 500 free, clocking in at 4:47.63 to win the event by four seconds. Her time broke the old pool record of 4:51.08 set by Lilian Reader earlier this year. Reader was the runner-up in 4:51.50.
Oswego East Co-op’s Chloe Diner, Katie Gresik, Lauren Wille, and Corinne Guist claimed the 4×50 free relay state title with a combined time of 1:34.08. Winnetka New Trier’s Leslie Wendel, Jane Sanderson, Megan Meade, and Novelline also won the 4×100 free relay in 3:24.83.
This article is linked to Peaty’s article from main page. Wrong mapping.