Does Melissa Marik have a time in mind she would like to swim in the 100-yard backstroke at the state meet finals Saturday at New Trier?
“No, because if I did, I wouldn’t get it,” the Neuqua Valley sophomore said.
It doesn’t matter if Marik is being truthful or superstitious. It’s obvious that the defending state champion is focused on winning the race. But if she does have a target time, it would likely be a shade faster than the state record she set in the preliminaries Friday.
Marik stopped the timer in :55.8, almost a second faster than her nearest qualifier. The previous state standard of :55.93 was set by Hinsdale Central’s Jessica Roberts in the 1998 finals.
“I think I can go a lot faster,” said Marik, who will have experience on her side for the first time in the finals. “I have a lot more confidence because I know what it’s like and what to expect. So I’m not really, really nervous. I know it’s going to be a lot of fun, so I’m pumped up.”
Double double: Andrew senior Christine Magnuson and Naperville North sophomore Katie Stratton recorded the only multiple individual wins of the preliminaries. Magnuson collected the top times in the 100 (:50.62) and 200 (1:49.92) freestyle events. Stratton dispatched the field by more than a second in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.2) and also captured the 200 individual medley (2:04.47).
Deerfield dominating: Deerfield’s duo of Christina Loukas and Samantha Papadakis top the qualifiers heading into the finals.
Loukas dominated the opening round with a score of 354.05. Senior classmate Papadakis accumulated 311.45 points.
Glenwood freshman Kelci Bryant recorded 308.20 points to sit in third.
Lauren Hallyburton of Vernon Hills was the only other diver to come close to the 300 level with 299.80 points.
