Girls swimming: Sterling beats L-P co-op to stay unbeaten in duals

When Henry-Senachwine freshman Sam Nauman saw the record boards when she joined the La Salle-Peru co-op girls swim team, she set her sights on a target right away.

“I saw the [100-yard] backstroke record and I was like, ‘I think I can do that,’” Nauman said.

She was right.

On Tuesday, Nauman swam the 100 backstroke in 1:01.65 to set a Cavaliers record.

“It means a lot to me,” Nauman said. “I’ve put in a lot of work for swim for so long. I swim every day. It means so much to me.”

Nauman broke the old mark of 1:01.81 set by Ashley Heagy in 2018.

“She turned the stroke over really, really fast,” L-P coach Rob McNally said. “She wanted the record. One of the things about swimming, or any sport, is that if you’re into the moment and if you want to do something, it makes a big difference on how you perform. She wanted it really, really badly, and she went out and got it. I have to give her credit.

“I’m looking forward to three more years of being her coach. There’s nothing but upside for her.”

Althought Nauman had a record-setting performance, Sterling won the meet 61-41 over the Cavaliers to stay undefeated in duals.

The Golden Warriors won nine events, including sweeping the three relays.

“We’ve been doing our doubles for three weeks now, and they’re swimming tired, but swimming fast,” Sterling coach Karina Austin said. “It’s not pretty, but we’re working on the details.

“I think our freestylers really came through tonight. We’re really pushing their mentality. They’re exhausted. To show up as a team at the end and really go after it, I’m proud of them for that.”

Sammie Knox and Madison Austin each won a pair of individual events for Sterling. Knox won the 200 individual medley (2:28.22) and the 500 freestyle (5:44.18), while Madison Austin won the 50 freestyle (26.1 seconds) and the 100 breaststroke (1:16.26).

Both also swam on two winning relays. Knox and Madison Austin teamed with Emma Van Horn and Kate Austin in the 400 freestyle relay (3:58.22). Madison Austin swam with Hazel Pham, Payton Purdy and Kate Austin in the 200 freestyle relay (1:49.8). Knox swam with Purdy, Pham and Emily Lofgren in the 200 medley relay (2:04.78).

Kate Austin won the 200 freestyle (2:10.17), and Purday claimed the 100 freestyle (59.47 seconds).

“We have some work to do, but we’re looking pretty good,” Karina Austin said about how the team is doing with the conference meet coming up Oct. 21 and the Rockford Jefferson Sectional on Nov. 4.

Nauman was the only winner for the Cavaliers, adding a victory in the 100 butterfly (1:06.58) to go with her record-setting swim in the 100 backstroke.

L-P’s Emma Short finished second in the 200 IM (2:33.89) and the 500 freestyle (5:46.46), while Clara Guglielmetti was runner-up in the 200 freestyle (2:10.93 and the 100 freestyle (1:02.98).

“There were a lot of good performances, and there were a lot of best times, but we still have a little more work to do before sectionals because there were some things I saw today that I know we need to work on to get better,” McNally said. “Pretty much all year long, we’re losing the walls. I’ve been trying to get them faster on their turns, and we still need to work on that.

“I’m pushing them really hard because in swimming there’s just that penultimate meet. That sectional meet. That’s the only meet you can get a state time. I like them to race. I like them to be in meets. I like them to work hard, but I also focus on pushing them hard to when we get to then last week and a half or so, we back off hoping that will lead to even better performances. We have a pretty full meet schedule between now and the [Normal] Sectional.”