Rivalry, friendship fuel Crystal Lake South co-op’s Abby Uhl and Bella Fontana

The competitive juices started flowing at an early age for Bella Fontana.

When Fontana joined her first competitive swim team at Sage YMCA in Crystal Lake, she dreamed of working her way up to the fastest lanes with the top swimmers. There was one teammate, in particular, she had her eye on: Abby Uhl.

“I’ve known her for about eight years,” Fontana said of Uhl. “She was in the farthest, the fastest lane, and I was in the slowest. I knew as soon as I got next to her in the fastest lane, that’s when I made it.”

Fontana, now a junior at Crystal Lake South, and Uhl, a senior at Prairie Ridge, have continued their friendly but competitive rivalry throughout their careers. The two now compete on the same high school team, Crystal Lake South co-op, as two of the area’s fastest swimmers.

They will compete in their final high school race together this weekend at the IHSA Girls Swimming and Diving State Meet at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. The preliminaries start at 3:30 p.m. Friday, with the top 16 in each event advancing to Saturday’s finals.

Swimmers from Dundee-Crown co-op and Burlington Central also will compete.

Uhl and Fontana both qualified in two individuals events, and they’ll also be competing in two relays together, the 200 free and 400 free, along with Penny Brereton and Emely Rudsinski. Uhl made it to state in the 200 individual medley, Fontana in the 200 free, and both also qualified in the 100 free, taking third and fourth, respectively, at last weekend’s Stevenson Sectional.

Fontana said while she and Uhl are great friends, when they jump into the pool it’s “all business.”

Uhl agrees.

“Bella and I have always been big competitors,” said Uhl, who has five state medals entering her final high school meet. “She’s always right on my tail, and I love racing her. She’s such a great competitor and teammate. Honestly, we bring out the best in each other when we race. Her underwaters aren’t as great as mine, but my stroke isn’t as great as hers.

“At the end of the day, it’s whoever gets to the wall first.”

Uhl, the 2023 Northwest Herald Girls Swimmer of the Year, admits her individual performance Nov. 2 at the Fox Valley Conference Meet wasn’t her best. The slight disappointment of that day fueled her to be her best at sectionals.

“It was a total upgrade of what happened at conference,” Uhl said. “The motivation at sectionals was 10 times better. Really, it came from my team. The girls motivated me to do better. Overall, I think I killed it. I’m so excited for what state has to hold.”

Uhl is seeded 14th in the 200 IM and 16th in the 100 free, putting her in position to move on to Saturday’s finals. Last year, she earned four state medals (two individuals, two relays), taking fourth in the 200 free and 16th in the 100 free.

Fontana is seeded 12th in the 200 free and 19th in the 100 free. This is her first year competing in two individual races at state after taking 24th in the 50 free last season.

“The big goal for me is I want to make top 16,” Fontana said. “I know a lot of the swimmers personally, a lot of them swim for my club. As soon as we end high school, we’re back to being together and training together. I’m just hoping for some good fast races and to make it back to Saturday.”

Uhl and Fontana both said the biggest highlight of the sectional was advancing their two relays in the 200 and 400 free. The team graduated half of those relays last year that qualified for state, so getting them back wasn’t a lock.

Last year’s 400 free relay took eighth, and the 200 free relay finished 12th.

Brereton, a junior at South, and Rudsinski, a junior at Prairie Ridge, saved their very best for sectionals. Uhl said the look of surprise and excitement on the faces of her teammates Saturday made her day.

“Penny was our alternate last year, so she saw what state was like,” Uhl said. “They push themselves so hard, and we knew they had it in them. Penny went a 24 in the 50 free for the first time, and Bella and I lost our [minds]. We were like, ‘Oh my goodness, she finally did it,’ and that’s what ended up getting us to where we needed to go, which is incredible. And Emely led off the [400 free] relay in a 55, and she’s never gone that fast in her life, and I just remember seeing her face, and she was so ecstatic about it.”

Dundee-Crown co-op also will be well represented at state. Rachel Johnson, a sophomore at Jacobs, qualified in the 200 free, and Maggie Nowak, a senior at D-C, qualified in the 100 butterfly – both taking runner-up at last week’s St. Charles East Sectional.

The team also advanced two relays. Johnson, Kaitlyn Tomaszewski, Nowak and Eli Niemi took second in the 200 medley relay, and Carly Pierzchalski, Niemi, Nowak and Johnson took third in the 400 free relay.

Johnson, who was named co-Most Valuable Swimmer at the FVC Meet with Fontana, made it to state last year as a freshman, finishing 18th in the 100 backstroke. She also was the anchor of the 400 free relay team that took 24th.

“Obviously, finals is always the goal,” Johnson said. “I’m just looking to have fun at this meet and try not to expect too much – be OK with whatever happens and take everything with an open hand. Our medley relay posted a really good time at sectionals. I think with a little more taper, I feel like finals is definitely a possibility, as well as our [400] free relay.

“Making it to finals would be super fun, but competing with my team and having that experience is already great.”

Burlington Central senior Hannah Johnson qualified in two events: the 200 free and 500 free. This is her third straight season qualifying for the state meet. Last year she was seventh in the 500 free and 14th in the 200 free, earning two state medals.