Sterling girls swimming ready for IHSA State Meet

IHSA State Swim Meet

When and where: Friday and Saturday at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. Preliminary swimming events start at 3:30 p.m. Friday, with finals at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Local qualifiers: Sterling – Madison Austin, sr., 50-yard freestyle; Kate Austin, sr., Hazel Pham, jr., Sammie Knox, sr., M. Austin, sr., 400 free relay.

Advancing: The top 16 times in each event advance to Saturday’s finals and will receive a medal.

Worth noting: Madison Austin is a three-time state qualifier, reaching state the previous two years in the 100 free. Austin owns the school record in the 200 free (1:55.98) and 100 free (52.21). Sterling’s 50 free record is 23.98 by Lynn Siemert in 2003. Austin swam a season best 24.49 to win the Byron Sectional title last Saturday. That time was 39th among state qualifiers in the event.

Austin also finished off a win in the 400-yard free relay, joining Kate Austin, Hazel Pham and Sammie Knox to clock a 3:43.95 last Saturday. Sterling dropped over nine seconds to win the sectional title in the event. Their time was 33rd among state qualifiers in the event. Sterling’s school record in the 400 free relay is a 3:40.59 set in 2002.

It is Sterling’s first relay to qualify for state since 2011.