Team maintains tradition of excellence with sixth place at state championships
Hinsdale Central's Lilia Barber checks her time and smiles after winning the consolation heat in the 50-yard freestyle race Nov. 16 at IHSA girls' state final swim in Westmont. Teammate Karina Miller (clockwise from top) swims in the 200-yard medley relay while Sarah Pelinkovic keeps pace in the 500-yard freestyle. (photos by Steve Johnston for The Hinsdalean)
The Hinsdale Central girls swim team placed sixth at the IHSA state final, bringing their streak of finishes within the top eight in to five years in a row, an unmatched record of performance in the state over that time. Head coach Bob Barber (left) relished coaching his two daughters together for the final time as senior Vija swam her final season.
Hinsdale Central's girls swimmers and divers began the season as nomads with the Don Watson Aquatic Center under repair.
"We were displaced from our home pool, traveling all these different places," said head coach Bob Barber.
Homelessness did not exempt the Red Devils from going up against the state's top programs like Rosary, New Trier and St. Charles North.
"They clearly were the stronger teams but we were convinced that we were kind of the best of the rest," he said.
The squad demonstrated its prowess with a 105-point, sixth-place finish at the IHSA state finals Friday and Saturday at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.
"It felt really good to stay so close to those teams. Our goal was top-10," Barber related. "It was awesome."
The Devils placed in the state's top eight for the fifth straight year, a record of consistency over that time no other Illinois program can boast. Rosary won the team title with 290 points, followed by New Trier's 272 and St. Charles North's 251.
Strong relay performances powered Central, with sixth-place swims from both the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay quartets (see sidebar for full results).
Senior Kamile Zinis was a member of both groups and individually placed seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and 14th in the 100-yard freestyle. Barber said her exploits were impressive.
"She took the state meet by the horns and really carried our team on the relays and emotion-wise with her performance," said Barber of Zinis, who was crowned by the team as their most valuable swimmer this season.
Sophomore Lilia Barber - daughter of the coach - broke a sophomore record with her 23.28-second swim in the 50-yard freestyle. Her preliminary time slotted her in the "B" final, so ninth was the highest she could place. But her finals time was actually the sixth-best of all the finalists.
"She just continues to improve and now has her name on three school records for sophomores," her dad said.
He also cited sophomore Sarah Pelinkovic for her ninth-place (but seventh-best) time of 4:57.43 in the 500-freestyle following a stunning improvement from the preliminary swim.
"The most energy we got on the weekend was Sarah in 500, dropping six seconds from the night before," Barber said. "She just went out more controlled. That was a huge emotional lift and point swing for us."
His other daughter Vija Barber, a senior and member of the 400-freestyle relay team, underscored the close-knit spirit of the team with her memory of cheering on Pelinkovic.
"Sarah was in an outside lane and ended up having an incredible race, beating her whole heat. Sarah and I were training partners in the distance group all season, and I was so proud to see all of her hard work and determination pay off in her race," Vija Barber said.
She touched on the special experience of swimming for her dad.
"I got the opportunity to bond with him through something we are both passionate about. It also forced us to spend lots of time together throughout the last four years which I feel made it easy to have a close relationship, in and out of the pool," she said.
Coach Barber admitted to feeling bittersweet seeing his older daughter close out her Central career, but was glad he could watch her swim her last race with sister Lilia in the 400-free relay.
"They swam the second-fastest time in school history together," he said. "What a great way to watch her career end.
"It was just a really long weekend, but in a good way because I think we came out on top in just about everything we did."
Hinsdaleans swim for Benet
Benet Academy senior Lucy Rooney of Hinsdale finished her swimming career on a high note with a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and ninth place in the 100-yard backstroke at the IHSA state final on Saturday. She also joined fellow senior and Hinsdalean Paige Malinowski to power their 200-yard medley relay team to 13th place.
Rooney said competing at the state meet has been a wonderful reward.
"Just qualifying for this meet is very difficult, and I was able to compete against some of the fastest swimmers in the country, which is so exciting," she said, remarking at the electric atmosphere inside the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. "The natatorium was packed and so loud with all the people cheering and screaming. I will always cherish this experience because so many of my friends and family members came to watch me swim."
Malinowski reported that the relay team's preliminary time of 1:45.69 broke a school record.
"It was by far the best meet I ever had," she said, noting that the quartet had named themselves the Turbo Relay. "It was sad to retire the Turbo name, but it was a fun experience."
Rooney also spoke to bittersweet nature of closing her Benet swim tenure.
"I will forever miss the bus rides to swim meets, scream-singing songs and gathering to say a Hail Mary before my relay swam our event," she said.
