For the last two seasons, the Oak Park and River Forest High School girls swimming and diving varsity team has been young, with a lot of student-athletes gaining needed experience. This year, the Huskies are ready to put that experience to good use, if early results are any indication.
“At this point in the season, the girls are responding very well to the training demands we’ve set before them,” said OPRF coach Clyde Lundgren, now in his 27th season with the program. “They are a sweet group to work with and they genuinely enjoy putting in the effort. We’ve already seen several lifetime bests and with the addition of weight training to our dryland program, I’m excited to see the results it brings as we head toward the end of the season.”
At the Riverside-Brookfield Invite, Sept. 13, OPRF finished second in a nine-school field with 222 points, 96 behind champion Lake Park. Lundgren was pleased with his team’s strong performance.
“It meant a lot to the girls and gave them a well-deserved sense of accomplishment,” he said.
Senior Hailey Boland, who qualified for state last year in the 100 breaststroke, won four medals at RB. She won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:59.40 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.67.
Boland was also part of two OPRF relays that medaled. She swam the last leg of the second-place 200 freestyle relay (1:41.99) which also comprised of junior Kylie Miller and seniors Evie Hasenbalg and Avaa Ruffer. The same quartet finished third in the 200 medley in 1:54.53.
Other individual winners for the Huskies were Ruffer in the 200 individual medley in 2:17.95 and senior diver Jillian Louie in the one-meter springboard with 225.75 points.
OPRF also got top-six showings from Miller, who was fifth in the 50 freestyle (25.96) and sixth in the 100 freestyle (57.09); Hasenbalg, who took sixth (26.13); Ruffer, who took fifth in the 100 backstroke (1:02.72); and sophomore Lily Cook, who took fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:46.87).
Despite having home meets at neighboring schools due to the ongoing Imagine Project II construction, Boland likes how the season is going.
“It’s safe to say the pool situation hasn’t slowed us down,” she said. “If anything, it’s pushed us to make the most of every minute we have in the water and really sharpen our skills.
Boland, who has been on the varsity all four years, also appreciates the opportunity to showcase her leadership skills as one of the team’s captains, something she calls “amazing.”
“I’ve been swimming with Coach [Lundgren] since I was 8 years old and getting to work with him now as a captain is truly a dream come true,” she said. “He’s been a mentor to me for so many years and leading the team under his guidance feels like things have come full circle.”
OPRF perennially competes with Fenwick for the sectional title, and that’s expected to be the case again this year. Both Boland and Lundgren want to ensure that the Huskies are in peak shape when the postseason starts.
“The big focus for the team will be pushing ourselves to hit our best times and locking in our championship lineup,” Boland said. “Individually, I just want to keep sharpening my skills and racing my hardest in order to qualify for individual events in our state meet.”
“Our goal is always the same, to use our sport as a means to grow as people,” Lundgren said. “By striving for success, we encounter moments of vulnerability where the outcome is not guaranteed even though we have prepared thoroughly.
“It can feel cruel sometimes, but in the end this is how life is and participating in this sport can embolden you to be more prepared for what life can bring,” he added. “We strive to place as well as we can at our highly competitive [West Suburban Silver] meet, post as many PR’s [personal records] at our end-of-season championships, and get as many girls to state as possible.”
