Lady Iron Swim places 4th in State

Melissa Schill, Editor in Chief • Nov 21, 2017

Photo Courtesy of: Mirjam Schnabel

The Lady Iron Swim team capped off their first ever Sectional win with a strong showing at State, finishing 4th overall as a team.

A team of six girls from the Lady Iron swim team attended the IHSA State Swimming and Diving competition last weekend, November 17-19.

The team, composed of Grace Ariola (12), Sophie Benson (11), Ashley Bengtson (10), Julia Heimstead (10), Claire Koh (12) and Julia Oostman (12), won 4th place overall after winning their first Sectional title in school history the week prior.

As individuals, Ariola won the State meet’s top honors in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke, while Hiemstead placed 2nd in the 100-meter fly event.

The NCHS swimmers competed in seven events. The results are as follows:

200 medley relay: Grace Ariola, Julia Oostman, Julia Heimstead, Ashley Bengtson – 3rd

400 free relay: Grace Ariola, Claire Koh, Ashley Bengtson, Julia Heimstead – 2nd

50 free: Grace Ariola – 1st

100 back: Grace Ariola – 1st

200 individual medley: Julia Heimstead – 9th

100 fly: Julia Heimstead – 2nd

500 free: Claire Koh – 9th

500 free: Julia Oostman – 12th

For Ariola, Koh, and Oostman, State was their last school swim event. All three students plan to continue their swim career in college and signed their letters of intent on November 9. Ariola will attend Texas University, Koh will attend Saint Louis University and Oostman will attend Illinois State University.

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About the Contributor

Melissa Schill, Editor in Chief

Melissa Schill is a senior at NCHS. This is her third year working for the Inkspot, and she is the Editor in Chief. Melissa is also involved in the Principal Advisory Committee and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Random fact about me: I was homeschooled in 7th and 8th grade. Farthest I've been from home: Nairobi, Kenya. Likes: Dancing, writing, hiking, and traveling. Guilty pleasure: Brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream.