By Alex Frazier
Caitlin Wilson couldn’t have scripted a better exit.
The Council Rock North senior captain was standing on the deck at LaSalle University for the final event of the District One Swimming Championships.
All of her teammates were lined up around her. On the other side of the deck Souderton swimmers were cheering wildly.
The score was tied 262-262.
If the Indians placed ahead of Souderton, they would win the District One Swimming Championship.
“Right before they went off, we were all holding hands and linked arms because we were really nervous,” said freshman Olivia Alborn.
At the buzzer Kate Dillione shot off the blocks. One hundred yards later, she touched the wall in a school record time.
“Everyone went crazy,” said Wilson. “You could tell that they were on fire. Every girl fed off her time.”
Bizzy Millen kept a nice lead.
Then Maggie Dillione swam the third leg and held the lead for Madison Meyer.
All Meyer had to do was hold her position until Dillione touched the wall, and the race was theirs.
“I had this tunnel vision going on,” said Meyer. “I had everything blocked out except that one lane. I counted Maggie’s strokes from the time she flipped on that last wall. I was just thinking, ‘I’m not leaving early.’ I wanted to swim that 100 as fast as I could. I wasn’t thinking about the lead at that point.”
Meyer kicked it home to beat Souderton by nearly two seconds in a time of 3:31.73.
“We all went crazy when we saw that they won,” said Wilson. “It was insane.”
The Indians even broke the school record by five seconds and made automatic high school all-American.
“I looked up at the board and said, ‘Oh my God,’” said coach Ted Schoeller. “I don’t think they even expected to go that fast.”
All four girls clocked their fastest splits.
The win was especially gratifying since Souderton had beaten them last year after they went undefeated in the National Conference.
“Every one really came together,” said Meyer. “I’m happy to be a part of it, be that final touch of the district-winning relay.”
The district title was Council Rock North’s first since the school district split in two in 2002. The old Council Rock had won district championships in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
While Wilson was enjoying her last district meet at Rock, Alborn was experiencing her first.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “It was amazing to be a part of the first district championship team.”
Alborn admits she was a bit intimidated at the beginning of the season, but she always felt she had the support of the upperclassmen.
“I was not scared of the girls, but I was scared if I could add any depth to this team,” she said. “I feel as though I got my district cut because my team was behind me.”
Alborn qualified for districts in the 100 backstroke.
The team set several goals at the first team meeting, not the least of which was to win districts. They also wanted 20 district qualifiers (17 made it), beat league rival Pennsbury, and go undefeated in the league.
At the first relay carnival, Schoeller was struck by how deep his team was. The Indians won seven of eight relays and placed first and third in six of the eight.
“We were a little stronger than I thought,” he said.
A 40-point win over Upper Dublin in the season opener only confirmed the potential of the team.
The relays went undefeated during the season. The medley had its first loss to William Tennent at leagues.
When seedings came out for districts, Schoeller, as is his custom before every meet, mapped out the scoring and knew then his team had a chance to win.
When the Indians finished nine points down to Souderton after Friday’s events, Schoeller scored the second half of the meet and still thought his team could win.
When he told the team, they were “dumbfounded.”
This Council Rock North team is a special one. All the girls get along.
“I tell them, ‘You don’t have to like each other, but for three and a half months you have to be teammates and get along,’” said Schoeller.
In this team’s case that was hardly necessary.
“We were closer this year than we have ever been,” said Wilson. “Because everyone spends so much time together, you form a real tight-knit group. Everyone is there for everyone else. We were so lucky. There’s not a single girl that wouldn’t be there for another girl on the team if she needed her. It’s just a very generous, caring, loving group of girls. It’s sad that it’s over now.”
For Wilson it was the end of a remarkable four-year career at North.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more out of my high school experience,” she said. “We’ve gotten stronger every year. There’s nothing better that could happen than winning the district meet as my last meet as a Council Rock North swimmer.”
A distance swimmer, Wilson is planning on piling up some more yards next year at Baldwin Wallace, where she plans to swim the 1,650.
For those left behind there’s another opportunity looming next year.
“They’re already talking about next year,” said Schoeller. “As this carries over, the goals get loftier and they expect to win now.”
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