CHESTERTON | On a day where at least 14 records were broken, Chesterton senior swimmer Olivia Kabacinski still found a way to stand out in the highly-competitive crowd.
Kabacinski was the only one Saturday to break a pool, school and Duneland Athletic Conference meet mark in a single event, winning the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.71) and leading the Times No. 1 Trojans to their 13th consecutive team title.
Kabacinski, the MVP of the meet, also broke the meet and pool mark in the 50 free (23.49) and she teamed with Kate Curley, Julia Campbell and Maddie Miller to break both marks in the 400 free relay (3:31.36).
"I wasn't sure how fast I would swim today; this was really, really exciting," said Kabacinski, who finished with 15 overall DAC meet wins. "This is a little bittersweet, but I just hope my marks will stay up for a while.
"I also knew that Crown Point would be out to get us, so I really wanted to make sure that we kept the team streak alive."
Kabacinski did all of this while dealing with some recent back issues.
"She was awesome," Chesterton coach Kevin Kinel said of Kabacinski. "I still knew she would come around today."
The Trojans won 487.5-407 over the Bulldogs. Sophomore Julia Campbell defended her crown in the 200 free, then came within .39 hundredths from the 500 free meet record (5:06.38).
"I'm impressed with how we responded," Kinel said. "I think the 200 free was the key, finishing first, second and fourth. That set the tone for the meet."
Despite finishing second, Crown Point put on a strong performance. Freshman Ally Tetzloff broke meet and pool marks in both the 100 fly (57.47) and 100 back (56.97). She also helped the Bulldogs set a pool and meet mark in the 200 medley relay (1:46.7) and a meet mark in the 200 free relay (1:37.72).
"I was hoping to break at least one (individual) meet record," Tetloff said. "I really didn't prepare that much for this meet.
"I know I can swim even better, and this really gives me confidence for the state meet."
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