Riverside Brookfield High School senior Mayan Covarrubias is hoping for a third straight trip to the Class 2A state meet, this time with some teammates.
On Sept. 18, Covarrubias began the postseason with a new experience – her first individual conference title.
Her 2-over-par 73 won the Upstate Eight Conference Meet Sept. 18 at St. Andrews in West Chicago by two strokes.
Playing previously in the Metro Suburban Conference, Covarrubias was third as a sophomore and second last season.
“It was exciting. I played well, kind of, all through our conference (dual) matches so I knew I had to play at least decent for a chance to win,” Covarrubias said.
“I was just glad that I had a good round and kind of disappointed our team didn’t finish where we wanted.”
The Bulldogs were a close second to South Elgin 356-358 and finished second in the final overall standings after going 7-0-1 in duals.
Sophomore Lucia Vazzana (82) was fourth and junior Taryn Schultz (95) sixth on a scorecard tiebreaker.
All three were among the 10 All-UEC players this season with Covarrubias and Vazzana the No. 1 and 3-point scorers combining dual and UEC Meet results.
In the five-team UEC, teams receive two points for each dual victory while the UEC Meet champion earns three more points than second place. Because the Bulldogs and South Elgin tied their second dual, they only led by two points entering the UEC Meet rather than four.
“I think, in my opinion, we’re the best team in the conference all the way around. We got the short end of the stick just in the points system, losing in the tournament,” Covarrubias said.
“Basically, we would have won first (overall by winning the second dual).”
The Bulldogs play Thursday at the 2A Glenbard East Regional at Glendale Lakes in Glendale Heights with hopes for a top-three team finish to advance to the Hinsdale South Sectional Monday at Carriage Greens in Darien.
RBHS girls swimming and diving
Junior Hailey Vlcek won the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.86) by 1.02 seconds at the Rosary Invitational Saturday and was third in the 100 free (54.57), .88 from first.
Maria Ellis was sixth in the 200 free (2:00.69) and ninth in the 500 free (5:33.55).
The 200 free relay (Kate Ryan, Maggie McCoy, Ellis, Vlcek in 1:45.37) and 400 free relay (Ellis, Vlcek, Emily Baartman, McCoy in 3:49.85) were seventh. McCoy was ninth in the 100 backstroke (season-best 1:05.72).
The Bulldogs (6th, 88 points) added seven personal-best swims.
On Sept. 16, Ellis won the 200 individual medley (2:15.33) by 4.41 seconds and the 100 breaststroke (1:10.65) by 1.20 seconds at the York Invitational. RBHS was fourth (291 points).
McCoy, Ellis and Baartman were third in the 200 free relay with Clare Ruska (1:48.17) and 400 free relay with Caroline Strubbe (3:54.89). McCoy was fifth in the 100 free (58.07) and sixth in the 100 back (1:05.31).
RBHS cross country
The RBHS boys won Harvest Christian Academy’s Midseason Classic Saturday in Elgin by putting their top-five finishers in the top 16 with a 54-second split.
Senior Jack O’Brien’s 16:40.28 for 5,000 meters took second to Aurora Central Catholic senior Patrick Hilby (16:25.49).
Will Kallas (9th, 17:09.90) also was top 10, followed by Diego Lopez-Molina (11th, 17:13.60), Brennan Lester (13th, 17:29.76), Asa Kahle (16th, 17:34.35), Aiden O’Brien (54th, 19:01.16) and Tommy Bogdan (61st, 19:15.01).
The Bulldogs (50 points), ranked No. 20 in Class 3A by ILXCTF.com, won by 30 points over second-place ACC, No. 2 in 1A.
In the girls race, Gianna Gelb (13th, 20:59.18) and Maria Dalton (19th, 21:34.46) were top-20 finishers for the Bulldogs (5th, 165 points), followed by Rebecca Dosek (39th, 23:10.63), Lily Kocourek (51st, 23:45.39), Jorie Eggers (57th, 23:51.20), Mia Alcaraz (71st, 24:40.79) and Elli Barsotti (83rd, 26:10.31).
