Girls Swimming: Corinne Guist’s big finish help Oswego Co-op take fourth place at state

WESTMONT – It was an impressive turn of events for Corinne Guist.

First, the Oswego Co-op senior swimmer took fourth in the grueling 500-yard freestyle at Saturday’s IHSA state girls swimming and diving championships at the brand-new FMC Natatorium in Westmont.

After logging a time of 4:57.30 in that event, Guist came back in the next event, the 200 freestyle relay, and raced as the anchor to help her team win a state title in 1:34.08.

Not a bad way to finish your high school career.

“Coming off the 500, I knew I had to switch my mindset right away,” said Guist, who will swim collegiately at Iowa State. “It’s definitely tough, but I’ve been doing it all season, and it’s something I’ve been training for. I knew I had to change my mindset for the team, because it’s a team race, and relays are the No. 1 priority when swimming at state.”

Guist also took sixth in the 200 freestyle at 1:52.29.

Guist’s efforts in that relay, along with sophomores Chloe Diner and Katie Gresik and senior Lauren Wille, helped Oswego finish in fourth place as a team, a mere two points behind Barrington and Hinsdale Central, which tied for second. New Trier won the team title with 182 points.

Wille had an ace day as well, taking the runner-up spot in the 200 freestyle in 1:49.09. She also took fifth in the 100 freestyle in 50.78 and raced a leg in the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay, which finished seventh in 3:27.04.

Again, not the worst way to go out for the senior, who will swim collegiately at Washington State.

“It was absolutely insane, for sure,” Wille said of her 200 freestyle where she dueled with Deerfield sophomore Annika Parkhe, who ultimately won in 1:45.33.

“I was seeded third for a couple of weeks and even going into finals, and I knew I wanted to get top three at least, hopefully top two. I was trying to keep up with her (Parkhe), but she was crazy.”

While Wille and Guist ended their high school careers on a high note, the sophomore Diner has a bright future ahead of her.

She took sixth in the 200 individual medley in 2:05.41, less than a second behind St. Charles North freshman Isabelle Beu (2:04.48).

Even more significant was the fact that Diner led off that 200 freestyle relay, something that was a bit nerve-wracking.

“Going first, I was really nervous, but I knew I couldn’t get behind so I kind of had to lock myself in and get up and go,” Diner said.

It all culminated in a banner day for first-year coach Bob Sprunger who has coached most of his swimmers since they were in the lower grades. But he pointed to Guist’s turnabout as the highlight of the day.

“She did that at sectionals and in prelims yesterday,” Sprunger said. “She barely had time to warm down. She was able to get up and have an outstanding performance.”