The hard part was done Friday.

On Saturday, Dundee-Crown co-op’s Rachel Johnson could swim freely knowing she already had two state medals in her back pocket.

Still, the Jacobs junior was determined to end her weekend on a high. With her teammates at FMC Natatorium in Westmont cheering her on, Johnson capped off a fantastic junior season with a pair of top-five finishes at the IHSA Girls Swimming and Diving State Championships.

After finishing fifth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:03.74, Johnson swam to third place in the 100 backstroke in 54.61 seconds.

Not surprising, according to D-C co-op coach Rebecca Olson.

“Rachel is the most perfect example of what any coach could want,” Olson said. “She’s very hard-working, very dedicated and a great person, someone you can give feedback to and have her be very reflective of herself.”

Johnson swam personal-best times in both events in Friday’s preliminaries with a 2:02.92 in the 200 IM and 54.42 in the 100 backstroke.

“It was just really fun. I’ve never been apart of the finals before,” Johnson said. “My whole team was there the whole time. I’m just so grateful to have such a supportive team. I think that was probably a part of my success this weekend. I know it was probably a long day for them, too.”

Johnson, whose team sent seven entries to the state meet, also competed in a pair of relays. In the 200 medley relay, Johnson, Kaitlyn Tomaszewski, Elie Niemi and Anastasia Komarova combined to finish 18th with a time of 1:47.10, two places off from Saturday’s consolation finals. In the 400 free relay, Tessa Iverson, Olivia Burczynski, Niemi and Johnson took 19th with a time of 3:34.41.

“My main goal Friday was just to have fun. See what happens and hope that it works out,” Johnson said. “I was a little tired (Saturday), but mostly excited. I was super grateful for the success I already had. It was kind of just go for it and have fun.”

Johnson missed qualifying for the 100 backstroke last season when she flinched at the start and was disqualified at sectionals. Making it to state in the race and placing third was a big relief.

“Last year it was pretty disappointing to me because that was probably my best shot,” Johnson said. “I love the 100 back. I just know how to swim it well and I’m not nervous when I swim it.”

The 200 IM, meanwhile, is relatively new to Johnson.

“Last year at this time, I never would have thought that’d I’d be at state with my time,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s team earlier this season won the Fox Valley Conference Invite for the second consecutive year. She credits her teammates for always pushing her.

“It’s just fun to be a part of a team that can achieve so much, but also have fun while doing it,” Johnson said.

Johnson wasn’t the only local swimmer to advance to Saturday’s finals.

Huntley sophomore Olivia Rohde took seventh in 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.07. She swam a 1:04.58 in Friday’s preliminaries.

Rohde made it to state for the first time after swimming a personal-best 1:04.21 at sectionals, and became the first Red Raiders girl swimmer to advance to the second day of the state meet.

Rohde said it was a goal of hers to make it to the final meet of the high school season. She naturally felt nerves in her state debut, but those eventually subsided.

“I was kind of nervous before I got there,” Rohde said. “But once I got there, everyone was just so excited, and the energy was really high and it was so much fun. I think I learned new things when I was swimming. I learned how to control my stroke more. I grew a lot as a swimmer.”

Rohde already is thinking about how to top her time next year.

“I’m excited to get back,” Rohde said. “I’m going back to club this week and I’m ready to better myself.”

During Friday’s preliminaries, D-C co-op’s Niemi took 23rd in the 100 free with a time of 52.70, and Komarova finished 38th in the 50 free with a time of 24.56.

Burlington Central’s Eleanor Hultgren finished 26th in the 100 free with a time of 52.85. In the 50 free, she was 33rd with a time of 24.21,

In the 200 free, Crystal Lake South co-op’s Bella Fontana took 43rd with a time of 1:56.69.