By Matt Le Cren
For the Bugle
EVANSTON – Jessica Davis is the most decorated individual in the history of the Plainfield co-op girls swimming program after winning her fifth and sixth career medals Saturday at the state meet in Evanston.
Kali Franckowiak is tied for second on the program’s career list with three medals.
And they are only juniors.
Davis and Franckowiak extended Plainfield’s recent streak of success with career-best showings at state. Davis finished third in the 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 100 free, while Franckowiak was seventh in the 200 free.
“It was totally unexpected,” Davis said of her finish in the 200. “I just went out and had a fun race. My coaches stressed to have fun during the race and go out and do the best you can.”
Davis did just that, which pleased Plainfield North coach George Sam, who grinned when he recalled Davis’ reaction to her third-place finish.
“You saw her expression,” Sam said. “Her jaw couldn’t have dropped any more.
“She always thinks that she’s short and that that’s a thing against her. But it’s not the size of the dog. It’s the size of the fight in the dog and she fought hard.
“It was great to see that. It couldn’t happen to a better kid.”
Davis and Franckowiak were separated by just .01 during Friday’s prelims. Davis timed 1:51.09, good enough for sixth place and the final spot in Saturday’s championship heat.
Franckowiak’s 1:51.10 relegated her to seventh place and the consolation heat.
Had Franckowiak made the top-6, it would have been the first time in program history that two swimmers reached the championship heat at state. Even so, Davis became just the second Plainfield girl to earn a shot at the state title, joining Carly Kramer, who was fifth in the 100 butterfly in 2015 and won that event in 2016.
“It would have been cool to have them both there (in the championship heat),” Sam said. “But it was just awesome to see them swim the smartest races they’ve swam all season and both placed really well.”
Buoyed by her performance Friday, Davis moved up three places on Saturday, dropping her time to a personal-best 1:50.42. Glenbard West sophomore Kate Morris won the title in 1:49.68, while Barrington senior Bridget O’Leary was second in 1:50.12.
“I just had a lot of motivation from my last swim,” Davis said. “I wasn’t really happy with it.
“I was satisfied but I wanted more. I wanted to move up a couple places.”
Franckowiak had no way of moving up because swimmers in the consolation heat can finish no higher than seventh, regardless of what times those in the championship heat register.
But she rose to the occasion, winning the consolation heat in 1:51.61, which was the sixth-fastest time recorded in that event on Saturday.
“I didn’t really know how it was going to go,” said Franckowiak, who was 10th in the 200 last year. “After yesterday I felt really tired and sore.
“But I just kept a good mindset and I knew that my coaches and teammates were going to be there for me no matter what, so I just went out there and had fun.”
There was plenty of fun to be had. Davis came back later in the meet and placed eighth in the 100 in 51.55, just .06 slower than her prelim time.
It was the third straight eighth-place finish in the 100 for Davis, who becomes the first girl in program history to win three medals in a freestyle event and the second overall, joining Kramer, who won three in the butterfly.
“It was so great,” Davis said. “The energy was incredible in the stands and I was motivated by my teammates and my coaches and my parents.”
In other results, the Tigers finished 20th in the 200 free relay as junior Samantha Kershner, sophomore Karly Sonnenberg, Franckowiak and Davis timed 1:37.65. The 200 medley relay of senior Kellyn Hayes, senior Lauren Spangler, Kershner and Sonnenberg placed 26th, as did the 400 free relay squad of Hayes, Spangler, Kershner and Sonnenberg.
Plainfield’s other individual state qualifiers were Kershner in the 100 butterfly and Hayes in the 500 free. Both took 23rd.
Plainfield now has at least one state qualifier for 10 consecutive year and a medalist in each of the last five.
“It’s been fun,” Sam said. “We’re enjoying it and the cupboard is still fun.
“We’ve got some young ones still coming up. We’ve got unfinished business going into next year.”