Chesterton senior swimmers Mountford, Ostertag, Pieters and Werner ready to tackle their final postseason, starting with tonight’s sectional preliminaries at Valparaiso

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

A state swimmer in her first three seasons, Chesterton senior Tegan Werner starts her path to a fourth appearance at IU Natatorium at IU Indianapolis in tonight’s sectional preliminaries at Valparaiso High School. The sectional finals take place Saturday.
Werner, who will swim for Tufts University in Boston next season, said this has been her favorite season for reasons that extend beyond times and places.
“I think not only in the pool is this a really great team but also this is a really great group of people,” Werner said before Wednesday’s practice. “The camaraderie and team unity is really great this season, and I’m really excited to end my senior year with this team.”
Lux Mountford also has competed in three state meets and is aiming for a fourth.
“I’m pretty happy about that,” she said. “I think that’s a pretty cool accomplishment.”
She too said this is the most closely bonded team.
“In years past it’s kind of been the freshmen are friends, the sophomores are friends, the juniors are friends, the seniors are friends, but I feel like this year, everyone’s really coming together, regardless of whether you’re a girl or a guy, regardless of what grade you’re in. And I love this team so much. I think it has been the most fun I have had in all four years of high school.”
Peyton Ostertag, who has been swimming in multiple individual and relay events at state starting with her sophomore year, nodded in agreement.
She looked back on her first sectional as a freshman.
“I was really nervous,” said Ostertag, who has the speed and stamina to compete in freestyle swims at any distance, anywhere, anytime. “I didn’t really know what to expect, I guess, but it was fun and I did really well that day, so it was good.”
Any advice for this year’s talented freshman class?
“They don’t need to worry,” said Ostertag, who will swim for Hope College in Holland, Michigan next year. “These girls are already so fast. They’re going to do so well at sectionals with the taper and everything.”
Natalie Pieters makes it four seniors competing for the Trojans at the sectional meet.
“I would say it’s the most fun meet,” Pieters said. ‘It’s fun to be able to compete with your whole team. For everyone to have the opportunity to swim at sectionals is really fun because we get to swim with all 12 members of our team.”
The Trojans extended their streak of DAC team championships to 27 and are favored to do the same at the sectional, but that doesn’t take the stress away from the event for the three experienced state swimmers.
“I do kind of get pretty nervous for sectionals,” Werner said. “I feel like for me it’s kind of like sectionals is about getting to state and state is when I can relax and have fun. I do think the sectional meet is pretty nerve-racking, especially with the pressure of keeping up the streak and everything. It’s a lot.”
Mountford: “I agree with Tegan. State is kind of like, ‘OK, I made it.’ It’s still a little bit nerve-racking because you do want to score as many points as possible, but it’s fun being there with the team and it is a close-knit group of girls. Sectionals, I think it’s definitely a lot more stressful because it’s all about just getting to state.”
The water will instantly swallow the nerves and give way to accomplishments. Accomplishments and kinship, not necessarily in that order.
“I think we’re more than teammates this year,” Pieters said. “I think we’re all friends.”