DeKalb/Sycamore co-op swim team coach Leah Eames has learned not to make predictions in the days leading up to the sectional meet each year.

How swimmers will react to the pressure on the big stage is unpredictable, and she’s seen the gamut of surprising results.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned coaching the sectional meet, anything is possible pretty much,” Eames said. “I’ve seen everything from extraordinary time drops that I never dreamed in a million years that somebody would be able to do to things on the other end of the spectrum. People that have nailed every flip turn they’ve ever done only to miss the wall or something like that.”