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Fox Valley Conference
Cary-Grove
Coach: Scott Lattyak (15th season)
Last season: Fourth at FVC Invite
Top returners: Kasey Gruen, sr.; Mary Brown, sr.; Emma Black, sr.; Sofia Iskra, jr.; Ella Urbates, jr.; Olivia Nagaj, so.
Key newcomers: Nora Urbates, fr.; Madison Duncan, fr.; Brooklyn Kahn, fr.; Avery Brown, fr.
Worth noting: The Trojans did not advance any individuals to state in swimming events but did qualify one in diving. Maggie Bendell ended her decorated high school career with a second-place finish after winning the state championship as a junior. ... Lattyak said Gruen and Duncan, a freshman, could threaten to set school records in the 100-yard butterfly and 500 free. Gruen was second in the 100 butterfly at the FVC Invite last year. ... C-G was only two points behind Huntley at conference for third place. ... Nora Urbates will be one of the Trojans’ best sprinters, with her focus in the 50 free, 100 free and relays. Kahn, another freshman, is strong in the breaststroke and is versatile in her events. Nagaj will be one of the Trojans’ top breaststrokers. She was second in the 100 breaststroke at the FVC Invite. ... Brown and Ella Urbates will be strong competitors in the 200 free. ... “We have a talented team and good leadership from our seniors,” Lattyak said. “This team looks strong in the pool, and it will be fun process to set up our lineup.”
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Crystal Lake South co-op
(with Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge)
Coach: John Valentine (eighth season)
Last season: First at FVC Invite
Top returners: Abby Uhl, sr.; Bella Fontana, jr.; Penny Brereton, jr.; Emely Rudsinski, jr.
Key newcomers: El Brereton, fr.; Kendall Kramer, fr.; Isabella Relacion, fr.
Worth noting: South co-op captured its second straight FVC Invite championship, taking first in seven of the meet’s 11 events. ... Uhl, the 2023 Northwest Herald Girls Swimmer of the Year, was named FVC Most Valuable Swimmer as the only swimmer to place first in two individual events (100 free, 200 free). She qualified for state in four events (two individual, two relay) with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free and 16th-place finish in the 100 free. She was a part of the Gators’ 400 free relay that was eighth and 200 free relay that was 12th. ... Fontana, who qualified for state in the 50 free and tied for 24th, also was on the two state relays, along with graduates Avery Watson and Mackenzie Resch. Fontana won the 500 free and was second in the 50 free at conference. ... Watson also qualified in one individual event, giving the team six state qualifying events. … Penny Brereton won the 200 IM at the FVC Invite. … Relacion is somebody who could contend for FVC Newcomer of the Year, Valentine said. … “[South co-op] will be a strong contender for the FVC championship,” Valentine said. “Turn out for the team is our largest in five years. I’m looking forward to seeing which newbies step up and compete for varsity positions.”
Dundee-Crown co-op
(with Hampshire and Jacobs)
Coach: Rebecca Dziubla (fourth season)
Last season: Second at FVC Invite
Top returners: Rachel Johnson, so.; Eliana Niemi, so.; Kaitlyn Tomaszewski, jr.; Tessa Iverson, so.; Carly Pierzchalski, sr.; Olivia Burczynski, so.
Key newcomers: Maggie Nowak, sr.; Julia Zagata, fr.
Worth noting: Dundee-Crown co-op came close to catching Crystal Lake South co-op at the FVC Invite, falling 26 points short of first place. The Chargers return four swimmers who advanced to the state meet last year. As freshmen, Johnson placed 18th in the 100 backstroke and 23rd in the 100 free, and Niemi took 36th in the 50 free. Niemi, Iverson, Katelyn Mumper and Johnson also qualified in the 400 free relay, finishing 24th. With Mumper graduated, Nowak, Burczynski, Zagata or Pierzchalski will look to fill the fourth spot. ... Tomaszewski made it to state as a sophomore and took 31st in the 100 breaststroke. ... At conference, Mumper, Tomaszewski, Johnson and Niemi took first in the 200 medley relay, and Tomaszewski was first in the 100 breaststroke. Johnson was named FVC Newcomer of the Year. Pierzchalski was runner-up in the 500 free at conference. ... “This year, it will be really exciting to continue to develop the girls who returned from last year and our group of newcomers,” Dziubla said. “Every girl, from varsity to JV, has shown their dedication to improve. The girls who worked on their swimming over this summer showed up with great times for our beginning of the season time trials and showed the coaches that we will have great depth in both levels again this year.”
Huntley
Coach: Jenna Gaudio (seventh season)
Last season: Third at FVC Invite
Top returners: Alyssa Gooden, so.; Emerson Kim, so.; Kylie Lamberti, so.; Kacey Laput, so.; Maribelle Moyer, sr.; Carolyn Piepenbrink, jr.; Rebecca Rocks, sr.; Samantha Tan, jr.; Greta Young, jr.
Key newcomers: Michelle Grela, fr.; Ruby Martin, so.; Olivia Rohde, fr.
Worth noting: The Red Raiders return the majority of their team as they look to improve on a third-place finish in the FVC. Rocks, Moyer, Laput and graduate Kate Gribbens finished runner-up to South co-op in the 200 free relay at conference. The 400 free relay of Rocks, Gooden, Laput and Gribbens took third in the 400 free relay. Gribbens placed second in the 200 free, and Gooden was third in the 500 free. ... “The girls have been focusing on speed and endurance, and we’ve added dryland conditioning into our practice schedule,” Gaudio said. “The girls have set high goals, and we will work together to achieve them. Last year, we had a strong group of freshmen who are now sophomores and bring a variety of depth to the team. The seniors have done a great job setting examples for the entire team, and I can’t wait for them to race this year.”
McHenry
Coach: Sharon Lesniak (sixth season)
Last season: Sixth at FVC Invite
Top returners: Emma Blanken, sr.; Campbell Bitterman, sr.; Aurora Dunwoody, jr.
Worth noting: The Warriors took a step back in the FVC standings a year ago, going from runner-up to sixth place. ... Blanken is one of McHenry’s top returners after finishing third in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 200 IM at last year’s FVC Invite. ... “This season, we are going to be working on improving all of our personal best time from last year,” Lesniak said. “The team has been doing a lot of drill work to improve their strokes and get back into excellent swimming condition. We look forward to having a very exciting and fun year with our swimmers.”
Woodstock North co-op
(with Woodstock)
Coach: Renee Walker (11th season)
Last season: Fifth at FVC Invite
Top returners: Jadyn Grismer, sr.; Chloe Albrecht, so.
Key newcomers: Torunn Mick, fr.; Ryann Cunningham, fr.; Bella Ivers, fr.
Worth noting: Woodstock North co-op graduated six seniors, including state qualifier Bella Borta, who ended her high school career with a 30th-place finish in the 50 free. ... Grismer and Albrecht were on the 200 medley relay team that was runner-up at conference. Borta was the FVC’s 50 free champ and was second in the 100 free. ... Walker is excited to see how the new freshmen mix in with the upperclassmen. ... “After graduating six elite seniors, my hope was to have a rebuilding season,” Walker said. “However, with our two top returning swimmers, Jadyn and Chloe, and three very strong freshmen, I’m confident that we will be small yet mighty. We will see some top individual finishes throughout the season and into the conference championship season.”