Girls swimming: Scouting Cook and Lake County
BARRINGTON
The Fillies were eighth in the Mid-Suburban League and 11th in sectionals last year.
Returners are seniors Abby Ashcraft, Estella Brockway and Eva Coonrad. Freshmen include Eva Wetzel, Maddie Poncot and Elizabeth Williams.
"We want to create team culture and this group is passionately invested on getting better," said Barrington coach Alex Mikolajewski. “The newcomers add depth and help us improve our conference finish from last year."
BUFFALO GROVE
The Bison were fourth in the MSL, fifth in the sectionals and 22nd in the state in 2023.
Senior Ella Houston was third in the 500 freestyle and was a state qualifier in the 200. Junior Payton Menely was 15th in the state in the 200 freestyle.
Others returning are seniors Lydia Surdyka, Addison Adrowksi, Hannah Arce, Anna Flersheim and Emily Bielst and junior Emily Krause.
Freshmen Maria Battaglia and Allison Houston will make an impact.
"We have versatility. We can swim throughout the dual meet season and show improvement in our times when it counts at the end of the season," said coach Mike McPartlin. “We want to finish in the top five in the MSL. We have the largest group of freshmen we have had in the last decade. We hope the older leadership will welcome the new athletes into the Bison herd.”
CONANT
The Cougars welcome back senior Emma Brasel, junior Brooke Lucotti and sophomores Erika Lopez and Julia Golab. Freshmen Natalie Wong and Ola Zogt hope to contribute.
"We want to continue to grow and look forward to more athletes placing at the MSL meet and IHSA sectional meet," said coach Denise Mitchell
ELK GROVE
First-year coach Jason Spjuth returns seniors Iva Restak, juniors Anastasija Jevtic, Naima Leonatti and Natalia Nunez along with sophomores Claire Crawek and Nova Belatti.
Newcomers are freshmen Ema Restak, Natalie Shafer, Rayu Panova and Roselyn Hoseman.
The Grens were 11th in the MSL and 11th in sectional action.
"We are optimistic that the team will compete and show their talent in a very strong conference," said Spjuth. “We hope to improve on conference and sectional finishes."
FREMD
The Vikings, under veteran coach Andrew Kittrell (113-28-1), seemingly have the talent to improve on last season's 10th-place finish at the state meet.
Kittrell's troops, who won the Mid-Suburban League East with a perfect 8-0 slate, welcome back state place finishers junior Noora Nahlawi (100 breaststroke) and sophomore Ellie Patla (11th 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle). Senior Erica Meyers and sophomore Anna Hinshaw also qualified for state and return.
Other returners include seniors Kate Schillinger and Reese Winnegar, juniors Molly Boldt, Macy Diver, Emma Lee, Lindsey Kaleta, Sarah Fletcher and Naishu Gopu, sophomore Mahika Tillu along with freshmen newcomers Sophia Pentchev and Serena Palmer.
"The conference in both the MSL East and MSL West have some outstanding competitive teams," said Kittrell. “We want to compete for the MSL title at all three levels in our program. We want to qualify 6 to 10 individuals for the state meet in November. We have a young dynamic team who competes with great energy."
HOFFMAN ESTATES
The Hawks were sixth in the MSL and ninth in the Downers Grove North sectional a year ago. State qualifier junior Emi Latasiewicz is back.
Others returning for coach Adam Longo are Lara Darshane, a senior, junior Gigi Navar and sophomores Raegan Kline and Lena Banaszewski.
"We want a top six placement, break school records, have state qualifiers and state medalists," said Longo.
LAKE ZURICH
Coach Jill Kragseth returns sophomore Alicia Czosnyka who was 13th in the state in the 500 freestyle last season as a freshman.
Seniors Anna Czosnyka and Andrea Fernandez also return for the Bears.
LIBERTYVILLE
The Wildcats finished second in the North Suburban, third in the sectionals and 15th in the state in 2023.
Back for Greg Herman's troops are Elle Shafer, Courtney McCall, Annie Lock, Madison Hughes and Maya Anderson, joined by newcomers Madison Southwell and Maddie Moss.
LEYDEN
Coach Chris Cook enters his 31st season with the Eagles who were second in the WSCC Gold and fourth in the Fenwick sectional last year.
Returners are seniors Natalia Kornatowska and Emily Diaz and sophomore Olivia Casper. Freshman Yuriana Carvajal joins the team.
"The senior group from last year was the best class Leyden has had since 1978. They will be hard to replace,“ Cook said. ”Our goals always is for swimmers to improve and be the best teammates they can be. We want to finish in the top three in the conference."
MAINE EAST
The Blue Demons under the guidance Peter Przekota were sixth in the Central Suburban North and 13th in the sectional.
Returning swimmers include seniors Roxanne Lazanyi, Stephanie Molinedo, Julia Lepkowska, Kim Flores and Anida Murati along with sophomore Mamata Booker.
Newcomers include juniors Carol Cichy, Olivia Ficci, sophomore Nicole Maniewski and freshman Alexsa Svarogina.
"We have a great group of girls," Przekota said. “They are extremely supportive of each other. We build on the experience from last season and have great time drops at the sectional."
MAINE SOUTH
The Hawks are led by junior Sarah Juiris who placed fourth in the state in the 50 freestyle and 11th in the 100 freestyle.
Junior Maeve Przekota was 23rd in the state in the 200 individual medley, and junior Kendall Bai and sophomore Sophia Wandel also qualified for state.
Others to watch include seniors Tali Dobrilovic, Jenna Pearl, Krystyna Kubisova, Nadia Popovic, Sydney Fraley and Claire Petruso, junior Amelia Aguila and sophomores Gabi Szymanksi and Claire Keyworth. Newcomers are sophomores Amelia Skura, Hannah Drone and Reese Mausser.
"The conference is always strong," said coach Don Kura. “New Trier looks very strong. We hope to challenge for second place. Evanston, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South and Deerfield are good teams. We want to improve every week and we want to peak in early November."
MUNDELEIN
The Mustangs enjoyed a stellar 2023 season with a third-place finish in the talent-laden North Suburban Conference, a third-place effort in sectional action and a 43rd-place finish at the state meet.
Mundelein could be even better in 2024 with 16 returners including seniors Mimi and Ruby Puerzer, Gracie Greenfield, Karina Schwalbach, Darby Schwerman, and Camryn Sheehan, juniors Madeline Iverson, Gracyn Gigiano and Sophia Sauer and diver Addy Hagel. Sophomores with varsity experience include Olivia Bartusch, Paige Robertson, Allison Rogers Lily Madison and Hayden Hilgart.
Sophomore Isla Natall and freshmen Kendall Everson and Trixie Kleinschmidt (diver) are new to the program.
"Stevenson is the class of the conference and is one of the top five teams in the state," said coach Raul Sethna. “We want to challenge for second but Libertyville will be tough even with a lot of graduations."
PALATINE
Seniors Samia Rizzo and Paige Suave, juniors Kali Kiss and Julietta Ottati, and sophomores Rachel Carlson. Vivian Meyers, and Tessa Flatinek are back for the Pirates who finished 38th in the state last year with 12 points.
"We are full of athletes new to swimming and diving," said coach Katie Mroz. We are building a strong foundation for love of the sport and people want to be every day."
ROLLING MEADOWS
Coach Monika Chiapetta, in her 27th year, returns a veteran team led by senior Katie Foley, juniors Elise North, Ella Poortinga, Emily Sang, Ellie Matzen and Maya Dorsz along with sophomores Maggie Galka, Claire Pietroska, Abigail Rodgers and Lizzie Katsov.
Newcomers include seniors Gianna Pastorello and Nora DeMaria, junior Emma Connors and freshman Michelle Dorosz.
"Most of my varsity squad from last year is back and they have a new drive and fever to goodness," said Chiapetta. The goal is for each girl is to be faster than they did last year."
ST. VIATOR
The Lions return seniors Katie Maloney, Ava Walton and Leah Collins, junior Anne Stauder and sophomore Lily Maloney.
"We are excited about the challenge that has been presented to us," said first-year coach Dan Emary. “We are going to put the work in and see how it shakes out at the end of the season. We want to develop athletes to go faster as the conference and sectional meets come up. We want to get individual state qualifiers.”
STEVENSON
The Patriots placed third in the state a year ago with 182.5 points. With five place finishers back the Patriots might even improve on last season's lofty standing.
Senior Lada Volkow was fifth in the diving while sophomore Ana Grossenbach placed fifth in the 50 freestyle and seventh in the 100 freestyle. Junior Shay Donovan was eighth in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle while junior Lineaa Florin posted an eighth-place effort in the 100 butterfly and sophomore Claire Wang was 15th in the butterfly.
Other providing experience are seniors Karina Cantero and Amanda Chang along with juniors Anika Donovan, Nelli Sandor and Cassidy Carlborg and sophomore Aikey Elzey.
The Pats were North Suburban Conference champs and sectional champs in 2023.
"We want to be conference champs again and be prepared for whatever comes," said coach Ayrton Kasemets.
VERNON HILLS
The Cougars won the Central Suburban North for the fifth time in seven years in 2023. The top returner is senior Olivia Tran who was ninth in the state in the 1-meter dive.
Others back are senior diver Mia Belini, juniors Sophia Kamarauli and Andrea Phua and sophomore Olivia Williams. Freshman Andrea Romosan joins the program.
"We want to be a contender and competitive in the CSL North," said coach Andrea Block. “It is a Cougar tradition. We want to represented at the state meet by our top two divers. We are hoping they can finish in the top five in the state."