Seniors, freshmen combine to raise RBHS swimming hopes 

As she enters her fourth varsity season, senior Maggie McCoy continues making her presence known with the Riverside Brookfield High School girls swimming and diving team. 

“I’ve been swimming so long so I know swimming. Freshman year I was just there. Now I feel like I’m a part of the team,” McCoy said. “It’s good that I have a lot of people in my grade, too, just a bunch of friends so it just makes practices and meets really fun.” 

The Bulldogs will combine 10 seniors along with a huge freshman group. Seniors Annie Hector, McCoy, Carly Romero, Isabel Rosa and injured diver Brynn Gizewski are team captains. Other seniors are diver Paige Phelan, Olivia Escobedo, Sophia Jimenez, Avery Long and MacKenzey Kusper. Juniors Lizzie Ryan, Bea Ryan, Olivia Siedlecki and Charlene Wang also return as standouts from last year’s Hinsdale Central Sectional lineup.

There are 49 athletes in all. 

“This is the biggest group I’ve ever had,” longtime RBHS coach Mike Laurich said.  “(The freshmen) are a solid group. They don’t know any better than to just go so that’s going to benefit them and make our upperclassmen realize they’re got to pull their weight, too.” 

Last year, the Bulldogs were fifth at sectionals (160 points) with graduated Maria Ellis the lone state qualifier. Phelan came closest to also advancing by taking seventh in diving (personal-best 399.25 points for 11 dives), missing the at-large state cutoff of 408.35.

“(State) is a big motivation for me, along with this being my last year diving,” Phelan said. “I think I have improved on consistency and I hope to continue to compete new dives.”

“We’re looking to increase her degree of difficulty. She even did a new dive (in the Sept. 2 home triangular), which was nice to see,” RBHS diving coach Amy Phillips said. 

At sectionals, McCoy, Lizzie Ryan and Wang joined Ellis for fourth in the 400-yard free relay (3:49.45) and sixth in the 200 free relay (1:44.56). McCoy also had top-10 finishes in the 100 and 200 free. Gizewski is out with a torn ACL suffered during AAU summer basketball and will undergo surgery soon. Phelan helped to convince junior Cora Rosenfeld, a fellow sectional-qualifying gymnast and all-sectional lacrosse player, to join diving.

“(Our strengths are) definitely our team working our relays and all of the cheering on the sidelines,” McCoy said. “My goals are to improve my freestyle (100 especially), just having fun at all of the meets and doing the best I can in all of my races.” 

Another key is how well the underclassmen progress. The list includes sophomores Violet Bower, Josie Chase, Violet Gerny and Josie McAllister and freshmen Nora Graham, Adelynn Lesniak, Kennedy Mulhall, Beatrix Provost, Rian Reynolds, Zoey Wichmanowski and Nora McCoy, Maggie’s sister. 

Many underclassmen in junior varsity races Sept. 2 had faster or comparable times to varsity entries.

“We’re always trying to get something to state. With freshmen, you never know,” Laurich said. 

LTHS girls swimming and diving

For the second year in a row, the Lyons Township High School senior girls swimming and diving team graduated numerous all-staters from a top-10 team state finisher. This time they return even underclassmen who already have shown their talents at the state meet.

“The lineups are going to look so much different. We lost a big senior class but we have so much depth on this team that we can fill those holes,” senior Claire Crimmins said. “I just feel like if we have a good time, we’ll swim well and if we keep cheering for each other and have each other’s backs. And know that all of the hard work we’re doing right now is going to help us in November (at state).”

Crimmins, senior diver Brynn Krantz, juniors Olivia Chavez of Brookfield, Livia Joern and Abby Thompson and sophomores Sydney Kail and Molly Forebaugh return from the 2025 state lineup that finished sixth (131 points) with five all-state performances in the championship finals (1st through 8th) and seven more for ninth through 16th. Other projected contributors include sophomore Tatum Fridrych and freshmen Brock Collins, Sophie Thompson and diver Abbie Fauth.

Krantz is a two-time state qualifier while all of the state swimming returnees made their debuts in 2025. The Lions also now have training experience with 2014 LTHS graduate and former swimmer Brendan Weibel as he begins his second season as head coach.

“We’ve kind of hit the ground running a little better this year as they know what to expect and how the program works,” Weibel said. “I think (the returnees) understand the pinnacle of high school swimming is state. It’s really hard to go there and perform your first time so having that many come back is a very positive thing.” 

Kail (backstroke) and Crimmins (freestyle) return from last year’s 200-yard medley relay that finished second (1:43.17) – the Lions’ highest state finish ever in the relay after taking third five times before. Collins (backstroke), Kail, Fridrych (breast stroke) and Crimmins were second (1:46.86) at Hinsdale Central’s KP Invitational Aug. 29.

“Last year, we were rocking it. I feel that relay is going to be really, really good (again),” Crimmins said. 

The 400 free relay with Chavez (3:25.74) was seventh at state. In the B finals, Joern (100 breast in 1:05.74) was 11th and Krantz was 15th (419.95 points for 11 dives), making the 16-diver finals after finishing 17th as a sophomore (351.55 for 8 dives), 3.40 points from a berth in finals.

Other state qualifiers who did not advance to finals included Kail (56.84 in 100 back, 19th), Abby Thompson (1:06.25 in 100 breast, 20th), Crimmins (23.99 in 50 free, 21st), Chavez (100 free in 52.94, 29th) and Forebaugh (2:10.09 in 200 individual medley, 36th).

“I want to final in both the 50 and 100 (free) this year,” Crimmins said. “I feel (as a senior) I have to step up more and let these girls know what they’re going to walk into (at state).”

The Lions won the Hinsdale Central Sectional with all 14 Lions who competed qualifying for state in 20 out of 21 possible berths. The Lions’ Julie McDermott was named sectional diving coach of the year.

 “(The goal is) get everybody to go as fast as they ever have at the state meet. If we do that, things will happen in the team race,” Weibel said.