On Nov. 12-13, the girls swimming and diving team won the state championship scoring 182 total points, nearly double the score of the next closest teams Barrington and Hinsdale Central which both scored 100.
Varsity head coach Mac Guy was impressed with the team’s performance after coming into the state meet as the fifth overall seed.

“We just blew it up on Friday,” said Guy. “We had loads of good performances, especially on relays. And then coming back on Saturday and performing even better than we did on Friday was pretty spectacular.”
Guy highlighted multiple swimmers/divers that were key to the team’s success.
“Kaelyn Gridley and Carly Novelline were definitely exceptional,” Guy said. “Charlize Escasa was third in the 100m breast, Sydney Holder was third in diving overall, and Alexis Wendel set a team record in the 100m butterfly.”
Senior Kaelyn Gridley was proud of the team’s performance and their ability to accomplish their goal of winning state after a nerve-racking year.
“I know we were all super nervous, but every single girl stepped up and did amazing under pressure,” said Gridley. We had so many personal bests, team records, and just an amazing performance all-around.”
Gridley, who placed in the 100m breaststroke and 200m medley relay, was also impressed with her individual performance, but admitted that she had a team-oriented mindset heading into the meet.
“I dropped time in my events and achieved what I wanted for myself,” Gridley said. “Mostly, though, my goals were set by the team because we had so many relays.”
Senior Amelia Haveron also believed that the team had a fantastic performance at the state meet.
“This particular team has been incredible, especially the seniors these past 4 years,” Haveron said. “Watching the swimmers dominate almost every event they swam was so much fun and it was really cool to have all of the seniors final in at least one event.”
Haveron was surprised that she was one of the 16 divers who made it to the final round considering how many talented divers there were this season.
“I wasn’t expecting to make it to finals, so when I realized I had a chance after the first five dives, I knew I had to hit every one of my next three dives,” Haveron said. “It was a great feeling to have both me and Holder hit every dive and do really well in [the preliminary round] and make it to finals.”
After an incredible finish to the season, Guy is excited to see what the future holds for everyone on the team.
“[The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors] have lots of potential and I’m really looking forward to what they do in their club seasons and how they build upon their progress,” Guy said. “For the seniors that are continuing their swimming careers, they’re just getting started in terms of how good they can be, and I’m really excited to see what they can accomplish in the [coming] years.”