This past weekend, New Trier Aquatics proudly competed in the Rick Peterson Memorial meet, hosted by Glenbrook Swim Club at Glenbrook North High School. It was a meaningful weekend for our team, honoring a coach who was a foundational pillar for both NTA and GSC. Our swimmers paid tribute to his memory the best way they know how: by racing with heart and incredible effort.
Personal Best Performances!
The dedication in the pool was on full display, with a remarkable number of swimmers achieving personal bests. A massive congratulations to the 10 swimmers who had a perfect weekend, achieving 100% best times in all their completed races!
100% Best Times: Joseph Kennedy (8), Lincoln Tang (8), Adam Bodner (7), Melody Youkhana (6), Molly Bushell (6), Nikolas Nikonchuk (6), Adam Mallett (4), Elisabeth Anscomb (3), Emily Rozentsveig (3), Chloe Yue (3).
And a huge shout-out to the many others who crushed four or more of their previous bests. Tremendous job by: Leo Chen (6), Elaxi Menezes (5), Clint Iversen (5), Nora Caskey (5), Fabricio Gonzalez Pulido (5), Riley Frankle (5), Eric Moldovan (5), Mari Rice (5), Caroline Cho (5), Andrew Sullivan (5), Kai Stanczyk (5), Araad Maher (5), Ian Kwak (4), Ron Livne (4), Ozan Samikoglu (4), Andrew Diep (4), Hanna Dold (4), Reagan Frankle (4), Conor Kennedy (4), Yana Weber (4), Jacob Gorengaut (4), Jacob Feig (4), James Newell (4), John Slade (4), Hanley Byrne (4).

First-Time Event Successes
It takes courage to tackle a new and challenging race, and we're incredibly proud of our swimmers who did just that this weekend. Special recognition for these fantastic first-time swims:
- Cecily Clifton: 200 Butterfly (2:31.21) - Finished 2nd!
- Edward Saviski: 200 Butterfly (2:48.71) - Finished 5th!
- Grace Kolb: 200 Breaststroke (3:26.27)
- Harper Sharping: 200 Breaststroke (3:13.57) & 200 Butterfly (3:02.02)
- Olive Eck: 200 Backstroke (3:13.97)
- Leo Chen: 500 Freestyle (7:10.84)
- Scarlett Wessel: 500 Freestyle (8:38.08) - Won the event!
Exceptional Performances
The weekend was packed with absolutely stellar swims. A few athletes put on truly dominant displays:
- Joseph Kennedy (12) was perfect, winning all
eight of his events and achieving 100% best times. An absolutely incredible performance.
- Jordan Ko (15) was equally unstoppable, winning all
eight of his events, with many of his times being exceptionally fast for his age group, including a blistering
52.53 in the 100 IM.
- Alyssa Liberman (10) had a phenomenal meet, winning six of her seven events. Her swims in the 100 IM (1:18.42) and 50 Fly (34.46) were standout performances, ranking her among the top 10-year-olds in the country.
- Nikolas Nikonchuk (8) had a breakout meet, achieving six personal bests and winning both the 25 Breaststroke (21.89) and 50 Breaststroke (48.63).
- Lincoln Tang (12) not only went 8-for-8 on best times but also dropped a jaw-dropping
35 seconds to win the 200 Breaststroke in 2:42.06.
- Thomas Johnson (12) swept the breaststroke events for his age group, winning both the 50 (33.15) and 100 (1:12.63), with his 100 breast being a particularly impressive, high-level swim for a 12-year-old.
- Vivien Nowak (8) continued to show her strength, winning four events (25 Back, 50 Fly, 50 Free, 25 Fly) and hitting personal bests in five.
Great swimming, everyone! Let's keep this energy rolling into the next competition.
