This past weekend, New Trier Aquatics hosted the
2026 Rick Peterson Build the Base Invite. This meet holds a special place in the hearts of the North Shore swimming community, as we honor long-time NTHS, NTSC, and OWC Coach Rick Peterson - a man whose innate ability to engage and inspire set the foundation for swimming in our area. Rick was known for making everyone he spoke to feel interesting and heard, and our Sharks honored his legacy by supporting one another and racing with relentless enthusiasm.
The results were nothing short of
Super! From our 8 & Unders tackling longer events for the first time to our senior swimmers refining their race strategies, NTA athletes showed up ready to race.
Perfect Weekend: The 100% Club
Achieving a best time in every single event entered is a difficult feat, requiring focus across multiple sessions and strokes. We are incredibly proud to recognize the following swimmers who achieved
100% Best Times:
Hayley Baumgarten, Mark Blauvelt, Leila Blomeier, Scarlett Cagadas, Brooks Cain, Sophie Che, Caden Cook, Charlotta Dudeck, Joshua Fredericks, Arielle Gorengaut, Clayton Guloy, Diana Hellebusch, Kayla Karpats, David Karpel, Janette Kostamo-Peistrup, Anthony Kowalski, Ian Kwak, Lucy Lahey, Michael LaRocco, Ezra Lee, Daniel Liberman, Nora Lucas, Emma Malalis, Adam Mallett, Elaxi Menezes, Andrei Molea, Jimmy Murray, Elia Narasimha, Tesha Nyamgerel, Aadhya Poddar, Luka Radisic, Bo Radtke, Vivienne Roberts, Robert Rose, Liv Samson, Evan Shahid, Aiden Silverberg, Amelia Taggart, Ellen Thompson, Margaret Thompson, Dashiel Waltz, and Olivia Zemon.
MOVIN' ON UP
Several more Sharks showed substantial improvement in several events throughout the weekend. This consistency shows the depth of development our athletes are experiencing every day:
Zara Bullock, Molly Bushell, Nora Caskey, Owen Cheng, Hannah Davis, Maksim Goldberg, Emma Gornik, Parker Klug, Charlotte Klug, Henry Logan, Rosie Lombardo, Claire Marchevsky, Caroline McCourt, Henriette Morris, Alessandra Mura, Luke Paradise, Jay Patel, Elicia Pek, Rohan Pursnani, Leo Radtke, James Silvia, Deana Soukoulis, Asher Vdovets, Alexander Weber, and Melody Youkhana.
Fearless Firsts & Standout Swims
Part of the NTA mission is fostering a supportive environment where swimmers feel safe to try difficult things. Several of our Sharks stepped up to swim challenging events for the very first time!
- Molly Bushell (7) took on the 200 Free (3:32.20) and the 100 Fly (1:47.91) for the first time!
- Adam Mallett (10) had an incredible meet, swimming the 200 IM for the first time and not only finishing but
winning the event with a 2:55.38!
- James Silvia (12) tackled the 200 IM and 100 Fly for the first time, landing 5 best times total.
- Caroline McCourt (8) swam both the 100 IM and 50 Fly for the first time.
- Asher Vdovets (10) swam a first-time 200 IM in 3:14.30.
- Joshua Fredericks (9) completed his first 200 IM in 3:34.58.
- Eloise Anderson (9) swam her first 200 IM.
- Addison McNeal (13) completed the grueling 200 Fly for the first time.
- Nora Lucas (11),
Max SooHoo (11),
Mari Rice (10), and
Ellen Thompson (11) all successfully raced the 200 Free for the first time.
A special shoutout to
Evelyn Schumacher (14) for dominating the Butterfly events, taking 1st in both the 100 Fly and 200 Fly, and to
Beatrice Schaeffer (15) for her wins in the 200 IM, 100 Free, and 200 Breast.
We are so proud of all our swimmers for setting the gold standard this weekend. We'll be back in action this weekend at the
RISE A+ meet at Libertyville High School. This is our last prelim/final meet before championship season, so let's keep the momentum rolling!
#FinsUp #BetterEveryDay #GoSharks
