Sharks Swarm St Charles and Northwestern!

what a weekend!

What a weekend for our Sharks! We had a massive crew of 205 swimmers bring the heat to two different pools. NTA swimmers raced their hearts out at the Fun in the Wild meet at Northwestern University and the SCST Fall Classic over at St. Charles East High School.

Personal Best Performances!

The hard work in practice is clearly paying off! A special congratulations goes out to the swimmers who posted 100% best times this weekend: Anders Lane (6), Andrew Diep (4), Maksim Goldberg (4), June Iversen (4), Savannah Leskinen (4), Reagan Frankle (4), Alexander Fraley (2), Anna Somin (2), Georgia Weber (2), Leo Chen (2), Emily Worthington (2), Emily Brandel (2), Camden Foote (2), Furkan Akbas (1), Nicholas Parenti (1), Edward Dunlop (1), Chandler Giang (1), Mehmet Pinarci (1), and Alyvia Tang (1).

Many other swimmers had outstanding weekends, posting four or more best times. Fantastic job to: Riley Frankle (7), Arianna Serbest (6), Lubomir Liu-Tchorbadjiyski (5), Fabricio Gonzalez Pulido (5), Brandon Ko (5), Mark Pop (5), Liam Page (5), Yanni Yi (5), Nicholas Drcha (5), Caroline Cho (5), Lincoln Tang (5), Rosie Lombardo (5), Nathan Faynshteyn (5), Anna Nyhan (5), Zooey Christensen (5), Aiden Molinski (5), Vivien Nowak (5), Jacob Feig (4), Tamara Kret (4), Eric Moldovan (4), Everett Pumphrey (4), Jordan Ko (4), Charlie Roth (4), Patrick Chan (4), James Harlin (4), Cecily Clifton (4), Eleanor Rose (4), Ian Kwak (4), Ashton Donin (4), Clint Iversen (4), Lucy Malalis (4), Clayton Guloy (4), Mabel O'Donnell (4), Layla Roeder (4), Nora Caskey (4), Sophie Che (4), Ryder Guloy (4), Adam Mallett (4), Sawyer Newell (4), Hanna Dold (4), and Kayla Karpats (4).

First-Time Event Successes

We are incredibly proud of the swimmers who challenged themselves by competing in new, longer events for the very first time. Way to go!

First-Time Swims: Rosie Lombardo (500 Freestyle), James Silvia (100 IM), Layla Roeder (50 Butterfly), Hayley Baumgarten (50 Butterfly), Anthony Kowalski (50 Butterfly), Robert Rose (50 Butterfly), Charlie Venatta (50 Butterfly), Ryan Tolentino (400 IM).

Exceptional Performances and Team Records!

The weekend was filled with standout swims across the board. In addition to our record-breakers, several swimmers had dominant performances. Tamara Kret and Lubomir Liu-Tchorbadjiyski were unstoppable, winning all five of their individual events at the SCST meet. Nicholas Drcha also had a stellar weekend, winning four events (50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Back, and tied for 1st in the 200 Free).

A massive congratulations to Lubomir Liu-Tchorbadjiyski for breaking the NTA 13-14 Boys 100 Backstroke record with a blistering time of 52.43! And a huge shout-out to Tamara Kret for setting a new team record in the Open Girls 400 IM with a fantastic swim of 4:22.92. Incredibly, the record Tamara broke had stood for longer than she has been alive!

We also want to give a special highlight to Vivien Nowak, who showed incredible speed and determination, winning the 8 & Under Girls 25 Freestyle Shootout with a speedy time of 17.05. She brought home an impressive trophy to celebrate her victory!

Looking Ahead: GSC Rick Peterson Memorial

We're right back at it next weekend at the GSC Rick Peterson Memorial meet at Glenbrook North High School. This meet holds special significance as it honors the late Rick Peterson, a legendary coach and foundational figure in Illinois swimming. A mentor to many of the current coaches on both NTA and GSC, Rick's passion for the sport and dedication to his swimmers left an indelible mark on the North Shore swimming community. As a member of the Illinois Swimming and Diving Association Hall of Fame, his legacy is one of excellence, sportsmanship, and a profound love for the sport that he shared with generations of athletes.

Great job this weekend, everyone! Let's carry this momentum forward. Go Sharks!