Strong returnees are expected to make a splash again this winter – Daily Local

By Bruce Adams
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The Chester County high school girls swimming teams are looking strong once again for the 2024-25 season. Key returning swimmers include 2023-24 PIAA 3A diving champion Avery Hillier of Conestoga and Ellie McNamara of Downingtown West, who was named Ches Mont Girls Swimmer of the Year based on performance points last winter. A significant number of underclassmen qualified at the district and state levels last winter, so Chesco’s swimmers should once again make their mark in the postseason.
Here’s a look at the local girls swimming teams as the 2024-25 season begins:
Avon Grove
The Red Devils are led by two versatile performers: senior Kaitlyn Burk (three-time district and state individual qualifier) ​​and junior Cailin Maley (district and state individual qualifier). Both swimmers received second team overall honors.
“This will be a rebuilding year with the loss of Ava Pfaff, Lily Perrin and Alena Kurtz,” Avon Grove head coach Kelly Burk said. “Sisters Melanie (senior) and Elena (sophomore) Bilyk and (junior) Charlotte Biehn will do their best to fill these gaps.”
Bishop Shanahan
The Eagles are led by state qualifier Julia Taylor and captains Katie Kalimago and Devon Kane.
“We plan to build our team this year,” said head coach Eric Snook. “Last year we went from 15 to 27 swimmers (boys and girls), and this year we have 31. We have 10 freshmen this year, so our team is building from the ground up, which is great for the future.”

Coatesville

The Red Raiders have a new coach, Cora Glass. The leading swimmer for Coatesville will be junior Sarah McGann, who has qualified for state each of the last two winters. McGann swam the 100 fly and 500 free at Districts last winter. As a sophomore, she placed seventh in the 500 free and 13th in the 100 fly at districts.

“Our team has grown this year, which is great,” Glass said.

Conestoga
The top returnee is reigning state diving champion Hillier, who was ranked the top-ranked diver in the country by NISCA last year.
“Avery is not only a great jumper, but he can also turn heads as a sprinter when he competed at the district level last year,” said coach Rob Kirkby.
Other key returnees include senior Hadar Miller, a repeat state player in the 100 breast and a key member of the medley relay; junior Maddie Fox, who has been an integral part of the Pioneers’ success in recent years; and juniors Olivia Tudge and Reily Dolan, who should continue to provide the depth needed to be a successful dual-meet team again.
Downingtown East
The Cougars’ top returning swimmers include juniors Ava Sgarra, Lucille Obenski and Ellie Reese and sophomore Kayla Terry.
“These (four) swimmers have consistently performed strongly and we expect them to be instrumental to our success this season,” said coach Sean Wyatt. “In addition, we are pleased to highlight Natalie Kibalo, a newcomer to watch who shows great promise and potential.
“As a team, our greatest strengths lie in our depth across multiple events and our athletes’ determination to continually improve. A challenge we are focusing on this year is encouraging greater versatility within our lineup to adapt to different competition scenarios.”
Downingtown West
The Whippets, who had a strong 2023-24 season, return a trio of state qualifiers, including juniors McNamara and Morgan Harlan and sophomore Keira Carmella. McNamara placed fifth at state in the 500 free and was named the Ches Mont Girls Swimmer of the Year based on performance points. Additionally, Captains Abby Harlan, Mary Kate Johnson and Seraphim Rahardjo, as well as dive captain Reilly Durkin, will lead the Whippets.
Great valley
The Patriots are led by junior Grace Curtis, a state qualifier in the 200 IM and 100 Breast events.
“Our numbers have increased this year with varying levels of performance,” coach Carly DeMarcantonio said. “We have already enjoyed watching our captains bring a sense of community and family to the team.”
Kennett
The Blue Demons are a young team as the team (combined boys and girls) lost 17 seniors to graduation. Top returners include junior Alex Scime, who placed ninth in the 500 free and 12th in the 200 free at states, and sophomore Annie Rhodes, a district qualifier in the 500 free -Run.
Oxford
The Hornets return junior Claire Livingston, a district and state qualifier, as well as district qualifiers Grace McDermott and Jill Chase.
“We are fortunate that almost everyone from last year returned to the team and even managed to add a few new faces to our team,” said coach Chrissy Reinard. “We increased our numbers again this year by adding a handful of new swimmers to the team. Our girls team is made up of so many amazing girls this year – each of them strives to do their best every time they step into the pool, and that makes our job as coaches a little easier. Even though our numbers are small again this year, as a team we are looking forward to setting goals, achieving personal bests, strengthening our team and building friendships.”
Unionville
As Longhorns All-American Izzy Iwasyk, the 2023-24 Daily Local News Girls Swimmer of the Year, and Lauren Dobie celebrate their graduation, team senior captain Amelia Miller, a district qualifier in the 200 and 20 years, is excited to return to welcome 100 free and one state qualifier in relays.
“Amelia brings experience, leadership and determination to the pool,” said coach Mike Mangan. “Our team leaders have worked hard since September and are ready for the season, eager to take on new roles and prove themselves.”
Villa Maria
The Hurricanes’ key returning swimmers include senior Keri Collison and sophomores Meg Collison (Keri’s sister), Gwen Devenney and Hailey Rittenhouse.
“We have a solid team with good potential to improve on last year’s record,” said coach Fritz Schumann. “Our returning swimmers bring great experience to our team and we have a group of first-time swimmers who will complement them well. We should have more depth than last year.”
Aquatics will be strong again with several returning district qualifiers – juniors Sophie Mesiarik, Skye Malloy, Maddie Shim and Kaleigh Wagner, and seniors Sarah Castaldi and Lila Traynor.
“Our divers are strong and bring additional depth to our team,” said Schumann.
West Chester East
The Vikings had some significant graduation losses (Taiylor Tegler, Sam Heiland) but returned some solid swimmers in Emily Schwarz, Grace Herlihy and Emma Antczak. Black was a state qualifier in the 200 free and a member of the 400 free relay team that placed ninth at states. Herlihy was also a member of the 400-meter free relay and 200-meter medley relay team that placed ninth at states and broke the school record. Antczak was a district qualifier.
West Chester Henderson
Key contenders this winter include junior Kaitlin Alansky (diving), junior Maggie DeFonzo (breaststroke, 200 IM), senior Meghan Denney (free, backstroke), sophomore Brooke DiMichele (diving), senior Paige Fisher (freedom, breaststroke) and junior Courtney Hallowell (free), senior Caelan Ladd – (200 IM, breaststroke), senior Katie Leary (free, flight), freshman Ella Mogck (free, flight), junior Grace Mills (free, fly), sophomore Lila Swindler (200 IM, breaststroke) and senior Ruhi Trasi (diving).
“We are excited to see how the season will unfold, especially to hopefully see how the strength of the team comes together,” said coach Jeff Bott. “The group has some experience at the district and state level, but the challenge again is to return to that level while managing the dual meet season in the best possible way.”
West Chester Rustin
Golden Knights coach Missy Coley said, “We have a solid group of experienced swimmers who have proven themselves in the past and we expect to continue to shine.”
These swimmers include junior Paige Clancy, sophomore Aoife Speer Gibson, sophomore Claire Roussakis and senior diver Ellie Smith. Coley also noted that several talented freshmen made a strong impression, including Riley Armstrong, Isabella Moden and Madeline Persons.