Congratulations to our fellow swimmers who qualified for the CSL North Conference championships!

JV Conference qualifiers include Raihan Ahmed, Luis Castaneda, Kris Estacion, Al Estacion, Ethan Lee (jr.), Jonathan Tapper, Samuel Borozin, Christopher Chin, JP Dizon, Ihab Hachami, Ryan Litt, and Gregory Romanovsky.

Key component swimmers in their individual events planning to contribute some important points are:

Luis Castaneda 100 Y Butterfly and 200 Y IM (1:02.12 and 2:31.49 respectively)

Al Estacion 100 Y Backstroke (1:04.51)

Kris Estacion 100 Y Breast Stroke (1:15.12)

Ethan Lee 50 Y and 100 Y Freestyle (25.75 and 59.55 respectively)

Jonathon Tapper 200 Y and 500 Y Freestyle (2:10.17 and 5:51.45 respectively)

“I’ve been trying to break the JV 100 Y back record (1:00.24) lately and hopefully this could be my break in conference,” A. Estacion, sophomore, said. A. Estacion has been improving gradually ever since he started swimming for Niles North. His novice coach from last year, T.J. Moran, thought Al was more of a butterflyer, but he was able to prove to Coach Moran that he was a backstroker with his improving skills.

“I was suppose to be seeded first in conference for the backstroke event, but that was before GBN brought down a varsity swimmer to compete at JV conference,” A. Estacion said disappointingly. “But, I guess that doesn’t matter. It means a higher competitive mindset for me and hopefully, that pulls me through to place first,” he added.

“This year was definitely a great surprise for me,” JV coach, Paul Torres, said. “Last years JV team was okay, but this year definitely proved to be better. We placed 5th in conference last year and now, we’re looking forward to place 2nd after GBN (Glenbrook North). But hopefully, if both skill and hard work pays off for the JV guys, we’ll come away with first,” Torres added.

Castaneda seeded first in his 100 Y butterfly event, while K. Estacion seeded second in the 100 Y breast stroke. In addition, Lee was seeded second and first in the 50 Y and 100 Y freestyle respectively, as Tapper was seeded third and first in the 200 Y and 500 Y freestyle respectively.

“I think we’ve made our statement with the rest of the conference so far,” Raihan Ahmed, junior, said. “I’m glad the guys improved to get this far, despite all the struggles and challenges we went through as a team, even through the varsity end. But, hard work really does pay off,” Ahmed added.

If you want to support our JV swimmers, the conference meet will start at 6 P.M. at the Glenbrook North High School’s aquatics center on Friday, February 13th.

Go, Vikings!!