10 Rockford-area boys swimmers to watch in '23-24 include another likely state medalist
The greatest swimmer in Rockford history is now making waves at Texas. East's 6-foot-9 Camden Taylor left a slew of records in his wake, breaking the mark in all eight NIC-10 individual events and breaking the state record held by Olympic gold medalist Ryan Held to win state in the 100-yard freestyle. Harlem also graduated its greatest swimmer in school history (Jeremy Mueller).
Those two greats graduating certainly leave a void, but there is at least one likely state medalist among this year's stars. Here are the 10 most likely Rockford-area boys swimmers to shine brightest in the 2023-24 season:\
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Aidan Alexander, Belvidere Co-op
The senior is strong in the freestyle events and will likely swim in the 500 and 200 free or 200 IM. He was first-team all-conference as a junior.
Bryson Beck, Hononegah
Thirteen-time defending NIC-10 champion Hononegah introduces at least one star freshman every year. This year’s top candidate is Bryson Beck. The well-rounded swimmer is a contender to earn a top-six conference medal in almost any event.
Cale Miles Hononegah
Miles is the No. 1 reason Hononegah is a huge favorite to win its 14th consecutive NIC-10 title as a team. The junior won all four of his events at conference as a sophomore, taking the 200 IM and 100 fly and starring on the winning 200 medley and 200 free relay teams.
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James Murray, Auburn
Murray, a senior, is the defending conference champion in the 500 free. He should also be a conference contender in the 200 free.
Tristan Peterson, Freeport
The NIC-10 has produced a long string of star divers and Peterson is continuing that tradition. Peterson, a sophomore, broke several pool and school records as a freshman and won conference and sectional titles by more than 75 points. He finished 19th at state in the preliminaries, narrowly missing the top-16 cut for his final dives. Twelve of last year’s top 16 were seniors, making Peterson a top contender for a state medal this year.
Bo Shields, Harlem
Shields, a sophomore, qualified for state as a freshman last year, swimming the second leg on Harlem’s sectional championship team in the 400 free relay. He was first-team all-conference last year and plans to swim the 100 breast and 200 IM in the postseason.
Vito Skominas, Hononegah
The senior should be the NIC-10’s top swimmer in the 100 breast, 100 free and 200 IM. He won the NIC-10 title in the 100 breast as a sophomore and finished second in the 200 free and 100 breast last year. His 1:00.49 time in the breaststroke broke the Hononegah school record but was second to graduated East senior Camden Taylor, who set the NIC-10 record and now holds the conference record in all eight individual events.
Gavin Velazquez, Boylan
Velazquez, a sophomore, was first-team all-conference as a freshman. He is a strong sprinter and relay swimmer who will likely compete in the 50 and 100 free or 100 fly.
Connor Welt, Byron
The Byron Co-op has long been one of the two best teams in the sectional but lost its top three swimmers from last year. Freshman Connor Welt should be the Tigers’ star this year. “He will make his mark this season,” Byron coach Carrie Bell said.
Owen West, Hononegah
The senior is the only NIC-10 returner who qualified for state in an individual event last year, tying for the sectional title in the 100 back. He is also one of the top freestyle sprinters in the conference.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 10 Rockford-area high school boys swimmers to watch in 2023-24
