Image Credit: OPRF Swim and Dive

The Oak Park and River Forest varsity girls’ swim team is eager to finish the season strong after top-tier performances this season so far.

In the water, these girls have achieved at a high level, most notably on Sept. 25 at a tri-meet at Hinsdale South. Bigger than the win was senior state swimmer Hailey Boland breaking the pool record for the 100-yard breast stroke. Another record was broken in the 200-yard free relay that included Boland, senior Evie Hasenbalg, junior Kylie Miller and senior Avaa Ruffer. Jillian Louie set a new school record in the six-dive event.

Miller was excited to see Boland “get the record after everything that she has worked so hard for,” she said. 

Last year, the same 200 freestyle relay team took third at the Franklin Park-Northlake Sectional, falling 0.41th of a second off of the state qualifying standards. 

“We have gotten a lot stronger since last year, and I’m excited to see how mixing up the order of the relays can affect our time,” said Miller.  

With tight and unpredictable schedules, the team must make the best out of each practice. Ruffer said that at practice, positivity and motivation is also vital to breaking personal records because it can be exhausting to persevere through the mental and physical challenges of the sport. She added, “You give all that you have because what you do at practice really translates directly to how you do at meets.”

The atmosphere at the meets is exhilarating. Members of the team show spirit at and before the meets, and will support their teammates in the stands when they aren’t swimming. 

So far the girls’ have a dual meet record of 0-2. They also placed second at the 37th annual Riverside Brookfield Invite on Sept. 13 along with the KP Invitational at Hinsdale Central on Aug. 30. 

“I am gruntled with the performance of the girls so far this season,” said Lundgren. 

Compared to past years, Lundgren noticed that the 2025 girls are good at grasping practice routines, independent and committed  to greatness in the pool. “They are to the point now if they don’t get in on time, or they are not at the place they are supposed to be at or when they are supposed to be there, they will dole out little punishments, like do a minute plank for every minute we’re not in the water, and that’s not even something I established,” said Lundgren. 

Even though JV and varsity have different practice times, they maintain close knit relationships between both levels from the full program get-togethers. Ruffer explained how every year the captains create little bonding groups that consist of a diver and a swimmer from each class, who are meant to interact outside of practice with each other. 

Many of these friendships are fueled by the time these girls spend with one another during the club season. “It doesn’t feel like I have to catch up with them every time high school season starts,” Ruffer said. “So I feel lucky to be able to talk to them year round.” 

Even though the high school season is almost over, with the WSC Silver championship coming up to close up the regular season, there are still a few traditions and meets that await. 

Lundgren described how now the team has begun to board the sectional or conference bus deciding “what seat are you going to be on in that bus, so we’re trying to narrow that down, and then get in a rhythm for our specific events that we will swim at the end of the season.”