Chris Ranallo
Head Coach
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This will be Coach Chris's 13th season
with the Geneva River Rats and 9th season as head coach.
Before being head coach Coach Chris was Coach Joe's assistant coach
for two years with the 13-18 age group. He then took over for Coach
Joe as the head coach of the Geneva River Rats and has loved every
minute! It has been awesome to watch our swimmers start as 6 &
Unders and continue to swim until the age of 18!
Coach Chris, his wife Vicki and daughter Kinsley
(now 3 years old) are excited for the Geneva River Rats this
upcoming 2022 summer season. Kinsley has been keeping both
Vicki and I extremely busy and she is now taking dance
classes!
Coach Chris is also a physical education
teacher and coach at West Aurora High School. He completed his
tenth year last year as the head girls' and boys'
swimming/diving coach. He has had a variety of experience coaching,
including two years at Metea Valley High School as an assistant in
their boys and girls aquatics program. He also worked with both the
boys and girls programs at Naperville North High School while
student-teaching. Coach Chris also coached water polo at Waubonsie
Valley High School. Coach Chris is excited to get the season
started again with the River Rats and can’t wait to see
everyone for the winter, spring and summer seasons!!! GO
RATS!!
Joe Neukirch
8 & Under Head Coach
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Coach Joe started his
swimming career at the age of five with the Aurora YMCA Sharks and
the Westwind Wahoos (old rival of Geneva) continuing through to
college swimming at Southern Illinois University. Joe's events
included the 200, 500, 1000, 1650, and 5 kilometer (open water)
freestyle. Joe was five time YMCA National All-American, three time
IHSA All State Second Team, three time MVP/Captain of the Aurora
Sharks, and varsity letter winner along with team captain his
senior year of college.
Joe started his
coaching career in 1999 as an age group coach with the Aurora YMCA
. Joe also had coached four seasons (2001-2004) for the Oswego
Otters (another River Rat rival). Joe currently is a Assistant
Principal at Jefferson Middle School.
Joe enjoys spending
time with his family (Dee, Jaxson, Jameson, Layla) camping,
swimming, biking, and traveling.
Janice Clark
9 & 10 Head Coach
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This is Coach
Janice’s 24th swim season as the head 9-10 year-old coach.
She began her ten year swimming career as a nine year-old on the
original Geneva Swim Team (and remembers when the team chose the
name River Rats!). She swam in the “old days” when the
Geneva pool wasn’t heated and when the swim blocks were huge
“boxes” of wood that the timers had to sit on or else
they would fall into the pool. Janice also swam for B.R. Ryall
YMCA, and she was a Rosary Bead, stepping into the role of captain
during her senior year of high school. After 33 ½ years of
teaching English at Glenbard North High School, Janice retired in
December of 2019. Janice lives in Mill Creek with her
husband, Doug, and their 16-year-old son, Dylan, who also loves
being a River Rat! Janice is very proud to have such a long and
fulfilling relationship with the Geneva Swim Team—and she
looks forward to another fantastic summer!! Go Rats!
Brooke Jensen
11 & 12 Head Coach
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Coach Brooke began swimming at the age of 10 and swam for a total
of ten years. She swam for Aqua Force, Delta Aquatics, and the
Yorkville/IMSA co-op high school swim team. After high school,
Brooke went on to compete at a collegiate level for Illinois State
University specializing in sprint and mid-distance freestyle. Her
favorite swimming memory is competing in the IHSA State
Championships her senior year of high school.
Brooke graduated from Illinois State University in May 2021 with a
Bachelor of Science in Middle Level Education (math, science,
English language arts). She currently teaches 6th grade
science at Monroe Middle School in Wheaton, IL. This is
Brooke’s third summer season with the River Rats, and she is
SUPER excited to work with the 11-12's this
summer!
Annika Ness
6 & Under Head Coach, 11 & 12 Assistant
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Coach Annika has been swimming
since age 9 for the Academy Bullets Swim Club. Her favorite
swimming memories are under Coach Ranallo for West Aurora High
School, where she felt her swimming truly excelled. She is more
than excited to continue her coaching career under
Chris!
Annika graduated with two Bachelors'
degrees from DePaul University and is continuing her education
there to receive her Masters' in Sustainable Urban Development. She
plans to keep studying and coaching for the Rats as long as
humanly possible, as it's the absolute highlight of every
summer! She absolutely can't wait to be coaching again. GO
RATS!
Carolyn Kovanic
13 & Older Assistant Coach
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This will be Carolyn’s 4
th
season as the assistant coach for the 13-18 age group and her
6
th
season with
the River Rats. Carolyn started swimming when she was 6 years
old and swam with several teams over the years including Academy
Bullets, River Rats and West Aurora High School. She then
went onto swim in collage at Carroll University and was captain of
the women’s team for two years. Carolyn graduated from
Carroll University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2018
and has been working for ATI Physical Therapy since
graduation.
Kellyn Todd
9 & 10, 8 & Under Assistant Coach
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My name is Kellyn Todd,
I am 20 years old and I’m a current student at Waubonsee
Community College earning a degree in general education and earning
a certificate to become a teacher’s assistant in Early
childhood education. I have been coaching for this team about 6
years and also been working for the Geneva Park district as a
before and after elementary school leader. I mostly can not wait
for the rest of the season working with amazing kids and getting to
know more of my coaching staff better!
Channing Osborne
9 & 10, 8 & Under Assistant Coach
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Channing attends the University of Kansas and is studying Nursing.
She has been swimming for the rats since she was 6 years old. Her
favorite strokes are butterfly and freestyle. She has also swam for
academy bullets, West Chicago sharks, and the West Chicago co-op
high school team. This is Channing’s third summer coaching
with rats and first summer coaching 8 & unders and 9-10s. She
is super excited for this upcoming season and work with different
age groups!
Megan B Pierce
9 & 10, 8 & Under Assistant Coach
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Megan is a rising sophomore at St. Norbert College and is studying
biology on their pre-occupational therapy track. She is also
continuing her swimming career at St. Norbert as well. This is
Megan's third summer coaching for the Geneva River Rats and she has
swam for the Geneva River Rats since she was six years old. She's
looking forward to coaching the 9-10 and 8 and under age groups
this summer and is super excited for the upcoming season! Go
Rats!
Annabel Noemi Olivo
9 & 10, 6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach Annabel is a
rising senior at West Aurora High School and has been swimming
since age 9. Annabel currently swims for the Fox Valley Riptides
with Coach Nancy and serves as captain of the West Aurora Varsity
swim team with Coach Ranallo. Annabel will also swim for the Geneva
River Rats this summer!
Annabel is a state
champion, national medalist, and record holder for the Riptides,
River Rats, and West Aurora swim teams. This is Annabel's first
season coaching with the Geneva River Rats and she is very excited
to share her love for the sport with the younger
athletes!
Kylee Blaha
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach Kylee will be a senior at West Aurora High School this
upcoming fall and has been swimming since she was 6 years old.
Kylee will continue to swim for the Fox Valley Riptides, West
Aurora varsity swim team and for the Geneva River Rats this summer.
This is her second season coaching the 6 & unders for the
Geneva River Rats and is extremely excited to start working with
these new swimmers! She can’t wait to see what the upcoming
season will hold for everyone!
Grace Sara Dunnett
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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I am Gracie Dunnett and I will be attending Loyola University
Chicago in the fall to study nursing. I have swam for many teams
over the years including the West Chicago/Geneva/Batavia Co-op,
West Chicago Sharks, Fox Valley Riptides, and Geneva River Rats. I
am so excited to coach the 6 & unders and swim this summer
season!
Ashley Heetland
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach Ashley will be a freshman at Carroll University in the fall
and has been swimming since she was 7 years old. She has swam on a
variety of teams including West Chicago Sharks, Fox Valley
Riptides, and West Aurora Varsity swim team with Coach Ranallo.
Ashley will also swim for the Geneva River Rats this summer! She is
extremely excited to work with the 6 & unders this summer and
can’t wait to see what this season has in
store!
Kailey Korrine Lundberg
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach
Kailey will be attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in
the fall and has been swimming since she was 8 years old. Since
then she has swam for the Academy Bullets swim team, the West
Aurora Varsity team, and Geneva River Rats swim team. She is
excited for this season to be both coaching the 6&unders and
swimming! Go Rats!
