Chris Ranallo
Head Coach
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This will be Coach Chris's 12th season
with the Geneva River Rats and 8th 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 2 years old) are excited for the Geneva River Rats this
upcoming 2021 summer season. Vicki and Kinsley are the two most
amazing individuals ever and Coach Chris is extremely lucky to have
the best wife and daughter ever!
Coach Chris is also a physical education
teacher and coach at West Aurora High School. He completed his
eigth 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 23rd 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 15-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!
Martin Ambre
11 & 12 Head Coach
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Coach Marty began swimming when he was
six years old. He and his older sister swam for multiple teams
including Aurora Sharks, Delta, and Aqua Force. Upon starting high
school, he swam for Coach Ranallo at West Aurora and Coach Nancy at
Riptides which then started his journey with the Rats. After high
school he swam for Illinois College earing him multiple distance
records (200, 500, 1000, 1650 freestyle) and the captain position
for his sophomore-senior year along with the title of MVP for all 4
years. He is now graduated from Illinois College and is working at
Illinois Student Assistance Commission and is the assistant
coach/recruiting coordinator at Illinois College. This is Coach
Marty’s 6th season with the Rats as a
coach and cannot wait to see what happens this
summer.
Annika Ness
6 & Under Head Coach, 9 & 10 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 3rd season as the assistant coach for
the 13-18 age group and her 5th 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 in
Geneva.
Brooke Jensen
11 & 12, 9 & 10 Assistant 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 second summer season with the River Rats, and she is
super excited to continue working with all the
swimmers!
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!
Kelly Baughman
9 & 10, 8 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach Kelly began her swimming career
when she was six years old. She swam for Wheaton Swim Club, St.
Charles Swim Team, and Geneva River Rats. Coach Kelly now swims for
St. Ambrose University, specializing in 100 fly, 100 free, and 50
free. She has been a captain for the swim team for two years
now.
Kelly is studying Exercise
Science with a minor in Psychology and will continue on to
Occupational Therapy school in the fall of 2022! This will be
Kelly’s second season coaching the River Rats, but her first
season coaching the 9/10 age group. She is very excited to coach
the swimmers this season and continue her love for swimming with
them!
Haley Ann Atkins
9 & 10, 8 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach Haley is a
freshman at Loyola University Chicago with a major in Biochemistry
and started swimming at 9 years old and swam for a few teams
including the Academy Bullets, West Aurora High School, and the
River Rats. While she is not swimming in college she is very
excited to work with new swimmers and help them love swimming as
much as she does. This is her second season with the River Rats and
is very excited to coach the swimmers and have an awesome summer
season! Go Rats!!
Mitchell Regelbrugge
9 & 10, 8 & Under Assistant Coach
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Mitchell Regelbrugge is
graduate from Geneva High school and has been swimming for the
River Rats since he was 4 years old. Mitchell has taught swim
lessons for the past 3 years and has loved everything about it.
Currently he is planning on studying fire science and plans to be a
firefighter in the future. This is his first year coaching and is
excited to see what the season has to bring!
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!
Channing Osborne
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Channing is a senior at Batavia
High School and 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
second summer coaching the 6 & unders and is excited to
continue passing on her love for swimming.
Megan B Pierce
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Megan is a senior at Batavia High School
and has been swimming for the Geneva River Rats since she was 6
years old. She will be attending St. Norbert College next year to
study biology on their pre-occupational therapy track. She will
also be continuing her swimming career at St. Norbert as well. This
is Megan's second summer coaching for the Geneva River Rats and she
is super excited for the upcoming season!
Kylee Blaha
6 & Under Assistant Coach
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Coach Kylee will be a junior at West Aurora High School and has
been swimming since she was 6 years old. She also swims on the West
Aurora varsity swim team and Fox Valley Riptides club team. This is
her first season coaching with the 6 & Unders for the Geneva
River Rats and she is extremely excited to start working with them.
She can't wait to see what the upcoming season will bring for
everyone!
