Nevada highschool swimming preview: Palo Verde boys, Coronado ladies search for repeats

With most groups opening the Class 5A swimming season this week, Palo Verde coach Brent Gonzalez finds himself in an uncommon state of affairs.

The Panthers have dominated boys competitors with 11 consecutive 5A state championships, however he thinks his ladies could have a greater shot at a title this season.

“This is going to be a tough year for the boys,” stated Gonzalez, whose program is reeling from heavy commencement losses. “I don’t have replacements for the top three guys we lost. Max Carlsen was the big one.”

How essential was Carlsen to Palo Verde’s lineup? As a freshman at North Carolina State this yr, he already is the ACC report holder within the 1,000 freestyle and has been named to the All-ACC crew within the 500 free and 1650 free as he awaits the NCAA Championships.

Gonzalez stated his youthful swimmers usually step as much as fill holes, however Carlsen is irreplaceable. His crew was already struggling to carry again opponents final season, successful the title by two factors over Reed and 4 over Coronado.

“I still think we’re going to be competitive this season,” stated Gonzalez, who additionally expects his relay groups to undergo because of Carlsen’s departure. “We might not win, but we will go down trying.”

Gonzalez stated Coronado and Faith Lutheran might be severe threats from the South, whereas Reed appears to be like robust within the North.

But he nonetheless has senior Owen Robertson, who gained the 200 particular person medley and 100 backstroke ultimately yr’s state meet. Senior sprinter Joshua Evans and junior sprinter Chase Gallagher additionally look robust.

“You never know who else will step up,” Gonzalez stated.

Girls swimming

Defending 5A champion Coronado misplaced a number of key swimmers to commencement, and several other squads are hoping to take benefit.

The Cougars once more look robust within the relays, whereas senior Ana Schulz, senior Grace Carrington and sophomore Lia Carrington return from robust showings in final yr’s state meet.

But Bishop Gorman coach Christopher Barber famous that Coronado’s losses may open doorways for different groups.

“We’re as deep as we’ve been in a while,” stated Barber, who thinks his ladies squad is slowly working its method again to the place it was when this system gained state championships from 2010 to 2014.

“We should be vastly improved. Last year we had to scrap and claw, and we had a lot of new swimmers. But we’ve had an infusion of freshman swimmers and transfers, so I think we’ll be much more competitive.”

No one is able to name for an upset of Coronado, however hopes are on the rise.

“They’ve still got several pretty high-profile swimmers,” Barber stated. “But they lost a lot, so depth could be a concern. It could be a brand new field, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next month and a half.”

Gorman must be led by veteran freestyle and breaststroke specialist Juli Herra, although freshmen Fiona Wendelboe (backstroke) and Kenzie Hovanec (all-around) additionally present promise.

Palo Verde is also cautiously optimistic.

“Our girls are looking good,” stated Gonzalez, whose crew completed third in state in 2025. “I think they will be a bit stronger. I don’t know if we can take down Coronado, but I think we’ll be competitive.”

Palo Verde might be led by Zoey Johnson (sprints), Rachel Robertson (freestyle, breaststroke), Alexa Thielke (breaststroke, backstroke) and Aspen Konidaris (diving).

Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.