River Run Raptors

Laurel Sieber

This is Coach Laurel’s second season with the Raptors, and we are very excited to have her on this summer’s coaching team. She has been swimming for eleven years, for the Naperville Racquet Club, FOX Valley, Delta Aquatics, and the Waubonsie Valley Varsity Swim Teams. A Junior at the University of Illinois, Coach Laurel’s swimming accomplishments include being a four-time member of the Waubonsie Valley Sectional Team, a State Meet Qualifier, and a member of an All-American relay team. She has been coaching in the Naperville Park District for six years, and her favorite events are the breaststroke and freestyle.

Tricia Bannister

Coach Tricia has not only been a coach for the Raptors for the past three years, she’s also swam for the team since 2001. As a Junior at Neuqua Valley High School, she currently swims for both their team and the FOX Valley Swim Team and plays water polo for NVHS. Her favorite events are the 50 & 100 Freestyles, and the 100 Breaststroke. Some of Coach Tricia’s greatest assets to the coaching staff are her cheering capabilities and dedication to the team.

Hans Peters

Coach Hans is a Senior at Neuqua Valley High School. He swims on the Varsity team and was on the State Champion team last year. He moved from the Netherlands when he was 14 and started swimming when he was 6 years old. This is his third year as a Raptor coach and holds many Raptor records in the fly and backstroke.

Morgan Gathe

A Junior at Neuqua Valley High School, Coach Morgan has swam on their team in addition to the White Water Aquatics Club, Naperville Riptides, Fox Valley Swim Team, and River Run Raptors - for whom she's been swimming since she was seven. No stranger to the Raptors, Coach Morgan was an apprentice coach during the 2007 swim season and gives private lessons to many children of the neighborhood. Her favorite part of swimming is "the feeling of exhilaration of knowing your hard work paid off when you win points for your team or you get the time you wanted", which embodies the goal of the River Run Raptors!

Colleen Clennon

Colleen just finished her freshman year at Benet Academy. She started swimming for the Raptors in 2000, when she was 5 years old. She has also been a member of the Westboro Raiders Swim team, Naperville Riptide, and Fox Swim Team. Her favorite event is backstroke. Colleen is excited to be helping out with the younger swimmers, and looks forward to helping them build confidence, improve their strokes, and sharing her enthusiasm for all things RAPTORS!!!!!!!!!

Gian Luis Delgado

This is Coach Gian Luis' first season on the Raptors swim team. He is currently a freshman at Neuqua Valley High School and swims on the JV swim team. He's swam for the Raptors since 2003 and for FOX Valley Swim Team since 2005. He's won the high point award three years consecutively for the Raptors and been a state qualifier for FOX. His favorite stroke is the breaststroke and currently holds the 13-14 50 yard breaststroke record. He hopes to bring his enthusiasm to the team and is excited for the 2010 swim season!

Gia Dalesandro

Gia, a freshman at Neuqua Valley High School, has been swimming since she was 7 years old for both the Naperville Park District and Fox Valley Swim Team. This year in High School Swimming she swam Varsity and participated in the State Swim Meet. Gia’s favorite events are the 100 back, 50 back and 50 fly. She holds the Naperville Park District City record for the Girls 13-14 50 back and won the Girls 13-14 50 free last year. Gia is very excited to meet all of the swimmers and is looking forward to her first season as a Raptor.

Coaches Corner