Diving sensation makes another state splash

A strong developmental season for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls swimmers and divers came to a conclusion for all but one of the team's participants last weekend.

The Section 7A championships in Grand Rapids featured scores of personal bests and many solid performances in race finals.

But for Esko senior Rilee Durovec, a history-making season intensified starting Thursday with her participation at the girls state swimming and diving meet at the University of Minnesota.

Durovec won the section championships, posting a 357.75 score that was 10 points better than runner-up Claire Roufs of Duluth Denfeld. The win kept alive Durovec's undefeated season - one that includes breaking pool records at Cloquet and Duluth East.

"Her hard work and dedication are what makes her so good," said diving coach Nannette "Newt" Snyder. "She shows up for practice every day determined to be the best diver in the region. This year, she's the champion."

Durovec competed in Thursday's preliminary round at state (after presstime) in an effort to try to secure one of the 16 spots in Saturday's diving finals at noon.

"Our hope for Rilee is that she makes the top 16," Snyder said Tuesday. "It would be wonderful if she finishes in the top 10 this year."

Durovec finished 20th out of 31 divers in last year's 7A state meet. She's the first Cloquet diver to enter state undefeated in 47 years, since her coach, Snyder, accomplished the feat. Snyder finished 30th out of 66 divers at state, competing in a meet that featured a single classification. The state is now divided into larger schools (AA) and smaller ones (A).

Durovec and Snyder were further linked last weekend after being named diver and diving coach of the year in Section 7A.

Durovec, a gymnast, emerged on the diving board during her junior diving season, after Snyder challenged the competitors in the diving room to take their dedication to a championship level.

This season, Durovec reached even greater heights - literally.

"She was able to go much higher off the board, adding more rotations and difficulty to her dives," Snyder said.

Greater degrees of difficulty led to higher diving scores, and Durovec's forwards, backs, inwards, reverses and twists all improved, said her coach.

Durovec was joined by fellow senior Julia Peterson in making the all-conference team for the Lake Superior Conference. Amy Schwoch is the team's third graduating senior.

"It has been an absolute blessing to watch the athletes I've worked with over the past seven years overcome their challenges and excel in this sport," CEC head coach Rachel Peterson said, while also announcing she won't return as coach in 2025-26.

"Winning comes in many forms," she added, "and while qualifying for State or bringing home medals from section meets are the tangible and obvious rewards, I believe our team continues to win through interpersonal relationships, support networks and the amazing memories they've created together."

Before she highlighted the section 7A performances of her team, coach Peterson thanked its members, calling it a privilege "to witness their personal achievements in and out of the pool."

"Each of them hold a very special place in my heart and memories," she added.

Calling all players "amazing and successful young women," Peterson noted several section and season-defining performances, including nine athletes qualifying in the top 16, meaning they got to race in finals events for relays or as individuals. The top two racers and relays in each event advanced to State, along with the top four divers.

"We had a participant in nearly every event for [section] finals and six events with qualifiers in the top eight," Peterson said.

Among the highlights for CEC at 7A sections in Grand Rapids on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9 were:

• CEC's 200-meter medley relay of Julia Peterson, Amy Schwoch, Nattie Butler and Ailie Laine finished ninth overall with a time of 2 minutes, 5.72 seconds. They dropped 4.53 seconds from their season best.

• Allison Ringat "was shocked when she dropped nearly 8 seconds off her season best" to place 16th in the 200-meter freestyle, Peterson said.

• Nattie Butler "turned her precision and determination into excellence," Peterson said, in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. She placed sixth in the 50 with a time of 26.27 more than a ½-second improvement over her fastest seasonal time, and placed seventh in the 100 free with a time of 58.37 - a 1.5-second time drop.

• Julia Peterson's "effort in and out of the pool came to fruition," Peterson said, with a sixth-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:05.08, a 6.23-second time drop, and a fifth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:06.32, a 4.27-second improvement.

• Schwoch finished 11th in her 100 breaststroke with a finals time of 1:18.18, a personal best by 3.43 seconds.

"Amy is a shining example of what sheer determination can achieve," Peterson said. "In two years she has gone from being a complete non-swimmer to the 11th fastest breaststroker in our section. Amy proves that it is never too late to try something new, even if it terrifies you, and that hard work and determination pay off."

• CEC's 200 free relay of Amy Schwoch, Ady Parks, Katelyn Vaineo and Allison Ringat dropped almost 12 seconds to place 10th.

• The 400 freestyle relay of Nattie Butler, Allison Ringat, Ailie Laine and Julia Peterson improved their time by 6.66 seconds and placed sixth overall.

"Overall, our team had a stable season of consistent improvement in technique, effort and time performances across the board," coach Peterson said. "We gained a couple of seventh-graders who far outperformed normal expectations for new swimmers, which will give the team added depth and strength moving into next year."