Throughout the year, multiple NSW teams improved their record from a season ago, including a few going from losing seasons to conference or regional champions. Justin Cornwell gives us the nominees for the Most Improved Team here on NSW. This segment is presented by Grow Wellness.
Naperville North boys golf
We tee off the Most Improved list with a fall sport where local boys golf teams like Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Naperville Central and Metea Valley have taken turns at the top of the DVC standings in recent years, while Naperville North has struggled to rise above the middle of the pack. In the fall of 2024, a young Husky squad made a strong push to win the conference and make a postseason run. While seniors Will Nelson, Dylan Kaiman and JT Schmitt made key contributions throughout the season, the underclassmen were the key to the Huskies’ improvement this fall. North went 4-1 in the DVC, including a win over eventual conference champion Neuqua Valley, only falling to Waubonsie Valley in a head-to-head showdown. At the regional meet, four Husky sophomores, Trevor Schmitt, Henry Haumesser, Lincoln Schultz and Colin Mills qualified for sectionals with fellow sophomore Zach Zafar and freshman Jack Fleury just missing the cut. With the entire regional roster returning for multiple seasons, Naperville North could soon emerge as the local team to beat.
Waubonsie Valley girls cross country
Waubonsie Valley girls cross country had essentially become a one-person show in recent seasons with Lily Baibak being the lone Warrior you would see running near the leaders of the pack. This fall, the rest of the green and gold running roster made major strides throughout the season. Seniors Katie Beyers, Marissa Martin and Emely Galvez helped raise the floor while junior Katherine Heap, freshman Dhanya Shanmugasundaram and sophomore Mia Bertolini developed into forces to be reckoned with. Playing host at the regional meet, the Warriors finished in second place to perennial power Naperville North and qualified for sectionals as a team for the first time since 2018. Bairbak and Bertolini finished in top 10, along with Shanmugasundaram and Heap in the top 20. The following week at the Hinsdale Central 3A sectional, the Warriors made school history with a fourth-place team finish, qualifying for state for the first time ever. While Baibak and her fellow seniors are moving on, the Warriors should continue to be a program on the rise.
Waubonsie Valley girls water polo
For our next nominee, we jump all the way to the spring with another Waubonsie Valley squad, the girls water polo team. The Warriors have had several strong seasons over the past five years, but their record dipped below .500 last year, and the team only secured one conference victory. This spring, the green and gold put things back in the right direction with a 14-win campaign and a second-place finish in the DVC, the best in program history. Waubonsie also defeated Naperville Central for the first time in well over a decade and earned the number two seed in the Naperville North sectional. Senior Ruby Meier was selected to the All-State fourth team. Veteran Calin Ball, goaltender Emma Buchenauer and underclassmen Reece Calvey and Hadley Vierck all played key roles in the turnaround. Despite falling in a 10-8 heartbreaker to Naperville Central in the sectional semis, Waubonsie girls water polo became an opponent to be reckoned with this spring.
Neuqua Valley girls soccer
Neuqua Valley girls soccer has a rich history with a state championship in 2005, a state runner-up finish in 2015, while consistently challenging for a conference title. 2024 was a rough year for the Wildcats who finished the year with only six victories and a 1-4 record in the DVC. The blue and gold flipped the script in 2025, winning 16 games and a share of the DVC championship. Neuqua defeated eventual state runner-up Naperville North in conference play and was the only team to defeat Naperville Central this season, winning their DVC matchup and eventually eliminating the Redhawks in the sectional semifinals. Senior Selma Larbi returned to the roster after playing club during her junior season, and made the All-DVC and All-Sectional teams along with Chloe Orlow, while midfielder Allessandra Russo was named All-State. Addison Gusky, Sydney Michalak, Alexis May, Alaina Chandola, and Safa Jeffery were all important contributors to the Wildcats earning another regional title. Despite a tough 2-1 loss to Naperville North in the sectional final, it was clear the Cats had their claws back this spring and appear well set to remain a state contender for years to come.
Neuqua Valley boys volleyball
Like the Neuqua Valley girls soccer team, the blue and gold boys volleyball program has a proud history, earning third-place state trophies in 2007 and 2008 and finishing as the state runner-up in 2018. In 2024, the Neuqua boys only won 9 games, one of the roughest seasons in team history. Coach Erich Mendoza and his team entered 2025 eager to get things turned around. The Cats won 11 of their first 12 to start the year, showing immediate improvement that carried on throughout the season. Neuqua won the DVC championship and 27 games in total, the most since 2018. Chase Marston set a new program record for kills in a season while Dhruva Jasti set the single-season assists record. Veda Chebrolu, Liam Mitchell, Blake Thompson, Noah Cullen, and Vishwak Naramreddy each played major roles in Neuqua winning its first regional championship since 2019. The Wildcats saw their run end at the hands of powerhouse Glenbard West in the sectional semifinals, but proved their mettle throughout their turnaround campaign.
Waubonsie Valley boys tennis
Waubonsie Valley boys tennis is unique compared to the other nominees as the Warriors are coming off back-to-back successful campaigns. However, this spring the Waubonsie boys took another step forward with one of the greatest seasons in program history. The Warriors went undefeated during the DVC regular season against tough opponents like Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, and Metea Valley and capped it off at the DVC tournament to win their first conference title in at least 15 years. Playing host for the 2A sectional, Waubonsie qualified both singles players and both doubles teams to state, surging past Neuqua Valley to win the sectional championship for the first time since 2015.
Junior Hector Diaz dazzled in singles play, taking first place in the conference and sectional meets. Senior Samayan Tayal went 24-3 playing two singles and finished in second at sectionals. Revanth Kothapalli and Ishan Suresh Kumar swept the DVC and sectional doubles titles while freshmen Krish Dave and Kavin Sivapunniyam had strong debut seasons, finishing in fourth at sectionals. Legendary head coach Phil Galow, who has led the program since 1982, then saw his boys earn the best team finish in history, ending the state meet in ninth place. Tayal is the only graduate in the main varsity rotation, so there is a chance the green and gold can build on this historic season in 2026.
Neuqua Valley girls soccer wins the Most Improved Team Award
The winner of the most improved team is Neuqua Valley girls soccer! The Wildcats improved their win total by 10 games and home DVC and regional titles!
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