Our Coaches

Kyle joined the Carmel Swim Club staff in May of 2023. Prior to joining the CSC Staff, Kyle was the Head Age Group Coach and Senior Assistant Coach for Gold Medal Swim Club in Chandler, Arizona for 5 years. Throughout those 5 years, Kyle helped grow the program from 50 swimmers to over 200, and from a 10th place finish at the Age Group State meet to being two-time State Champions. Kyle’s age group team was also recognized as the 45th and 37th best age group program in the country in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Kyle’s assistance with the senior side of the program also helped propel the club into becoming a Bronze and Silver Medal Club in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Kyle was selected to be a Lead Coach for the Arizona Swimming All-Star meet in 2023 and was selected as one of the recipients of the American Swimming Coaches Association “30 under 30” coaches in 2022. Additionally, Kyle was also the Head Coach at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert, Arizona for one year, where his team finished 2nd place at the AIA Division 2 State meet.  Kyle grew up in Normal, Illinois, where he swam for the BNY Waves, BNSC, and University High School. 

Tina has coached with Carmel Swim Club since May 2024. During her time with the program, she has enjoyed working with developing swimmers and helping them build strong technical foundations, and a positive relationship with the sport. She especially enjoys seeing swimmers progress over time and watching them become more independent and confident in their abilities. Before beginning her coaching career, Tina was a three-year member of the Valparaiso University swim team. She competed primarily in distance freestyle and butterfly, swimming the 1500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and 200 butterfly. During her time at Valparaiso, she also served as a team manager, where she gained additional experience supporting her teammates and contributing to the team outside of the pool. As a coach, Tina strives to create an environment where swimmers feel challenged while also feeling supported and encouraged. She believes that success in swimming comes from a combination of strong technique, hard work, consistency, and confidence. She enjoys helping swimmers set goals, work through challenges, and recognize their own progress throughout the season. After spending several years experiencing the sport as a swimmer, Tina is excited to continue developing as a coach and to share the knowledge and experiences she gained as an athlete with the next generation of swimmers. She looks forward to helping her athletes grow both in and out of the pool and continuing to be part of their swimming journey. Tina leads the Exploration 2 and Voyager 2 groups, while also helping out on the Senior pool deck as well.

DesNeiges Buchanna is back for another season with the Carmel 10 & Unders: she is the Co-Lead of Discovery 2. She has over 15 years of experience in the Carmel program. DesNeiges has also been an assistant coach for Center Grove Aquatic Club. She has been around competitive swimming nearly all her life and she excels in teaching our youngest athletes the proper fundamentals for future success in the CSC program. DesNeiges has taught kindergarten in the Indianapolis Public School System for 20 years. She currently lives in Indianapolis and enjoys spending time with her son Parker.

Julie Cardona serves as Carmel Swim Club’s Director of 10 & Under Development. Julie collaborates closely with the Head Age Group Coach and CSA Directors to ensure new swimmers transition smoothly into CSC with a focus on long-term growth and success. Julie actively coaches on deck with the Discovery and Imagination groups.

Julie boasts more than 15 years with CSC, first coaching with the program in 1997. She began her coaching career at the Sugar Creek Swim Club in Crawfordsville, Indiana. She also served as an age group coach for Center Grove Aquatic Club and was an intern with Indiana Swimming, promoting Operation Water Safety through local swim clubs.

She is a great stroke technician and her former swimmers and parents can certainly attest to the knowledge, enthusiasm, and excitement she brings to the pool every day.  Julie is a graduate of IUPUI with a degree in physical education.  Julie is the proud mother of CSC athletes Emerson and Grayson. She currently lives in Westfield.

Megan grew up on the south side of Indianapolis and started swimming on a swim team at 5 years old. Before moving to Carmel from Greenwood IN, Megan coached for the Greenwood Gators from 2000 to 2007 and coached the Greenwood Middle School swim team for three years. After graduating college in 2007, she accepted a teaching position at Creekside Middle School and started coaching for the Carmel Swim Club. She coached until 2013 when her son, Mason, was born. Megan then took a break from coaching and also had a daughter, Morgan. Now that her children are swimming, she is excited to be back on the deck coaching again. Megan taught math at Creekside for three years and now teaches math at Carmel High School.

Before joining the Carmel Swim Club, Bella held the position of Assistant Coach and Director of Operations for the Vanderbilt University Women’s Swim Team. She has had experience coaching for multiple different club teams, including Razorback Aquatic Club, Shark Wave Aquatic Team, and Nashville Aquatic Club.   Bella Cothern grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Throughout her club swimming career, she participated in numerous high-caliber meets, including Futures, Junior Nationals, and TYR Pro Series.   Bella swam collegiately at the University of Arkansas, where she earned a Master’s degree in Recreation and Sports Management. During her five years as an NCAA Division 1 swimmer with the Razorback Swimming & Diving team, she served as team captain for four of those years. As a highly decorated college athlete, Bella received numerous accolades while swimming for the Razorbacks, including:

• U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier (2024)
• 5x NCAA Honorable Mention All-American
• NCAA Scholar All-American First Team (2023-2024)
• CSCAA Scholar All-American (2023-2024)
• Broke school records on the 200 Medley, 400 Medley, and 400 free relays
• Named SEC Swimmer of the Week in October 2024

Kayla has been Club Coaching in various lead and assistant positions since 2013. She was most recently the Head Age Group Coach at Prime Aquatics in Alcoa, TN (2021-2023). Prior to Prime, she held various positions at Tiger Aquatics in Baton Rouge, LA (2015-2021) and at Nu Wave Swim Club in New Orleans, LA (2013-2015).  She has been a part of 5 Age Group Zone Teams (4 as an Assistant Coach, 1 as Head Coach), an assistant coach for the USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp, and is currently a part of the USA Swimming Women in Governance program.   Kayla grew up in Portland, Oregon where she swam for Parkrose Swim Club/Mt. Hood Aquatics and St. Mary’s Academy. In college, she swam at Tulane University and graduated with a B.S. in Public Health and has a Masters in Healthcare Administration.  

Maggie Mestrich serves as the Director of Business Development for Carmel Swim Club, overseeing the Carmel Swim Academy’s construction and fundraising efforts to expand community programs. A former CSC coach (2009–2012), she led Challenge 2 and High Performance groups and managed Operation Omaha 2.0. Before that, she was Head Age Group Coach for Fishers Area Swimming Tigers and a Volunteer Assistant Coach at Indiana University. From 2012-2019, Maggie was Director of Development for the Joseph Maley Foundation, focusing on fundraising and communications. She lives in Westfield with her husband, Jeff, and their children, Leo and Maisie.

Will has coached for the Carmel Swim Club since 2019, when he began as a junior coach. In the summer of 2023, Will began leading Voyager 2 for the long course season, and helped coach other groups, including Challenge 3, Voyager 1, Challenge 2, and Exploration 2. Will also swam for CSC since 2009, and has been a part of the growth and development of the club as both an athlete and coach. Will just finished his degree in psychology at DePauw University, where he swam for four years, and was elected team captain during his senior year. Will is very excited to be back on board to continue to give back to the club and community!

Coach Melanie joined Carmel Swim Club in June 2018 and is the Lead Coach for Senior 3 and Imagination 1, as well as an assistant for Senior 2. With over 18 years of coaching experience, she began her career at Annapolis Swim Club and later coached at Lawrence Swim Team and Lawrence North High School. A graduate of McDaniel College with a degree in Exercise Science, Melanie competed at the 2002 NCAA Division III Nationals. She moved to Indiana to coach Pendleton Swim Club and High School while staying close to family. Melanie has also served on the Indiana Swimming Board of Directors.

Jon Ranochak joined the full-time coaching staff in the fall of 2014. He currently is the Lead Coach for the Exploration 1 and Senior 2 training groups. Previously, he served as the Lead Coach for the Imagination 2 training group. Coach Ranochak is also an assistant coach on the Carmel High School staff. Jon previously coached at the South West Allen County (SWAC) Swim Team from 2011-2013. There he served as an assistant coach in their senior program, as well as Interim Head Coach for a large portion of 2013. Jon attended Purdue University majoring in Law and Society. He also minored in Psychology, Organization, Leadership, and Supervision. He was a four year letter winner swimming for the Boilermakers. Jon grew up swimming in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was a high school All-American at Homestead High School.

Coming Soon…

Brittany Van Meter became the Aquatics Director of Carmel Swim Academy in April 2022. An Indianapolis native and graduate of Pike High School and the University of Indianapolis, she brought over 20 years of experience from Indy Parks & Recreation. Brittany’s career includes managing aquatic facilities, organizing swim lessons, training staff, and coaching swim teams. As Aquatics and Staff Training Manager, she focused on risk management and lifeguard training. She enjoys spending time in her backyard pool with her husband, Brett, and their children, Connor and Elliot, as well as traveling whenever possible.

Allison grew up in South Bend, Indiana, where she started swimming at age 7 at South Bend Swim Club. She swam primarily butterfly and distance free in college at IUPUI. Allison graduated from IUPUI with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and now works as an Engineer for Citizens Energy Group.  After college, Allison quickly missed the sport and was eager to be a part of swimming again. Over the last couple of years, she has coached a variety of ages and skill levels, including 10&Under swimmers at Lawrence Swim Team before joining the CSC coaching staff. Prior to coaching, she spent her summers and free time in college teaching swim lessons.   

Coming Soon…

Kinsey rejoined Carmel Swim Club in September 2022 as the Lead Coach for Discovery 1. A Ball State graduate with a degree in Exercise Science: Aquatics, she began her career as an Aquatics Director in Louisville, KY, and coached at Lakeside Swim Club, focusing on ages 6–12. In 2008, Kinsey returned to Indiana to become Carmel Swim Club’s Aquatics Director, managing swim lessons and community programs while assisting with Discovery 1 & 2 groups. She later earned an Elementary Education degree from Indiana Wesleyan. Kinsey lives in Westfield with her husband, Jeremy, and their two sons, Nathan and Calan.

Emmaleigh is a former Division I swimmer at IU Indianapolis and a native of Hartland, Wisconsin. She grew up swimming competitively and coaching with her home team, Lake Country Phoenix Swim Team, developing a lifelong passion for the sport and for mentoring young athletes. Emmaleigh joined the coaching staff at IU Indianapolis after concluding one of the most dominant swimming careers in program history.   A four-year member of the IU Indy swim program, Emmaleigh holds six school records, including top times in the 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, 200 back, and 200 IM, along with two Horizon League conference records. Throughout her collegiate career, she earned numerous honors, including 2024 Horizon League Swim & Dive Athlete of the Year, back-to-back Horizon League Swimmer of the Meet awards in 2023 and 2024, and 14 Horizon League Swimmer of the Week recognitions. She was also named the 2022 Horizon League Freshman of the Year, a 10-time individual Horizon League Conference Champion, and a back-to-back Most Outstanding Jaguar in 2024 and 2025. In 2025, she received the Melvyn Garland Distinguished Student-Athlete Award at the Jag Awards and was also a Michael A. Carroll Scholarship recipient.   Following her competitive career, Emmaleigh spent a year coaching at IU Indianapolis, where she continued sharing her knowledge and passion for the sport with collegiate athletes. As a coach, she is committed to creating a positive, hardworking environment where swimmers can build confidence, develop strong habits, and continue growing both in and out of the pool. She is passionate about helping athletes reach their goals while fostering a lifelong love for swimming and being part of a team.