Coach Sykes is in his 15th season, 14th as head men's and women's swimming and diving coach at Illinois College and as a member of the IC staff.
Coach Sykes has refined the program over his years, and it has had a direct effect on the performances of his swimmers. He attests that his training methods, structure, and team culture have allowed nearly every member of the team to achieve personal best times. He is a firm believer in having a good balance between training and prioritizing his athlete’s academics. He expects his athletes to follow through, stay mature, and remain accountable with everything they do. His team knows when it’s time to have fun, celebrate one another’s achievements, and let the results speak for themselves.
Under Coach Sykes’s guidance the swim team has witnessed several accomplishments. From national qualifiers to conference event champions, as well as having many Midwest Conference award recipients such as swimmer of the year, newcomer of the year, Elite 20 award recipients, and all-conference accolades. Throughout the years the men’s and women’s teams continue to rewrite the record book, and they continue to succeed in many other ways.
Most notably as of the 2024-25 season he helped guide the men’s program to an undefeated dual meet season and a fourth-place finish at the Midwest Conference Championships. The men’s team has continued this success through the current 2025-26 season. The 2024-25 season concluded with three members of the team – Eli Eberle, Cooper Meyer, and Scottie Nicotra – earning all-conference accolades. For his efforts, Sykes was named the 2025 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year. The 2021-2024 seasons were highlighted by the men taking fifth at the annual Midwest Conference Championships and setting multiple school records in the process. The most impressive came when Meyer set a new school standard in 1-meter diving.
Since taking the helm back in 2012-2013 season the IC swimming & diving teams made program history. Most remarkably as Hannah Marks won her third straight MWC titles in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke during the 2019-2020 season. Her time in the 100 Breaststroke was an NCAA 'B' cut, making her the first female in school history to have a qualifying time for nationals. The Blueboys improved their placement and the two teams combined to set 22 new school records during the season.
In 2018-19, the programs continued to improve when women’s teams finished their highest-ever placement at the conference meet. A total of 25 new records were set in the year, 15 by the Lady Blues and 10 by the Blueboys. Individually, Hannah Marks defended her 100 and 200 Breaststroke MWC titles and Sanna won the 200 IM, 100 backstroke, and 200 backstroke titles at the conference championships, winning MWC Men's Swimmer of the Year and nearly earning himself a trip to the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships. The men's 800 freestyle relay-Myles Genrich, Marty Ambre, Isaac Daigle, & Davide Sanna, also medaled by finishing in third place, the first men's relay to post a top three finish in three seasons.
New ground continued to be broken in 2017-18 as Marks became IC's first individual champion at the MWC Championships, winning titles in both the 100 Breaststroke and 200 Breaststroke. She also earned All-MWC recognition in the 200 IM, as did Ben Allen in the men's 200 Breaststroke. Peeradol Wattanasirakul capped his illustrious career with a third consecutive Elite 20 Award. A total of 12 women's records were rewritten in 2017-18, with five on the men's side.
The 2016-17 edition of the Blueboys and Lady Blues set an additional 19 school records -- seven by the men and 12 by the women. Hannah Marks earned IC's first-ever MWC Newcomer of the Year Award as she medaled three times at the MWC Championships. Ben Allen also medaled for the Blueboys, becoming the first man to medal individually since the resurrection of the program in 2007. Additionally, Peeradol Wattanasirakul repeated as the winner of the MWC Elite 20 for men's swimming & diving.
The 2015-16 Blueboys and Lady Blues combined for an additional 16 school records. The men's team ended with a fourth-place finish at the conference meet, marking the best finish since the rebirth of the program. Men's swimmer Peeradol Wattanasirakul became the first MWC Elite 20 award recipient in the sport of men's swimming & diving for academic achievement.
Within his first years as head coach, Sykes lead both teams up in ranking at the MWC Championships. Each year both teams continued to set records, enhanced the culture, and celebrated their growth. Coach Sykes also established the team within the community through the sport and extended his knowledge to other local teams.
Beyond the pool Coach Sykes currently serves as the Midwest Conference Sport representative and serves on the Division III Swimming & Diving Championships Committee. He also believes in engaging with the local community through the sport of swimming. Coach Sykes and his team work with the community by teaching swimming lessons, providing technique sessions, as well as work with the swimmers from the School for the Visually Impaired and from the School for the Hearing Impaired.
Before coming to the Hilltop, Sykes served as an assistant coach of the Decatur Swim Club, a volunteer coach at the Area 10 Special Olympics, and an assistant coach of the Dundee Dolphins, a park district team in Carpentersville. Sykes served as an assistant coach at Illinois College in 2011-12, helping both programs reach their highest-ever finish at the MWC Championships, before becoming the head swim coach.
A native of Algonquin, Ill., Sykes earned a bachelor’s degree from Millikin University in 2011. He was a standout member of the swimming team with the Big Blue, earning four varsity letters, nominated as the team’s most Outstanding First Year Male Swimmer, nominated as swimmer of the week during his sophomore year, a team captain, and the Big Blue Men’s Swim Team MVP recipient by his senior. He still holds the eighth fastest time in the 50 freestyle and is a part of the sixth fastest time in the 200-freestyle relay.
Sykes and his wife, Emily, a cardiac nurse, reside in Jacksonville with their son, Liam, and daughter, Emma. Both children are swimmers and compete for the JAXY Sharks YMCA Swim in Jacksonville.
