When Northwestern steps up to the blocks, opposing swim teams sometimes do a double-take.
“Someone came up to one of our friends and was like, ‘That girl did so many events,’ and she’s like, ‘They’re twins,’” Lilly Mehok said. “I didn’t do six events at the one meet.”
A closer look reveals the truth. Although sophomore identical twins Claire and Lilly Mehok may be difficult to distinguish on the pool deck, and admittedly share a lot more in common than just their faces, they have carved out their own roles as Wildcats.
The twins will compete at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis from Feb. 18-21. Claire Mehok will race in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke and 100-yard backstroke, while Lilly Mehok will race in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly.
“I’m sure (other teams) do notice,” Lilly Mehok said. “I don’t even think about it, that it’s special or unique, but it definitely is.”
For them, it’s always been normal, Claire Mehok added.
The sisters grew up competing in the same sports, including gymnastics and tennis. They eventually focused on swimming, staying in the same lane as their dad, a former Division I swimmer.
After leading Hathaway Brown School in northeast Ohio to the school’s first two state championships, the Mehoks committed together to the ’Cats. While they did not enter the recruiting process as a package deal, both sisters felt at home with NU’s balance of academic and athletic excellence.
They decided not to room together, but leaned on each other in their transition to college and remain close friends with the same social circle.
“We’re used to the twin dynamic and always being together, always doing something with someone,” Claire Mehok said. “It made adjusting to college easier because I was always used to being with someone and doing things with my friends and with Lilly, and always having someone there.”
The twins said racing in practices and meets growing up developed a competitive, close relationship that made them better swimmers.
Tim Hable coached the twins at Hathaway Brown and for the Blazing Barracudas Swim Club. He said the two would often swim nearly identical times in the same event, even when racing in different heats.
“They obviously wanted to beat each other,” Hable said. “That was always a good thing because they were both swimming very fast, so that competition to beat your sister is always there. And they were the best on relays and really wanted to do it for the whole team.”
Later in their high school careers, Claire Mehok began focusing more on backstroke, while Lilly Mehok focused more on butterfly. Lilly Mehok won the Division II 100-yard butterfly Ohio High School Athletic Association state championship in 2023 and 2024.
They still competed against each other in the Individual Medley, with Lilly and Claire Mehok placing second and third, respectively, at the state championship meet as seniors behind their Hathaway Brown teammate Sofia Jimenez, who is committed to Florida State.
“We didn’t always want to be competing, and she was always faster than me at backstroke, so I’m like, ‘OK, I’m done with this, I’ll try a different event,’ Lilly Mehok said. “I started training ’fly, and then we went our own ways with our strokes.”
NU coach Rachel Stratton-Mills said the sisters have become more vocal leaders as sophomores and have set an example with their intensity in practice. They often encourage each other by playfully calling out from across the pool, which Stratton-Mills said has helped their teammates feel comfortable pushing each other.
“Nobody questions whether Claire and Lilly care about each other,” Stratton-Mills said. “You don’t question whether they’ll be connected forever. So when you see their ability to push each other and their ability to put their heads down and work hard and never make excuses, it just empowers the other women to do it.”
After practicing in the same training group last year, the Mehoks have split into different units for the first time in their careers, focusing on different distances. Instead of swimming together every day, the twins said their new training regimens have made it more special when they do get to share a lane and practice together.
“That’s been a really nice example of calling each other out in a way that encourages, but it’s having fun with each other,” Stratton-Mills said. “Watching them do that, it helps the other athletes feel comfortable doing that, being OK to shout down the pool, ‘Let’s go a little harder on that one.’”
After arriving on campus, teammates and coaches needed time before learning to distinguish the sisters.
“What day is it?” Stratton-Mills joked when asked when she learned how to tell the twins apart.
Now, the Mehoks’ teammates look out for people calling out the wrong names as a team-wide inside joke.
“It was just me and Claire (thinking) they’ll get it eventually,” Lilly Mehok said. “Now, it’s the whole team trying to teach everyone like we were.”
The sisters cannot remember any other identical twins in their sport. Claire Mehok raced this season against Duke sophomore Kate Meyers-Labenz, whose twin brother, Alex, also swims for the Blue Devils. One of two sets of twins in the Big Ten, the Mehoks also competed against Wisconsin fraternal twins Justine and Lucie Delmas this year.
At Hathaway Brown, the sisters won six relay event state championships together. They did not swim any relays in their first year at NU, but have competed in two together as sophomores.
“We always liked doing that in high school.” Lilly Mehok said. “Everyone would joke about it because half of the relay was us.”
In a January dual meet at the University of Chicago, Claire Mehok swam a personal best 1:50.44 in the 200-yard freestyle and set a pool record in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:56.41.
Lilly Mehok won the 200-yard butterfly in her first collegiate meet last season against Miami (Ohio). This season, she swam a personal best 53.88 in the 100-yard butterfly at the Texas Invitational in November.
“They have the right mindset, but they both have it together,” Stratton-Mills said. “Watching them push each other has empowered the team. It’s a really positive environment that we have a group of athletes that want to push each other to be better, but you want a place where you feel like everyone cares about you. And they are a prime example of that.”
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