Weston closes late to capture third consecutive D-II girls swim and dive title

BOSTON — Jim McLaughlin held his breath each time another swimmer hit the water.

Entering the final race of the day, the Weston girls swimming and diving team found itself down just one point to Wayland. With a third-straight Division II title on the line, the Weston head coach knew his team needed a clean race for the win.

“I knew we had a little more (energy). Wayland had two really good relays early and they had a little less left at the end than we did,” McLaughlin said.

After Wayland clocked in with a time of 3:54.79 in the 400-yard freestyle relay in the first heat, the Wildcats understood the mission.

“I knew this was going to be my last ever race in high school,” Weston senior Kate Krueger said. “This has been an amazing chapter of life. So I had to go and give it everything I had.”

As the third leg of the relay, Krueger passed multiple swimmers, taking third in the race. That eventually helped overtake Wayland by a score of 262 to 257, allowing Weston to hoist the trophy for the third straight year.

“This was the closest (championship) we’ve had by far. It feels great. This is a great group of girls. The way this meet unfolded was crazy,” McLaughlin said.

Weston never led until after the final race at MIT on Saturday. Through seven events, the Wildcats sat in fourth.

In the next event, the 500-yard freestyle, Krueger’s second place finish (5:06.41) pushed her team into the same spot in the team standings.

The senior added another second-place finish in the 200 IM (2:08.11). With plans to continue her career at Washington University in St. Louis next year, Krueger said swimming for Weston helped reignite her love for swimming.

“This was team was so special. It was once-in-a-lifetime experience. I don’t think I would still be swimming if it were not for these girls and this team,” she said.

Freshmen Philip Zhou provided multiple top finishes as well. She took second in the 100-yard backstroke (59.14) and fourth in the 100-butterfly (1:00.54).

“We had some girls that had amazing swims,” McLaughlin said. “These girls are super tight. They want to be together. Swmming is a tough sport. So if you have a community of kids that want to be together and work hard together, that makes a difference.”

Belchertown freshmen takes two medals

Natalie Parent may have been the only Western Mass. individual swimmer, but the freshman represented the region with two first-place medals.

After taking first in the 100-yard backstroke and second in the 100-yard freestyle at the Central/West sectionals, Parent won in the 100-yard butterfly (59.28) and 100-yard backstroke (58.35).

“I’m very excited,” Parent said. “It feels like all the work I put in paid off today.”

The freshman was not alone at the pool. Thanks to the Orioles qualifying in two relay races, she had several teammates on top of her family making the trip.

“It means so much that they are here. I’m really happy to have such a great support system back home,” she said.

Belchertown finished 18th as a team (52 points), scoring points in a pair of relays to add to Parent’s two victories.

Greater Lowell Tech freshman makes history

Greater Lowell Tech might’ve finished in 11th (62 points), but the Gryphons saw history on Saturday. Freshman Avarie Nadeau won the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.05), marking the first state championship win in program history.

Though if you ask the freshman, she was hoping for an even better finish.

“I was hoping for a 5:03 or under five (minutes), but I’m OK with how I did,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Nadeau finished third in the 200-yard IM 2:12.72. Her two top-three finishes accounted for over half of her team’s points.

“I’m really proud to do this for my school,” Nadeau said. “I’m really happy with this race. I’m really excited for the next few years to come.”

Results

200-yard medley relay

1. Wayland – 1:49.39
2. Seekonk – 1:50.93
3. Mystic Valley – 1:52.57

200-yard freestyle

1. Eliana Laham, Bromfield – 1:53.66
2. Jenna Whitaker, Triton Regional – 1:57.57
3. Zoey Ceriello-Sachette, Hamilton Wenham – 2:00.12

200-yard IM

1. Lydia Craft, Seekonk – 2:05.58
2. Kate Krueger, Weston – 2:08.11
3. Avarie Nadeau, Greater Lowell Tech – 2:12.72

50-yard freestyle

1. Maya Pereira, Wayland – 24.31
2. Anna Szafran, Duxbury – 24.52
3. Samantha Lee, Medfield Norwood – 24.65

100-yard butterfly

1. Natalie Parent, Belchertown – 59.28
2. Eliana Laham, Bromfield – 59.34
3. Bonnie Arrigo, Seekonk – 59.72

100-yard freestyle

1. Samantha Lee, Medfield Norwood – 53.34
2. Maya Pereira, Wayland – 53.77
3. Rinnah Shulman, Wayland – 54.20

500-yard freestyle

1. Averie Nadeau, Greater Lowell Tech – 5:05.34
2. Kate Kreuger, Weston – 5:06.41
3. Jenna White, Triton Regional – 5:15.62

200-yard freestyle relay

1. Wayland – 1:40.16
2. Mystic Valley Charter – 1:42.35
3. Weston – 1:42.83

100-yard backstroke

1. Natalie Parent, Belchertown – 58.35
2. Philina Zhou, Weston – 59.14
3. Cara Hill, Wayland – 1:00.19

100-yard breastroke

1. Lydia Craft, Seekonk – 1:05.18
2. Molly Conners, Ashland – 1:07.81
3. Anna Szafran, Duxbury – 1:08.20

400-yard freestyle relay

1. Seekonk – 3:41.25
2. Dover-Sherborn – 3:44.02
3. Weston – 3:47.79

1-meter diving

1. Maddie Reif, Norwell South Shore Tech – 463.80
2. Avery Rogers, Advanced Math & Science Academy – 425.65
3. Izzy Irwin, Wayland – 405.00

Top-10 Team Results

1. Weston – 262
2. Wayland – 257
3. Seekonk – 189
4. Mystic Valley Charter – 179
5. Dover-Sherborn – 179
6. Triton Regional – 131
7. Medfield Norwood – 118
8. Duxbury – 131
9. Nantucket – 84
10. Westwood – 76

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