Division 2 state swimming: Weston girls get team win

CAMBRIDGE – The Weston girls swimming team didn’t win a single event, but depth matters just as much as speed at state swim meets.

The Wildcats placed 18 times in 12 events, more than enough to overcome Longmeadow’s gold-medalist relay teams and capture the overall Division 2 state championship with 250 points on Saturday at MIT’s Zesiger Center. It’s just the second overall title in program history for the Weston girls, who also won it in 2015.

“As a coach, it’s super rewarding when it’s a true team effort,” said Weston coach Jim McLaughlin. “Every single person on that team made a difference.”

Longmeadow led early on, with sophomore Lilah Doherty winning the 100-yard butterfly in 55.86 seconds. Weston’s comeback began in that same event, however, as senior Caitlin Lacey placed third in 1:00.17 and classmate Milla Vuolteenaho took fifth in 1:00.76. A pair of top-10 finishes for Margaret Liu and Sadie Nelson in the 100 freestyle put Weston ahead for good one event later.

Lacey also placed third in the 100 backstroke in 59.47 in her last varsity swim meet. The 200 medley relay team of Lacey, Zichen Zhang, Vuolteenaho and Nelson placed second in 1:51.91, and the 400 freestyle relay team of Kate Krueger, Liu, Lacey and Vuolteenaho placed third in 3:43.08 in the final event of the afternoon.

“I was thinking in my last three strokes, ‘These are my last three strokes. This is my last swim,’” Lacey said. “It was a really bittersweet feeling, because I’ve really grown to love this sport, and I especially love my teammates so much. This was such a special meet for us.”

Longmeadow finished runner up with 207.5 points. The Lancers added a pair of relay golds, as Maria DiPetrio, Claire Weppler, Doherty and Izabella Strebel won the 200 medley in 1:51.31, and Julianna Quinlan, Emilia Szyluk, Weppler and Doherty won the 400 freestyle in 3:39.93.

Seekonk’s Addison Abreu finished her senior year with a pair of individual gold medals, winning the 200 individual medley in 2:06.35 and 100 freestyle in 52.72. Freshman teammate Lydia Craft won the 200 freestyle in 1:54.02.

Northampton grabbed a pair of wins, as Amalia Guerra won the 100 backstroke in 57.67 and Ursula Von Goeler won the 1-meter diving with 448.75 points. Weston’s Bella Pettinato and Savanna Ferrucci – two of four Wildcats to qualify for the state diving competition – finished in the top 11.

“Almost all of our swims were personal bests,” McLaughlin said. “To see it all come together at the end was really, really exciting.”

Also winning events Saturday were Medfield’s Nora Herbstzuber in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.32), North Reading-Wilmington’s Kyla Kelley in the 500 freestyle (5:05.80), Monson’s Isabella Zeppa in the 50 freestyle (23.94), and the Wayland 200 freestyle relay team of Adah Shulman, Cara Hill, Paulina Ilyin and Arpi Abrahamian (1:41.50).

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