For the seventh straight year, Wellesley girls swimming has proven that they run the south.

The Raiders topped the Girls South Sectionals at MIT with 330 points. Needham trailed with 291 points, narrowly overtaking Brookline (290) for second in the final race.

Wellesley managed the victory without a first place finish in the entire meet. They finished second in the 400 yard freestyle relay (3:50.88) and third in the 200 yard freestyle relay (1:45.22). Their best individual performances came in the 100 yard freestyle as Elaine Cheng took second (55.57) followed closely by teammate Alexandra Loo in third (56.00). Serena Loo also placed second in the 200 yard IM (2:16.10) while Sarah Ginsberg (395.55) in the 1 meter dive and Sonja Tellander (5:35.95) in the 500 yard freestyle both placed third.

“A great team performance,” said Wellesley coach Doug Curtin, “We won the meet without winning a single event which just goes to show our depth and strength as a team … We had 17 kids swim and dive at this event, which is probably the highest of any team here. What it does is alleviate the pressure and everybody knows that they’re taking care of each other. So if someone doesn’t have a great swim, someone else is stepping up and vice versa.

“Each year historically, we’ve been really strong but it’s a completely different dynamic and you have to figure out what works and what doesn’t work,” said Curtin. “As a program, what we really try to do is build those younger kids up with the help of seniors who have really stepped up as leaders in a lot of different ways.”

Although they managed to pull away from the pack by the end, Wellesley faced a strong challenge from Needham, who were runners-up for the fourth consecutive year. Needham opened the meet with a victory in the 200 yard medley relay (1:54.25), defeating Newton North and Brookline.

Needham was led by freshman Andrea Qie, the standout individual swimmer in the girls division with four gold medals. She was part of the victorious 200 yard medley relay team and followed it with a victory in event five, the 200 yard IM (2:12.04).

Later in the meet, she earned her second individual victory in the 100 yard butterfly (57.77). Finally, she closed the meet with a clutch performance, helping Needham take the 400 yard freestyle relay (3:48.58).

The 400 yard freestyle relay clinched second place for Needham as they overtook Brookline who held second by eleven points entering the final race of the meet.

“I think the team really helped support us. I had a really great support system with the coaches. I was kind of freaking out before and they just helped calm me down,” said Qie. “It was a really good experience to get those golds but it was definitely a team effort.”

In the Boys South Sectionals, Milton repeated as champions with 266 points. Braintree trailed closely in second with 262 points, followed by Walpole in third with 197.

Unlike Wellesley girls, Milton earned first with a number of race victories across the meet. Milton won the boys 200 yard medley relay with a meet record time of 1:44.69. In the 200 yard freestyle, Ryan Kelly won with a time of 1:59.17, the sole qualifier. Jackson Wagner won the 200 yard IM (2:00.81) and the 100 yard freestyle with a meet record time of 48.67. Finally, Malachi Buchanan added a victory in the 50 yard freestyle (23.45) and a second place finish in the 100 yard freestyle (53.06).