CCHS girls swimmers and divers repeat as state champs
For the second consecutive year, Acton-Carlisle stands atop the MIAA Division 1 girls’ swimming and diving ranks.
For the second consecutive year, Acton-Carlisle stands atop the MIAA Division 1 girls’ swimming and diving ranks, edging out rival Lincoln-Sudbury on February 15 by a 270-220 margin.
Acton police escorted the state champs home in the middle of a snowstorm and paraded the team bus through downtown Acton.
The energy inside Boston University’s Fit & Rec Center was electric as Acton-Carlisle’s Sarah Fortier surged through the final lap of the 100-yard breaststroke. The roar of teammates — with many of the girls sporting pink cowboy hats and the boys spelling out “Believe” in letters on their chests — helped propel her to the wall first to secure her individual state championship and add points for CCHS.
Acton-Carlisle diver Maisey O’Donnell delivered a dominant performance, earning 457.6 points to capture the state individual title. Maya Jaffe scored 10th, and Holden Taunton-Rigby 14th in the overall state competition.
Seventeen team members scored points for CCHS. “The secret to our success has always been the depth, perseverance, and camaraderie that this team brings to the pool day after day,” said head coach Matt Goldberg.
The 200-yard medley relay team (Phoebe Renyi, Sarah Fortier, Elisabeth Reiling, and Reese Phillips) dropped two seconds and finished third. The team had four top 16 finishes in the 200-yard freestyle: Bea Turrettini, fourth; Sarah Nadzo, seventh; Hana Baldini, ninth; and Maddie Werner, 14th. Elisabeth Reiling missed the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle by .01 seconds, and Caroline Hollywood placed 16th.
In the 200-yard individual medley, Renyi and Mena Sheth finished in the top 16. In the 200-yard free relay, Turrettini, Allison Lu, Baldini, and Phillips secured third place. Senior captain Phillips wrapped up her high school career by placing fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The grueling 500-yard freestyle event saw CC back on top with Turrettini finishing second, Sarah Nadzo sixth, and Hana Baldini 11th. Baldini cut more than six seconds off her previous best time.
The meet was clinched before the 400-yard free relay (Turretini, Baldini, Nadzo, and Reiling), which wrapped up the competition for CCHS with a second-place finish behind Lincoln-Sudbury by less than one second.
The boys’ MIAA Division 1 State Championship was postponed due to the February 16 snowstorm. Date and location had not been released as of Bridge press time.
