Westford Girls, Saint Johns Boys Four-peat at Massachusetts D1 State

2019 Massachusetts High School Division 1 State Championships

Girls Meet

The Westford Academy girls won their fourth straight MIAA Division I State Championship, sweeping all three of the contested relays on the way. The Grey Ghosts tallied a whopping 439.5 points, leaps and bounds ahead of the 186 points Concord-Carlisle accrued for second.

Amy Jiang, Emily Blatt, Michaela Martin and Anika Svoboda set the winning tone for Westford from the get-go, claiming victory in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:47.18.

Junior Alexa Connors out of Silver Lake was the distance ace of the meet, posting a 1:50.84 in the 200 and a 4:53.14 in the 500 free to take the top spot in both. Her 500 time narrowly missed the meet record of 4:52.08 set back in 1999 by Samantha Arsenault.

Finishing just a hair behind Connors in the 500, however, was Bridgewater-Raynham’s Megan Kramer, touching at 4:53.20. Earlier in the meet, though, Kramer reigned supreme in the 200 IM, winning with a time of 2:03.92.

Maggie Summit doubled up in the sprint freestyles, earning a new state and meet record in the process. Summit first won the 50 free in a time of 23.30 – breaking Rachel Moore’s state record of 23.37 set back in 2011 – and later out-touched the field by over two seconds in the 100 free, winning with a 50.88.

The Westford girls posted commanding victories in both of the freestyle relays – roughly winning both by four seconds – recording times of 1:37.48 and 3:36.41, the 200 free relay being a new meet record. The new state meet record holders are Anika Svoboda, Ada Ferrick, Kate Edison and Julia Tracanna.

Other Event Winners:

  • Samantha Kilcoyne of Grafton, who won the 100 fly in 2017 and finished second in the event last year, ended off her senior year with another victory, touching at a 55.41 to easily take the win. She doubled up in the 100 back to marginally take the win over Westford’s Amy Jiang, 58.23 to 58.28.
  • Ella Smith dominated her freshman campaign, topping the 100 breaststroke field with a swift 1:03.92.
  • Veteran senior Livy Poulin, representing Concord-Carlisle, posted a final score of 522.40 to win the 1m diving event.

Top 5 Teams:

  1. Westford Academy – 439.5
  2. Concord-Carlisle – 186
  3. Minnechaug – 171
  4. Triton – 130
  5. Oliver Ames – 122

Boys Meet

Saint Johns Prep also swept all three relays en route to their fourth straight MIAA Division I State Championship team title. The Eagles amassed a grand total of 240 points, well ahead of second place finishing Chelmsford at 169.5 points.

The team of Mitchell Lockwood, Palmer Randall, Andrew Coady and Kai Zola combined for a final time of 1:37.42 in the 200 medley relay to fire off the meet for Saint Johns. Coming in second was Chelmford’s team of Colm Sheerin, Aaron Zhu, Benjamin Cote and Connor Quirback with a time of 1:38.96.

In the next event, Eric Eastham, a junior out of West Springfield, took the top spot in the 200 free in a time of 1:40.86. He would later go on to double up in the 100 free, winning with a 46.08.

Mitchell Lockwood was integral to Saint John’s success. Not only was he a part of two of the three winning relays but won an individual state title in the 50 free (21.35), and was the runner up to Eastham in the 100 free (46.30).

Westwood junior Tommy Russell finished a fraction behind Lockwood in the 50 free, touching the wall at 21.39. He would later emerge victorious in the 100 back – his time of 51.56 blew away the field, winning by almost three seconds.

Also among the top three of the 50 free was Chase Konstantakos, a junior out of Minnechaug, who got third with a 21.56. Another individual event winner, Konstantakos dominated the 500 free – posting a 4:36.07 – finishing over six seconds ahead of second place.

Rounding out the meet was the Saint Johns victory in the 400 free relay. The quartet of Mitchell Lockwood, Conor Moran, Alex Arguers and William Connolly finished with a time of 3:13.65, ahead of Chelmsford’s 3:15.23.

Other Event Winners: 

  • Representing Chelmford, junior Aaron Zhu picked up a win in the 200 IM with a time of 1:53.33. Zhu swam the 100 breast later on in the meet – in which he is the defending state champ – narrowly finishing second to Antonio Anastasiades, 57.69 to 57.87
  • Malden’s Kevin Ochoa capped off his senior year with a state title in the 100 fly, posting a 51.87 for the win.
  • In the 1m diving event, Concord-Carlisle sophomore Charles Reichle topped the field with a final score of 478.45, barely outscoring Bromfield School senior Sam Tonole’s, who finished with a score of 476.70.

Top 5 Teams:

  1. Saint John’s Prep – 240
  2. Chelmsford – 169.5
  3. Natick – 147
  4. Westford Academy – 133
  5. Needham – 130

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