Bromfield swimmers had outstanding performances across the board in both the girls and boys meets at MIT last weekend, breaking numerous school records as well as a meet record. Bromfield's girls placed sixth out of 42 teams, the team's best-ever result at the sectional meet.
The highlight of the weekend for Bromfield was a convincing victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay for the team of Clara Wang, Kaya Phillips, Heidi Nocka, and Katherine O'Shea in a time of 1:42.03. Outstanding performances by all four swimmers broke the Bromfield School record as well as a six-year-old South Central Sectional Meet record.
Kelly Sherman captured the silver medal in the diving event with a 446.05 point total for 11 dives. O'Shea brought home the bronze in the 100-yard backstroke. Wang, Phillips, Nocka, and O'Shea combined their fastest times of the season in another excellent effort in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The girls powered through the race in a come-from-behind bronze medal finish in a school record of 3:45.30.
O'Shea placed fourth in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 25.26 while Wang improved on previous performances by racing to a 25.73 finish. Nocka and Wang both swam their fastest races to date in the 100-yard freestyle, placing fifth and 11th respectively.
Casey Sherman and Kelly Russell also contributed to Bromfield's point total. Sherman placed sixth in the diving event with a score of 374.95. Russell swam to a 16th-place finish and her best 200-yard freestyle race in a state meet qualifying time of 2:07.34.
On the boys' side, school records toppled from the start of the meet to the finish. The 200-yard medley relay team of Sam Carlson, Taylor LeBlanc, Nick Walker, and Sean LeRoy started the streak in a state meet qualifying effort of 1:50.55.
Seventh-grader Trippy Brown showed poise and focus beyond his years while under pressure, setting the 11 dive school record and placing ninth overall in a field of 36 divers.
Walker and LeBlanc both turned in lifetime-best performances in their races. Walker posted a time of 58.64 in the 100-yard butterfly and LeBlanc pulled himself to a 1:05.57, a qualifying spot at the state meet and a 10th-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. The times achieved in both of these events improved on school records previously set by Walker and LeBlanc.
The boys 200-yard freestyle relay team of LeBlanc, LeRoy, Walker, and Eric Hazoury featured fastest swims from all four members and a record-setting time of 1:36.15. In the last event of the day, relay swimmers Hazoury, Carlson, Walker, and LeBlanc made it three for three record-breaking relays in the 400-yard freestyle race in a time of 3:37.34.
Bromfield's swimmers are tapering and fine tuning at the pool this week in preparation for the state meets to be held at Harvard University's Blodgett Pool this weekend.