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By Lisa Moore
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
The Wellesley High swim and diving team defeated Needham to end their regular season undefeated in the Bay State Conference dual meets, a feat not accomplished since the 2001-02 season.
It was a fitting way to end the regular season and high school careers for five senior swimmers honored before the meet. Kyle Wang, Matthew Scherrer, Leon Yu, Kyle Noel and Tommy Maggiacomo have provided their talent and leadership, helping to propel the team into a winning season.
Following the extraordinary win over rival Needham, the Raiders went on to compete at the Bay State Conference Championship Meet. Having their best finish in many years, the Raiders took second place behind Needham.
“We had some fantastic performances which were a great tribute to the hard work the guys have put in all season long,” said Coach Jennifer Dutton. “We had contributions from athletes in every event.”
Ten athletes qualified to compete at Sectionals at MIT on Sunday, February 14. The Raiders have several first-time individual qualifiers this year. Junior Tommy Adrogue qualified for diving, sophomore Zander Chrystall qualified in the 100-meter backstroke, along with sophomore Calvin Isley. Hayden Gribble, a junior, qualified for the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyles and sophomore Richie Thompson qualified for the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyles.
Returning to Sectionals again this year are senior Matthew Scherrer competing in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyles, sophomore Andrew Scherrer competing in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyles, junior Graham Harris competing in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyles and senior Kyle Noel competing in the 100-meter backstroke.
The Raiders have also qualified for all three of the relay events, which are worth a lot of points toward the overall team score.
“We are very excited to see what we can do and cap off a strong season this week at MIT and next week at the State Championships at Boston University,” said Dutton. “Having so many young swimmers qualify for Sectionals this year bodes well for next year’s returning team that should have a talented core of athletes.”
Lisa Moore is a Correspondent for Hometown Weekly. She can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net.
