Heading into its final meet, the Bromfield swim team remains undefeated after claiming its fourth win of the season last week, this time against Grafton High School. Coach Amy Gothorpe says the team’s commitment to training, teamwork, and good health put them in a position to finish strong.
The team—which consists of swimmers from Bromfield, Littleton High School, and Ayer Shirley Regional High School—took first place in all three relays and seven of eight individual events to score 131 points to Grafton’s 39, adding to its already impressive record.
Competing on separate days, Bromfield swimmers hit the pool Jan. 30, while Grafton swam Feb. 3.
Freshman Ella Bergeron took first in both her individual events, swimming 2 minutes, 16.40 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle and 1:09.52 in the 100 backstroke. Senior Ella Church tidied up in her typical fashion, appearing in two relays, the 200 medley (2:17.18), and the 100 breaststroke (1:15.52), taking no losses along the way.
Senior John Babcock performed a similar feat, taking first in the 50 freestyle (25.60) and the 100 freestyle (56.83) and returning to end the day as part of the winning 400 freestyle relay.
After taking second in the 50 freestyle (28.16), junior Lorelei Folger put 30 seconds between herself and the next competitor in the 500 freestyle (5:35.70), making her the only swimmer to come in under 6 minutes. She also appeared in two relays.
The 200 medley relay team of sophomore Tate Brown, junior Zachary Becker, Church, and Folger won in 2:00.64. This was followed up by two more successful relays.
Last week’s all-boys 200 freestyle team of sophomores Eli Labbe and Alex Myles plus Brown and Babcock returned, swimming just over a second slower this week but still claiming the win in 1:54.27. Folger, Church, Becker, and Babcock closed out the day with a win in the 400 freestyle relay (4:01.20).
Gothorpe said she is proud of the team’s commitment despite the changes to practice and competition this season due to the coronavirus. These mean—among other things—that teams swim at separate facilities on different days and times, comparing results afterward to determine a winner.
She said her athletes “all stayed healthy, followed the strict new rules, and worked their hardest with the limited pool time.” She wrote, also, that their winning streak is proof of the team’s work ethic: “Their success bears testament to the power of continuous hard effort and admirable teamwork.”
The team swam again Feb. 6 in a meet against Westborough High School, but, due to the new format, results will not be available until next week.
