The Bromfield swim team competed at the 2024 MIAA Winter Girls and Boys Division 2 state championships at MIT on Saturday, Feb. 17, (girls) and Sunday, Feb. 18, (boys), in the culminating meet of the high school season.
The state championship meet was difficult for high school swimmers to qualify for; swimmers needed extremely fast times in their respective events to be eligible. This meet was the most competitive MIAA swim meet of the season, with more than three dozen teams, both boys and girls, competing from all across Massachusetts.
The girls team placed 26th with 21 points among 39 schools, and the boys team placed 27th with 19 points among 38. The total score for both teams was 40 points. The first place team at the meet for both boys and girls was Weston High School with 250 and 293 points.
The state meet started with the girls 200-yard medley relay, the Bromfield girls strongest relay this season, and swimmers performed well, with a 12th-place finish, and a time of 2 minutes, 1.78 seconds.
The girls individual events were led by senior and captain of the team, Ella Bergeron. She competed in both the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke, joined by sophomore Charlotte Miling. In the freestyle event, she shaved 0.7 seconds off her best time, coming in 12th with a time of 56.19. Competing together in the backstroke event, Bergeron came in 11th and Miling came in 29th.
Over the course of the season, the boys team was able to qualify for both the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays, allowing an additional three swimmers to compete at states. Swimmers from both relay events worked hard to shave off seconds, and the teams finished in 13th and 20th place.
Bowen Clarke and Vance Petrossi competed at the meet’s individual boys events. Clarke was in the 200-yard freestyle, getting 27th with a time of 1:57.65, and Petrossi competed in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing 18th with a time of 50.44.
A high point of the meet was junior Petrossi’s race in the 100-yard breastroke. Throughout the season, Petrossi had often competed in the 100-yard breaststroke, and he led the way at the state meet with an eighth-place finish, cutting off more than 1.3 seconds from his best time. With his time of 1:01.63, he earned 11 points for the boys team. Petrossi said that it was an honor to swim next to the guys on the team, adding, “These boys put in a lot of work all year to get here, every day, getting in the water and giving 110%.”
With the swim season coming to a close and the final competition over, Bromfield junior Isaac Xu expressed his pride in the team. He said he was “really happy for all the seniors to go out on a high note.” Looking forward, he said, “Next season will see even harder work, and we’re aiming for the record board.”
To conclude the season, the team held a celebratory banquet at the Bromfield School this week, where they shared a meal, reflected on the season, and presented speeches to give the team’s seniors a send-off.
Russell Poutasse is a Bromfield junior.
2024 MIAA Winter State Division 2 championship
Girls results
- Girls team: 21 points, 26th place
- 200-yard medley: Charlotte Miling, Niamh Fallon, Ella Bergeron, and Kiera Fallon, 12th, 2 minutes,1.78 seconds
- 100-yard freestyle: Bergeron, 12th, 56.19
- 100-yard backstroke: Bergeron, 11th, 1:03.18; Miling, 29th, 1:07.74
Boys results
- Boys team: 19 points, 27th place
- 200-yard freestyle relay: Vance Petrossi, Douglas Caroom, Isaac Xu, and Bowen Clarke, 13th, 1:36.14
- 400-yard freestyle relay: Petrossi, Ryan Donahoe, Caroom, and Clarke, 20th, 3:37.
- 200-yard freestyle: Clarke, 27th, 1:57.65
- 100-yard freestyle: Petrossi, 18th, 50.44
- 100-yard breaststroke: Petrossi, eighth, 1:01.63
