The Bromfield swim and dive team’s season got off to a great start with a solid win over Shrewsbury, one of the strongest teams in the state, at Clark University on Dec. 13. The score was an impressive 100 to 86.
Despite having only a brief time to practice before their first meet, the Trojans managed to out-swim and out-dive their competition. “For our first meet of the season, after only about a week of preparation, … the team performed exceptionally well,” captain Lena Karotkin told the Press. “Most of the swimmers have not been in the water since last year, and their effort and stamina was really [impressive]… especially since we lost a lot of our strongest swimmers.”
A place in every event
Placing in every event, Bromfield’s athletes had strong finishes in each of their races. The team is co-ed and composed of athletes from Littleton and Ayer, as well as Harvard, and is captained by Bromfield seniors Lena Karotkin and Amy Hu.
“Both Jake Turchetta and James Allen made quite the impression on me and the rest of my teammates,” said Karotkin. “This was Jake’s first meet … but he wowed us all when he touched the wall first in his heat for the 50 freestyle. As for James, his 100 butterfly left the rest of the competitors in the dust. Needless to say, we are all very happy to have Jake and James on the team this year.”
A strong start
Coach Julie Nocka was impressed with the team start as well. “Ben Church won the 50 [freestyle] in the most exciting finish of the day. Josh Marinelli prevailed in the 200 individual medley and was challenged to swim a personal-best time and earn third place in the breaststroke by an awesome pair of Shrewsbury swimmers.”
Although the team clocked great performances across the board, the Trojans excelled in the 1-meter diving event, with junior Casey Sherman (Littleton) taking first, freshman Trippy Brown (Bromfield) taking second, and seventh-grader Sam Tonole (Bromfield) taking third.
“Bromfield shows impressive depth,” said Nocka. “[The coaches] were very pleased with the early season speed and the tenaciousness of the swimmers in close races.”
New times for the team record board
Although it was only their first meet of the season, the results are already altering the school record board. Bromfield junior James Allen broke two school records in his first meet, with a time of 54.47 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly and a time of 1 minute 49.53 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle.
Results summary
- 200-yard medley relay – 2, Bromfield, Ben Church, Josh Marinelli, Caroline Noyes, Alyson Codner, 2 minutes 4.47 seconds
- 200-yd freestyle – 1, James Allen, 1:49.53; 3, Kelly Russell, 2:12.97
- 200-yd individual medley – 1, Josh Marinelli, 2:18.53
- 50-yd freestyle – 1, Ben Church, 26.03 seconds
- 1-meter diving (6 dives) – 1, Casey Sherman, 241.50 points; 2, Trippy Brown, 216.20, 3; Sam Tonole, 197.15
- 100-yd butterfly – 1, James Allen, 54.47, 3; Carlisle Ferguson, 1:17.16
- 100-yd freestyle – 2, Ben Church, 58.72
- 500-yd freestyle – 2, Alyson Codner, 5:42.19
- 200-yd freestyle relay – 1, Bromfield, Josh Marinelli, Caroline Noyes, Ben Church, James Allen, 1:43.91; 3, Bromfield, Tabitha Gruskowski, Kristen Noyes, Amy Hu, Kelly Russell, 1:57.10
- 100-yd backstroke – 3, Trippy Brown, 1:11.78
- 100-yd breaststroke – 3, Josh Marinelli, 1:13.72
- 400-yd freestyle relay – 1, Bromfield, Trippy Brown, Alyson Codner, Kelly Russell, James Allen, 3:49.91; 3, Bromfield, Melissa Shea, Casey Sherman, Claudia Yao, Lena Karotkin, 4:23.13
Carlisle Ferguson is a member of the Bromfield varsity swim and dive team
and a sophomore at the Bromfield School.
