by John Osborn ·
Friday, February 6, 2026
Sophomore Eliana Laham swims the freestyle in a meet last month. (Photos by Jen Manell)
Sophomore Eliana Laham shattered a six-year-old meet record in the 500-yard freestyle, leading the Bromfield swim and dive team to a third-place finish at the Midland-Wachusett Invitational Swim and Dive Championships last week. Laham’s record-setting swim was one of several first-place finishes for Bromfield. Ten girls and eight boys participated in the Jan. 27 and Jan. 29 events, held this year at the Tantasqua Regional High School natatorium.
Laham’s 5 minute, 6.60 seconds finish in the 500 freestyle erased the previous record of 5:11.29 set in 2020 by former Trojans swimmer Ella Church. “[Eliana] swam a great race,” Coach James Thomas wrote the Press. Rather than taking the lead, Laham stayed a half-body length behind the Grafton senior Kaydan McKibbin for the first 250 yards. “Right on her hip,” said Thomas, “Just close enough to push the pace.” When McKibbin faltered, Laham was ready to pounce, passing her at the 350-yard mark. “She never looked back,” said Thomas.
Laham tied Algonquin’s Mina Chung for the most gold medals at the meet; both won three. In addition to her record-breaking distance win, Laham won the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.61) and anchored the first-place 200-yard freestyle relay team alongside senior Charlotte Miling, sophomore Sarah Pudans, and sophomore Reety Sharma, finishing in 1:49.55. Sharma also claimed silver in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:17.38), while Miling added a third-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:25.19) and a fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.
In another standout performance, junior Brianna LoPresti won silver in the 1-meter diving event, which requires completion of 11 dives, five mandatory and six optional. Five dives—forward, back, reverse, inward, and twisting—must be included in the competitor’s program.
On the boys side, freshman Felix Chien led the Trojans with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:18.89) and a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.74). Junior Daniel Belin contributed top-8 points, placing seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.76) and eighth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.38). Sixth-place finishes in the boys 200-yard medley relay (1:59.16) and 200-yard freestyle relay (1:44.85) helped Bromfield take seventh place in the boys team standings.
Eleven schools participated in this year’s championships. Algonquin Regional won the girls meet; Grafton won the boys competition.
Freshman Felix Chien competes in a medley at a meet in January.
Next up: MIAA sectionals
Four Bromfield swimmers qualified for individual events at the upcoming Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Central/West Sectional Championships scheduled for Feb. 8 at Springfield College. Laham qualified in the 200 and 500 freestyles, while Miling and Sharma both earned spots in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Chien was the lone boy to qualify for an individual event, earning a place in the 200 individual medley.
The girls and boys will both send relay teams to the sectionals. The girls 200 medley relay of Laham, Miling, Sharma, and Pudans posted a qualifying 2:01.88, while their 200 freestyle relay clocked 1:49.55. On the boys side, the 200 medley relay of Belin, Chien, sophomore Alden Battaglia, and sophomore Ari Samsi finished in 1:59.16, and the 200 freestyle relay of Samsi, Battaglia, Belin, and Chien clocked a qualifying 1:44.85 finish.
2026 Mid-Wach Invitational Swim and Dive Championships, Jan. 27- 29
Girls
- 200-yard medley relay: Eliana Laham, Charlotte Miling, Reety Sharma, Sarah Pudans, second place, 2 minutes, 1.88 seconds
- 1-meter diving: Brianna LoPresti, second, 248.80 points
- 50-yard freestyle: Uma Samsi, 12th, 29.66; Clair Battaglia, 15th, 30.03
- 100-yard butterfly: Sharma, fourth, 1:10.40; Pudans, eighth, 1:14.21; Marleigh McAllister, 13th, 1:23.55; Tegan Allen, 16th, 1:27.05
- 100-yard freestyle: Maroon Kendrick, 17th, 1:06.52; McAllister, 13th, 1:23.55; Allen, 16th, 1:27.05
- 100-yard backstroke: Kendrick, 14th, 1:17.33
- 100-yard breaststroke: Sharma, second, 1:17.38; Miling, fourth, 1:18.26
- 200-yard freestyle: Laham, first, 1:54.61
- 200-yard individual medley: Miling, third, 2:25.19; Pudans, 12th, 2:41.54
- 500-yard freestyle: Laham, first, 5:06.60 (meet record); McAllister, 14th, 7:19.73
- 200-yard freestyle relay: Miling, Pudans, Sharma, and Laham, first, 1:49.55
- 400-yard freestyle relay: Battaglia, Allen, Kendrick, and Samsi, ninth, 4:36.48
Boys
- 200-yard medley relay: Daniel Belin, Felix Chien, Alden Battaglia, Ari Samsi, sixth, 1:59.16
- 200-yard individual medley: Chien, fourth, 2:18.89; Maxwell Weiss, 15th, 2:54.65
- 50-yard freestyle: Samsi, 12th, 26.64; Battaglia, 17th, 27.56
- 100-yard butterfly: Belin, eighth. 1:04.38
- 100-yard freestyle: Samsi, 11th, 1:02.24
- 500-yard freestyle: Battaglia, seventh, 6:24.30
- 100-yard breaststroke: Chien, sixth, 1:11.74; Belin, seventh, 1:11.76; Remy Duffner, 14th, 1:18.02
- 200-yard freestyle relay: Samsi, Battaglia, Belin, and Chien, fifth, 1:44.85
- 400-yard freestyle relay: Erik Movsisyan, Hudson Weiss, Duffner, Maxwell Weiss, ninth, 4:33.36