BRUNSWICK, Maine — Over the last two years, the Brunswick High School girls swim team has found itself accepting second place at the Class A state championship swim meets, but on Tuesday at Bowdoin College, it finally got what it wanted — a state title.
The last time the Dragons girls hoisted up the gold plaque at the conclusion of the meet, it was 2001 and their second in a row after winning their first at the start of the new millennium and sixth one since 1961.
“The last two years we were runners-up, once to Cape Elizabeth and once to Cheverus,” Brunswick coach David Bright said. “The kids performed great in those meets but were always just a little short, so it was nice to turn that around and come out on top.”
“We knew how close we were this year,” Dragons sophomore Caitlin Tycz said. “This was our year to do it. I was really confident in our team. I know them really well, and I knew we could do it.”
There were certainly favorites going into the meet, with Brunswick included in the mix among Bangor, Cheverus of Portland, Kennebunk and Deering of Portland. However, it was going to depend on what team was going to answer the call.
The Dragons completed the day with 246 points, followed by Cheverus (230) and third-place Kennebunk (217). Bangor finished fourth with 216 points, while Deering rounded out the top five with 183 among 24 scoring teams.
“We went a lot further than my expectations,” Bangor coach Cindi Howard said. “We held third for a long time, but it came down to our relay team, and we came in fourth by only one point, but the girls swam incredible, and I’m very proud of them. Each of them swam their best times.”
The Rams started off with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay (Hannah Wood, Natalie Fournier, Lilli Wiseman and Lily Waddell), beating out Deering by 0.49 seconds to capture the gold medal. Lynsie Russell gave Brunswick its first top-three finish, coming in third with a 2:00.36 time in the 200-yard freestyle.
It was a tight affair throughout, with the top five teams being juggled around in the standings, with Cheverus and Deering holding first place over the course of a couple of events. It boiled down to the last relay to finalize which team was going to capture the title, with Cheverus trailing by only six points to Brunswick.
The Dragons edged out Westbrook with a time of 1:44.43 in the 200-yard freestyle relay, while Bangor missed a top-five finish by 0.07 seconds behind Gorham, registering a 1:48.74 time.
Edward Little of Auburn senior Olivia Paione was poised to make a splash at the meet. Though she placed second in the 100-yard butterfly, she had to do it up against Tycz, who qualified in just about every event besides diving.
Paione completed the 100 fly in 59.95 seconds behind Tycz’s 54.99, while Paione captured the title in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing well ahead of the rest of the group in 1:08.03.
Brunswick’s Olivia Dumont earned a fourth-place finish in the 1-meter diving portion of the meet, collecting 298.65 points, behind Kennebunk’s Emma Patterson (314.25), Cheverus’ Nina Greenwood (341.6) and Falmouth’s Charlotte Janelle (395.25).
Russell took home the gold in the 500-yard freestyle, hitting the end at 5:20.78, with Bangor’s Wood in second place (5:27.56) and Gorham’s Alli LaFerriere in third (5:30.81).
Other notable finishes were found in the 100-yard backstroke, with Kennebunk’s Marshall Lowery setting a meet record of 57.12, beating out former Cheverus standout Sarah Nappo’s time of 57.40.
Mariah Brady of Biddeford, who eventually took home Performer of the Meet, won two gold medals, finishing first in the 50-yard freestyle (24.57) and the 100-yard freestyle (53.67).