SAMANTHA BORDONARO competes in the 50-yard freestyle against Stoneham/Melrose. The senior took 3rd in the 50 free and helped the 200 freestyle relay finish 1st. (Casey Hotz Photo)
By CASSIDY SILVA
MEDFORD — The famous Wakefield-Melrose rivalry sparked once more on Oct. 22 at Medford High School where the Wakefield girls’ swim team duked it out with the Stoneham-Melrose cooperative girls’ swim team. As the last regular meet of the 2024 season, the Warriors were looking to put together a relentless force to round out the season. And they did. Wakefield dominated in the contest with a final score of 83-64.
“This meet definitely felt different than the others this season,” said captain Laila Atoui. As a senior, Atoui was looking to end the last of her dual meets on a high note. “Knowing it was our last dual meet really turned our anxiety into excitement to end our season on a good note.”
Wakefield sprung on Stoneham-Melrose in the 200-yard Medley Relay with a 1st place win with a time of 2:08.31 by freshman Carolyn Cote, senior captain Audrey Cook, sophomore Allie Degray and freshman Elie Wagner. Wakefield also enjoyed a crucial 2nd-place finish from Atoui, junior Lucy Wagner, sophomore Daphne Mogan, and freshman Daisy McGourty and a 4th-place finish from freshman Mayte De Alvarenga, freshman Teodora Elezovic, senior Deyalin Medina and senior Teagan Norton to help push the lead to 12 points to Stoneham-Melrose’s 2 points.
The 200-yard Freestyle was another Wakefield victory. Elie Wagner placed 1st with a 2:17.16 and junior Angelina Martinez placed 3rd with a 2:25.53. Teodora rounded out the group with a 4th-place finish with a time of 2:34.75. After the second event, the score sat at a comfortable 33-7 Wakefield lead.
Following the 200-yard Freestyle is the 200-yard Individual Medley — a test of versatility for the swimmers. These competitors go head-to-head in all four strokes of swim: the freestyle, the breaststroke, the butterfly, and the backstroke. Wakefield excelled in the 200 I.M. with 1, 2, 3 sweep with Atoui leading the charge with a new personal record by 6.10 seconds. Mogan took 2nd 0.47 seconds later and Cote finished up in 3rd, affirming a lofty lead of 36 to 7.
In the next event, the 50-yard Freestyle, Wakefield once more dominated with a back-to-back sweep. Cook, Lucy Wagner and senior Samantha Bordonaro took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively to push Wakefield’s edge up to a whopping 39 points.
Heat 2 of the 50-yard Freestyle was also action-packed for Wakefield. In her first time competing in the event this season, Norton secured a 1st place finish. De Alvarenga also swam the event, putting together a new personal record of 37.34 by 2.08 seconds.
Following the break, Wakefield took up the challenge of the 100-yard Butterfly. The Warriors continued their 1st-place streak with a win from Atoui. While securing the win for the team, Atoui also broke her previous personal best by 0.16 seconds. McGourty also competed in the race, placing in a phenomenal 2nd place to bring the team’s total up to 59 points.
Wakefield saw yet another sweep in the next event: 100-yard Freestyle. Degray led the charge for Wakefield, placing 1st with an astounding time of 1:01.06. Bordonaro followed up in 2nd place while Medina pulled through with a 3rd-place finish before the longest event of the meet, the 500-yard Freestyle.
THE WARRIORS celebrate their 83-64 win over Stoneham/Melrose in the regular season finale. (Courtesy Photo)
Dedicated to the athletes who have the incredible ability to endure swimming endless laps around the pool, it takes mental fortitude and physical power to swim this event. The 500-yard Freestyle is the event that sees the most strategy: when to push off the board harder, when to conserve your strength, when to throw it all to the wind and just move. Elie Wagner took the event with 1st place. Martinez touched the wall next for the Warriors in 2nd-place while Norton took 5th.
However, just as Norton and Martinez climbed out of the pool and finished the 500-yard Freestyle, they were thrown headfirst into the 200-yard Freestyle Relay. Norton and Martinez, along with their team of De Alvarenga and sophomore Pyper Tallent, took an admirable 4th place. They were backed up by their teammates however, with a team of Bordonaro, Atoui, Lucy Wagner, and Cook taking first and a team of Mogan, Medina, McGourty, and Cote taking 2nd. The combined efforts of the team sent their lead skyrocketing to 83-29 Warriors.
The clock was ticking as the meet closed on its end. With three events remaining, the Warriors were facing down the 100-yard Backstroke and the 100-yard Breaststroke. In the 100-yard Backstroke, Wakefield swept the event yet again. The efforts of Degray (who was competing in the event for the first time this season), Cote, and Mogan allowed them to take 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Cook took a dominant win in the 100-yard Breaststroke. Elezovic rounded out the pack with a 3rd-place finish to catapult Wakefield into the final event of the night.
Wakefield dove headfirst into the 400-yard Freestyle Relay with the intent to finish stronger than they started. The girls accomplished this much by cementing their meet-long 1st-place streak with a bang. A team of Elie Wagner, Lucy Wagner, Martinez and Degray took an incredible 1st place finish by 32.16 seconds. Touching the wall last and ending out an electric meet for the Warriors, Bordonaro, McGourty, Medina, and Elezovic took 3rd.
The meet against Stoneham-Melrose featured an unprecedented score for the Warriors this season. Brimming with Warrior pride, the girls celebrated a much-needed win going up against their rivals in Melrose. Despite the decades of competition between the two towns, captain Atoui mentioned in a post-meet interview that “both teams swam incredibly.” She attributes the overwhelming success to the team’s mindset. “Before the meet, we did a huddle check-in so that everyone was on the same page about our goals for the meet and how we wanted to finish off our season.”
The Warriors competed in the Middlesex League Meet on Thursday. A full story will appear later this week.
