Multiple Warrior swimmers qualify for states in first two meets

By DAN BYRNE

MALDEN — The Wakefield Memorial High School girls’ varsity swim team has participated in two meets so far this season. The first was an away loss to Lexington, followed by a defeat in their home opener to a very strong Winchester team.

Warriors’ head coach Kathy Byrne sat down recently to discuss what she saw in the first two meets and to preview what is to come for the team.

“Our opening meet was against Lexington and the first meet is always difficult, it’s kind of a shakedown to see who can do what,” Byrne began saying. “And we had some really nice performances.”

“We started off very strong with our Medley Relay with Katie Patt, Audrey Cook and Abby Lane – they won the Medley Relay and qualified for Sectionals and States with a 2:00.30,” she noted.

“We had a pretty competitive race in the 50 Yard Freestyle with Abby Lane against the Lexington swimmer, it was pretty close, 0:27.0 to 0:27.3, it was an exciting race.”

“It was great to see Katie Patt in her first meet, come in first in the 100 Fly and also qualify for sectionals and States. She also took 1^st place and qualified for Sectionals and States in the 100 Back.”

“Abby Lane took 1^st in the 100 Free and qualified for Sectionals and States.”

“Sophie Brown took 1^st place in the 500.”

“Audrey Cook, our freshman standout, took 1^st place in the 100 Breaststroke with a Sectionals and States qualifying time. Audrey also qualified for Sectionals and States in the 200 Yard Individual Medley,” Byrne explained.

“We’re really proud of our 400 Freestyle Relay for qualifying for Sectionals and States and taking home 1^st place in that race,” Coach Byrne remarked.

“It was close in many ways, although the score was not indicative of that,” Byrne added. “We had seven first place finishes, but we had more 6^th place finishes, and that is really the deciding factor.”

“I thought it was a good first meet, adjusting to all the changes in the team,” said the coach of the team’s first meet.

Moving on to Wakefield’s second meet, a loss to Winchester, coach Byrne discussed what she saw.

“Winchester had a huge team with a lot of talent, close to 45-50 girls, so our girls had their work cut out for them, and they did pretty good when you look at it.”

“We only had three first place finishes however there were some very close races,” Byrne said.

“What I really enjoyed about this meet was there were some close races for 4^th, 5^th and 6^th where people really picked it up and were able to score.”

She continued adding, “Hannah Morris for example took 4^th place in the 500 Free but really had to push herself in that last 100 of the 500, which is really hard, to get that 4^th place.”

“In our 4th place 400 Freestyle Relay, Maria Brizon was running neck and neck with the Winchester swimmer, and decided in the last 25 yards to kick it up a notch and get 4^th which scores points – 5^th and 6^th place do not,” explained the coach.

“We’re really happy with our 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, not only did they win their event, they qualified for Sectionals and States. So we have qualified all three of our relays as well as two individuals for Sectionals and States, and that’s a big accomplishment for our team.”

“What really stood out for me in the Winchester meet was the improvements we saw from the underclassmen and the improvements we saw in our splits and our relays,” Byrne claimed.

“Our seniors have really stepped up; they’re swimming a lot of events, some they’re not used to swimming and they’re giving it their best and that’s all we can ask for,” boasted the coach.

Byrne ended by saying, “Overall the team’s times have been improving, and they improved in that second meet, that’s what a coach wants to see and hopefully down road that improvement will lead to a win.”

That might be a tall task this week as they face a pair of strong opponents. First up is an Arlington-Watertown team who beat Reading earlier this season. That meet is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. Wakefield ends the week with reigning Middlesex League Champion, Reading on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Both meets will be at Wakefield’s home pool at Malden High.