SEVEN WARRIORS raced very well at the D2 State Championship Meet in Wellesley last week. Pictured are Katie Patt, Audrey Cook, Abby Lane, Molly Grady, Laila Atoui, Mackenzie Grace and Sophie Seidman. (Courtesy Photo)
By DAN BYRNE
WELLESLEY—The Fall 2021 swim season concluded on Friday, November 12 as the Division 2 State Championship meet was held at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley.
Seven representatives from the Wakefield Memorial High School swim team were present to compete with the state’s top swimmers.
In the end, the Warriors managed to reach 10th place in the standings. Wellesley won the Championship, with Middlesex League rivals Winchester finishing 4th. The Warriors finished ahead of Melrose, Woburn and Burlington, among Division 2 Middlesex League opponents and just behind Arlington/Watertown which finished in 9th place.
In the first event, the 200 Yard Medley Relay, the Warriors put in their best time of the season. Katie Patt, Audrey Cook, Abby Lane and Molly Grady took home 7th place in the event with a time of 1:56.24.
“Molly Grady swam in place of Sophie Brown, who was out of town,” told Warriors’ head coach Kathy Byrne, when she spoke recently about the events.
Audrey Cook swam the 200 Yard Freestyle with her personal best time, 2:03.01 good for 10th place in the event.
In the 100 Yard Butterfly, Katie Patt swam to a 4th place finish with her personal best and new school record time of 0:58.96. Abby Lane swam her personal best time in the event with a 1:03.71, good enough for 11th place. Swimmers who place in the top 16 earn points for their team.
The Warriors’ 200 Yard Freestyle Relay of Katie Patt, Molly Grady, Abby Lane and Audrey Cook came in 8th place with their best time of the season, a 1:36.34.
Captain Patt also swam the 100 Yard Backstroke and set another new WMHS school record time of 0:58.48, taking fourth place in the event.
Freshman Audrey Cook swam a time of 1:10.74, close to her personal best, in the 100 Yard Brest stroke, bringing home 5th place.
“That’s very impressive for a freshman, and she was the first freshman in the event,” coach Byrne said of her freshman standout.
Laila Atoui, Mackenzie Grace, Sophie Seidman and Molly Grady swam the 400 Yard Freestyle relay, swimming a time of 4:18.07.
“They did a pretty good time, but they came in 13th,” Byrne said.
“We came in 10th place overall, so I’m very pleased with our swimmers,” the coach added. “It was a good meet. The place was beautiful. For many of us it was our first time there. It’s a newer facility and we were very pleased to be there.
“It was a nice way to end the season with all the personal best times and best times in the relays – that was fabulous,” concluded the coach.
The Middlesex League also named its All-Conference and All-Star teams, with Katie Patt and Audrey Cook representing Wakefield on the All-Conference team and Sophie Brown and Abby Lane being named to the All-Star team.
