Warrior swimmers impress at North Sectionals

THE WARRIOR relay teams had a strong North Sectional Meet at WPI on Sunday. Pictured is captain Abby Lane, Sophie Brown, captain Katie Patt and Audrey Cook. The four finished 5th in the 200 Medley Relay. In addition to strong individual races, these four also swam in the 200 freestyle relay where they got 11th in a season-best time. (Courtesy Photo)

 

 

Wakefield gets ready for states tonight

By DAN BYRNE

WORCESTER — On Sunday, Nov. 7, the qualifying members of Wakefield Memorial High School’s girls’ varsity swim team headed to WPI in Worcester to participate in the 2021 North Sectional Swimming and Diving Championship.

Speaking just after the meet, Warriors’ head coach Kathy Byrne spoke about what she saw from her team and how it felt watching them compete.

“We started out the meet with a great race by our 200 Yard Medley Relay,” coach Byrne began. “Katie Patt swam backstroke, Audrey Cook breast stroke, Abby Lane butterfly and Sophie Brown Freestyle. We took 5th place and improved our entry time for states,” she said.

A top 5 finish is something worth boasting about.

“5th place was a great swim,” Byrne said. “They all swam really well.”

Next up was the 200 Freestyle.

“Our freshman standout Audrey Cook swam to 10th place out of 20, lowering her personal best time to a 2:04.65,” Byrne mentioned. “Im very pleased with her improvement, her hard work is paying off.”

In the next event, Katie Patt swam the 200 IM and took 3rd place.

“It was a great race for her as a senior,” said Byrne. “She had her best time of the season at 2:14.97.”

In the 100 Yard Butterfly Abby Lane took 13th place, with her best time of the season 1:04.93.

Next, Sophie Brown swam the 500 Yard Freestyle coming in 17th out of 23.

“She did one of her best times of the season, so I was very happy to see her doing well,” mentioned coach Byrne.

Next she added, “In the 200 Freestyle Relay we did our best time of the season and came in 11th out of 19.”

Katie Patt, Abby Lane, Sophie Brown and Audrey Cook took part in the event finishing with a time of 1:49.20.

Next up was Katie Patt in the 100 Yard Backstroke.

“Katie had a strong showing in the 100 Backstroke,” said Byrne. “She took 2nd place with very close to her best time of the season breaking 1:00, at 0:59.98. 2nd place is something to be proud of in such a strong field.”

In the 100 Breaststroke, freshman Audrey Cook swam again, swimming very well, setting her best time of the season and taking 3rd place.

On the up-and-coming freshman Cook, coach Byrne commented, “Phenomenal for a freshman. We’re looking forward to Audrey continuing to be a valuable member of the team.”

At Sectionals, each swimmer can only participate individually in a set number of events, so for the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, some of the reserves that were able to swim fast enough in official meets to set times to qualify throughout the season had to be called upon.

“Our 400 Yard Freestyle Relay swam fabulously, although they didn’t place high, it was a fabulous swim for the girls in the event,” coach Byrne said.

Laila Atoui, Mackenzie Grace, Sophie Seidman and Molly Grady took part in the event.

“We had a freshman, a sophomore, a junior, and a senior swim the event and they all set their best split times of the season,” coach Byrne made sure to note.

“Though they didn’t finish high in the final order,” she added, “They all swam personally so well that, as a coach, it was a really fun race to watch. These girls did a fabulous job. It was a lot of fun watching. They swam better than they have all season and that’s what you want to see at the end of any season, swimmers swimming their fastest.”

Wakefield came in 11th overall out of 18 teams and for coach Byrne, she felt her squad had a really good meet.

“I’m excited to see how they’re going to do at Division 2 States,” she concluded.

Division 2 States will be held at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley tonight.