Marblehead girls finish third in Division 2 swim championship

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff photo

Megan Alexander won the 200 individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle.

By Colleen Casey, Globe Correspondent

The Wayland girls’ swim team captured its sixth MIAA Division 2 title Saturday night at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool, thanks to a complete team effort. Wayland’s strength was in numbers, as 24 swimmers competed to earn the top spot without winning a single race, finishing with 349 points.

“I’m overjoyed right now. It was a total team effort,’’ said coach Mike Foley. “We had our bases covered no matter what happened. It’s cool to win it in that fashion. We didn’t win any events, but we had enough kids out there to keep plugging away at Weston and Marblehead.’’

Weston (299), Marblehead (269), East Longmeadow (193), and Holyoke Catholic (130.50) rounded out the top five.

Marblehead was led by captain Megan Alexander, who swam a 2:04.96 to win the 200 individual medley. She was followed by teammate Sarah Daher (2:08.35). Alexander also won the 500-yard freestyle (4:59.00).

Also for Marblehead, Hannah Verrette placed second in the 100-yard freestyle (52.77) and Ryan Alexander was second in the 100-yard backstroke (57.95). 

Wayland was eager to capture the title, after rival Marblehead broke their five-year winning streak last year. They sealed the deal with a victory in the last relay. This year was different. The Warriors took the lead after the eighth event and never looked back.

The team of Molly Pierce, Megan Pierce, Saya Higano, and Heather Wright placed third in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1 minute, 39.68 seconds, behind Weston (1:39.18) and East Longmeadow (1:39.41).

In the final event, the 400 freestyle, the Warrior team of the Pierce sisters, Hallie Cramer, and Kristina Barakov came in fourth, behind Weston, Marblehead, and East Longmeadow, but still managed to earn enough points for the title.

“Last year hurt a lot. This crew wanted to do it for themselves and Wayland in general,’’ said Foley. “We had a great game plan. There was no heat on any girl to do a particular thing. All we wanted was a big enough lead so we could relax in the end. We got it. The girls did their job.’’

Weston had strong a performance by Bianca Tocci, who placed first in the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle.  Nauset’s Marie Chamberlain earned All-America consideration with her time of 55.62 seconds in the 100 backstroke.

“They all just pulled for each other so much,’’ said Foley. “They take a lot of pride putting on that black and orange cap with the spear on it and swimming for Wayland and they know they’re out there trying to accomplish a team goal.’’