The Bishop Guertin boys swept all 11 swimming events to win the New Hampshire Division I state title. The Exeter girls took their title, while Hanover won Division II titles for boys and girls.
Division I (Big Schools)
The potent combo of senior Hannah Lord and sophomore Mackenzie Patch won the state title for the Exeter girls. The two combined for six overall event wins.
Patch (26.8 backstroke) and Lord (31.3 breaststroke) made up the front half of a medley relay that dominated the field by nearly a full second to open the meet. With junior Kaelyn Patch and sophomore Erin Madden, the Exeter relay went 1:51.25. Lord came directly off that relay to win the 200 free in 1:55.56), and later on won the 500 with a 5:07.64. The Patch sisters, meanwhile, went 1-2 in the 100 fly, with Mackenzie winning in 1:00.80. Mackenzie Patch would go on to win the 100 back in 59.43.
Exeter wrapped up the meet with a 3:43.31 win in the 400 free relay, courtesy of Madden, Eleanor Sullivan, Lord and Mackenzie Patch, getting a 54.17 split from Lord.
Bedford freshman Megan Leyden also stood out, winning two races. She was 2:08.22 to win the 200 IM by nearly ten full seconds, then added a 53.13 win in the 100 free.
Other girls event winners:
- Wilma Johansson of Bishop Guertin in the 50 free (25.67)
- Skyler Bomba of Alvirine in diving (372.35)
- Bedford in the 200 free relay (1:43.71)
- Sydney Leyden of Bedford in the 100 breast (1:09.22)
On the boys side, it was total domination, with Bishop Guertin winning all 11 swimming events en route to a 55-point team win.
Seniors Matthew Lashua and John Puksta led the team with four wins each. Sophomore Jack Januario had two individual wins as well, along with one relay title.
Lashua won the 200 free (1:40.13) and 100 fly (50.90), while also leading off both winning freestyle relays. (He was 47.24 on the 400 free relay and 21.72 on the 200 free relay, both good enough to win the 100 and 50 frees individually). Puksta took the 100 free (47.59) and 100 breast (1:00.09) individually, plus anchored the winning medley relay and 200 free relay. Januario won the 500 free (4:38.14) and 100 back (52.38) individually, also leading off the winning medley relay.
Other event winners:
- Senior Adam Daudier won the 200 IM (1:57.37).
- Bedford junior Alexander Beekman was the diving champ at 321.40.
- Sophomore Matthew Crane won the 50 free (21.72).
Top 5 Teams
Girls:
- Exeter – 321
- Bedford – 256
- Bishop Guertin – 167
- Pinkerton – 84
- Dover – 83
Boys:
- Bishop Guertin – 321
- Exeter – 266
- Bedford – 212
- Dover – 110
- Nashua North – 108
Division II (Small Schools)
Grace Wenger and Margaret Wenger led Hanover to the girls title in Division II. The duo won back-to-back events through the middle of the meet, then bookended a winning 400 free relay to close things out.
Grace, a junior, won the 100 fly in 58.41, a narrow victory over Winnacunnet’s Anne Rademacher. Then Margaret, also a junior, won the 100 free (53.42) in another tight finish with Derryfield’s Kyra Chen. At the meet’s conclusion, the two joined Jocelyn Hazen and Emma Dunbar to win the 400 free relay in 3:40.30. Hanover also got a diving win from junior Amelia Wallis.
St. Thomas Aquinas freshman Megan Reich and Derryfield senior Lindsay Wagner were the meet’s only dual individual winners. The frosh Reich went 1:51.25 to win the 200 free and 4:59.39 to win the 500 free. Meanwhile Wagner won the 50 free in 23.57 and the 100 back in 54.58, dominating the latter by more than six seconds. Wagner also went 25.35 swimming backstroke on the winning 200 medley relay for Derryfield.
The meet was a freshman-centric affair, with ninth-graders winning four of eight individual swimming events. Other event winners:
- Windham freshman Alexis Merlino was 2:08.05 to dominate the 200 IM.
- She also led off the winning 200 free relay in 24.94.
- St. Thomas Aquinas freshman Paige Spencer won the 100 breast in 1:05.58.
The Hanover boys also won the title, but by a narrow 19 points. Late in the meet, senior Erik Hansen won the 100 back (55.64), the team’s only individual win. That powered the team title for Hanover, which also finished top-3 in all three relays.
St. Thomas Aquinas junior Maxwell Reich won two individual events. He was 1:53.37 in the 200 free and 51.21 in the 100 fly. His junior teammate Mason Pomroy also won dual titles, going 4:58.28 in the 500 free and 1:00.13 in the 100 breast. Meanwhile Goffstown junior Alexander Estano swept the sprints, going 22.59 in the 50 free and 50.14 in the 100 free.
Other event winners:
- St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Dillon O’Connor won the diving event with 409.30 points.
- Milford sophomore Andrew Bartolomucci won the 200 free (1:46.83).
- Winnacunnet won both the 200 medley (1:45.71) and 400 free (3:35.92) with the combination of Wolfgang Brandt, Duncan Collins, Evan Domingos and Anthony Daniels.
- Windham won the 200 free relay in 1:35.64.
Top 5 Teams
Girls:
- Hanover – 235
- St. Thomas Aquinas – 162
- Winnacunnet – 134
- Oyster River – 128
- Derryfield – 113
Boys:
- Hanover – 182
- Windham – 163
- Oyster River – 154
- St. Thomas Aquinas – 146
- Winnacunnet – 139