St. John’s Prep Upsets Westford Academy at MIAA Division I Boy’s State Championships

MIAA Division I Boys State Championships

• February 18, 2024
• MIT Sports and Recreation Center, Cambridge, MA
• Short Course Yards
• Results

In a tight competition, St. John’s Prep claimed first place at the MIAA Division I Boys State Championship, defeating defending champion Westford Academy by a score of 239 to 212. Westford Academy finished 2nd in the team standings, with a comfortable gap over 3rd place finishers Lincoln Sudbury. 

St. John’s Prep’s victory was fueled by the depth of their roster as all 8 team members contributed individual points to the team’s total, with all but 2 swimmers coming in with double-digit points. The team was led by junior Matthew Church, who finished 2nd in both the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. In the 200, Church finished in a time of 1:44.99, coming in behind Westford Academy’s Aiden Gouldson, who won the event with a 1:43.70. Meanwhile, he finished 2nd to Sharon senior Jack Maron in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:44.25. Maron posted a dominant victory in the race, winning by over 13 seconds in a time of 4:31.48. 

Maron and Gouldson each won another title as well. Gouldson claimed the top spot on the podium in the 100 freestyle, touching in a time of 47.84 to come in over a half second ahead of the field. Maron was the top finisher in the 200 IM, dropping a time of 1:50.01 to win by over 6 seconds. Maron is currently committed to swim at Brown University next fall.

Attleborough senior Ryan Connors also had a strong meet, winning the 100 butterfly after finishing 3rd in the event in 2023 and helping his team to first place in 2 out of the 3 relays. Connors dropped a time of 51.05 to finish first by about a half second over the field. He then combined with Attleborough teammates Connor Coleman, Ben Connors, and Angad Ahluwalia for a victory in the 200 medley relay with a final time of 1:38.53. In the 200 freestyle relay, Connors swam alongside Ben Connors, Coleman, and Ahluwalia to win the event with a final time of 1:29.29, just beating Westford Academy by a tenth of a second.

Attleborough also finished 3rd in the 400 freestyle, which was won by Lincoln Sudbury in a time of 3:16.29. With their victory, the team of Graham Skelly, Elijah Dimov, Grant Jackson, and Thomas Eppich cut over 2.5 seconds off of their season-best time. 

Plymouth senior Nate Derby was the top finisher in the 100 breaststroke, coming into the wall in a time of 57.89. He won a tight race over Framingham junior Brandon Liu, who came into the wall in a time of 58.65. Derby also finished 2nd in the 200 IM behind Maron in a time of 1:56.43. 

In the 50 freestyle, Westborough High School’s Aryaman Jain touched first with a time of 21.69, significantly improving upon his 13th place finish from the 2023 meet. 

Acton’s Andrew Lu finished first in the 100 backstroke, improving upon his 3rd place finish from 2023. Lu dropped a time of 53.23, just holding off Belmont’s Rory Smyth (53.33) in the process. 

On the diving boards, Needham Junior Vann Hotchkiss successfully defended his title in the 1M event, scoring 543.55 points en route to victory. Hotchkiss finished over 20 points ahead of runner-up Zack Lee from Brookline High School (522.80). 

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. St. John’s Prep – 239 
2. Westford Academy – 212
3. Lincoln Sudbury – 165
4. Attleboro High School – 146
5. Acton-Boxborough – 141