The mantra for the Bow swim team was simple: ‘Trust your training. Trust your team. Take it to them!’ There was plenty of reason for the Falcon swimmers to trust each other, the training paid off, and they certainly took it to the rest of the field at the Division II swim championships.
Eight swimmers represented Bow High on Saturday at Salem Workout Club and all eight placed in every event they competed in, lifting the Falcon boys to sixth place as a team – the best finish for them since 2012 – while the Bow girls finished eighth, the best finish of all local teams at the NHIAA swim championships contested over multiple sessions over the weekend.
The Falcon boys won the 200-yard freestyle relay title, the first time Bow has won an event at a state meet since Richard Jenkins claimed the individual 200 freestyle title in 2010.
Senior Andrew Conley (11th 100 breaststroke, 12th 100 backstroke) swam the leadoff leg of the title-winning relay, followed by freshman Ian Klements (sixth 200 free, 12th 100 free), senior Ryan Thompson (third 100 fly, eighth 100 free) and anchored by freshman Ryan Powers.
The quartet clocked a 1:37.46, just out touching runner-up Souhegan (1:37.66), and the same four Falcons teamed up again to finish third in the 200 medley relay.
“They left it all in the pool,” Bow head coach Julie Guerrette said. “Everyone on the team left the meet with multiple podium placements, personal best times, two school records being broken and a (relay) state championship.”
Powers – who also swims for Executive Swim Club out of Manchester – nearly brought home two individual titles for the Falcons as well.
Powers finished second in the 100 free in 51.41 seconds, just 0.03 seconds shy of tying the mark set by the winner – Hanover senior Benton Cesanek. The rookie also placed third in the 50 free in 23.74 seconds, 0.22 seconds behind champion Kasie Malcolm of St. Thomas.
Coe-Brown sophomore Chris Raymond also had a pair of close swims, but both of his races resulted in victories.
The only individual champion from the Capital Area, Raymond won the 200 free in 1:51.18, followed closely by Souhegan’s Edward Barnes (1:52.07) who was seven seconds ahead of the next competitors. Raymond also had the upper hand in the 500 free (4:59.65), winning another tight battle with Barnes (5:01.1), who was 21 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
The Bow girls had a similar meet to their counterparts, with two high-placing relays and a close call for an individual title. Freshmen Lena Thompson (sixth 200 individual medley, seventh 100 back) and Lorraine Schaeffner (sixth 500 free, 11th 50 free), and seniors Sydney Mason and Sarah Guerrette (fourth 100 free and 100 back) formed both the fourth-place 200 medley and sixth-place 200 freestyle relays.
Guerrette nearly won the 100 free as well, with just 0.21 seconds separating her fourth-place finish from Hollis-Brookline’s Isabela Bobocea, the champion in 55.84 seconds.
Hopkinton senior Cailey Stockwell – the lone Hawk swimmer this year – was the highest individual finisher on the girls’ side for area swimmers, placing second in the 100 breast and fourth in the 200 free.
Both Guerrette (University of New Hampshire) and Stockwell (Fairfield University) will be swimming for NCAA Division I programs starting in the fall.
Hanover won the D-II boys’ title with 210 points, followed by Oyster River (153), Windham (138), Souhegan (130.5), St. Thomas (130) and Bow (111) in the top six.
Coe-Brown finished eighth with 47 points thanks to Raymond and good races from junior Eric Boheen (fifth 100 butterfly, eighth 100 back).
Belmont finished 13th behind swims from freshman Kyle Dumais (sixth 100 breast, ninth 100 free) and senior Jacob Dumais (eighth 100 breast).
Junior Mason Russell (11th 50 free, 12th 100 breast) placed for 17th-place Kearsarge.
In the girls’ standings, Hollis-Brookline (213 points) narrowly topped Hanover (209) for the team title, followed by Oyster River (156.5), Windham (110) and Winnacunnet (100), while the Falcons scored 89 points to finish eighth and Stockwell scored 24 to put Hopkinton in 13th.
The Kearsarge girls finished 17th with the 10th-place 200 free relay, freshman Margaret Rivard (11th 200 IM, 12th 500 free) and junior Maggie Ellison (12th 100 fly) placing.
Belmont sophomore Ella Wineriter (ninth 100 breast) scored for the Raiders (20th).
Concord competed in the D-I championships at Salem Workout Club on Sunday, with the Tide girls finishing 12th and boys finishing 14th.
Senior James LeMahieu (third 100 fly, fourth 200 IM) was the lone qualifier for the Crimson Tide boys, but LeMahieu represented well, matching last year’s finish in the 200 IM and improving over last year’s fifth-place spot in the 100 fly.
“James was fearless today,” head coach Bill Quinn said. “He attacked both events from the start. It was great to see James have faith in his training and let it go. He swam in the two most competitive events this year and he did his fastest times of the season.”
Sophomore Lily Peterson (eighth 100 breast, ninth 500 free) and senior Rayya Burns (10th 50 free, 12th 100 free) had strong individual swims and contributed to the eighth-place 400 free relay and the ninth-place 200 free relay with teammates Molly Nyhan and Grace Qui.
“Great swims all around for the girls,” Quinn said. “Rayya and Lily earned points in both of their individual events. The relays were fantastic. The girls turned it up. They worked well together and were able to score in both events.”
Bedford swept the team titles, with the girls scoring 307.5 points and the boys scoring 242.
Merrimack (184) and Exeter (148) finished second and third for the girls, and Dover (207) and Manchester Central (122) went 2-3 for the boys.
The Concord girls scored 31 points in their 12th-place finish, while LeMahieu accounted for all 23 points for the Tide boys.