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11/18/2015 11:00 PMThe Branford girls’ swimming and diving team scored 447 points to record a fourth-place finish at the Class M State Championship on Nov. 18—a night which saw the Hornets continue their mastery in the 200 medley relay, along with a pair of individual victories for senior Erika Maercklein.
Branford began the night at Southern Connecticut State University by swimming to a win in the 200-yard medley relay for the fourth-straight season at the Class M competition. The Hornets’ quartet of sophomore Gabija Karosas, plus seniors Maercklein, Paige MacNeil, and Caitlin Daley notched a mark of 1:49.46 to beat out Lauralton Hall, which went 1:51.07, to make All-State and break the school record that was set last year at states. MacNeil has swam on the medley relay for all four victories, Maercklein’s been part of the past three, and Daley’s contributed to the last two.
“This has become our signature event as a Branford quartet has finished first in this event at state finals four years in a row—first or second for six years in a row,” Head Coach Scott Butler said. “I believe that this event sets the tone for the night as to why it is always an event that I will strive to win at.”
For Maercklein, the fun was just getting started as she additionally raced to first place in both the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke to earn All-State accolades in both. For the 50, Maercklein touched the pad in 24.60 seconds, just edging Lauralton’s Kaitlyn Joy with her time of 24.76. Then as the meet was winding down, Maerckelin showed that she still had plenty left in the tank by swimming a 1:05.80 in the breaststroke to defend her Class M title by defeat runner-up Emily Mendelson of Brookfield (1:08.72),and break her own school record that she set at last year’s State Open Championship. Including relays, Maercklein now has eight postseason victories to her credit as she also won the 50 free at last year’s SCC meet and the breaststroke at SCCs in her sophomore season.
In addition to being part of a trio of triumphs, Maercklein also competed for the Hornets’ second-place 200 freestyle relay that finished in 1:41.26 for All-State and additionally featured Daley, MacNeil, and junior Isabel Albinger. Maercklein will swim the 50 free and 100 breaststroke, while again joining forces with her teammates in the 200 medley and freestyle relays at the State Open at Yale at noon on Saturday, Nov. 21.
“Can’t say enough positives about Erika’s work ethic and her ability to strive to win. She works hard every minute of every practice and always does what she needs to excel. To be All-State in all four events at the meet is a testament to her determination and hard work ethic. She is an incredible teammate and will sorely be missed upon her graduation,” said Butler. “Paige MacNeil and Caitlin Daley are right up there with Erika. What a trio of talent to be able to work with for the past four years.”
MacNeil will also be competing in two individual events at the Open as a result of her performance at the Class M meet. MacNeil finished third in the 100 butterfly at 59.22 to seal an All-State bid and she was additionally fourth for the 200 freestyle with a mark of 1:57.21.
Karosas will be an alternate in the 100 backstroke at the Open after she collected All-State honors by swimming to third place behind a time 1:01.86 at states. She she also placed eighth in the 200 individual medley at 2:18.86 and was a member of the fifth-place 400 freestyle relay (3:49.94) that will serve as an alternate for the State Open meet. Sophomore Sally Nardella, Albinger, and junior Isabelle Gillis were the Hornets’ other swimmers on that quartet. Individuals and relays qualify for the Open by virtue of being in the top 24 between the four class meets and the next two in each event are alternates.
Meanwhile, Daley not only helped Branford’s medley relay achieve the four-peat—she also finished in the top six of two solo events. Daley finished in fifth place for the 100 freestyle (55.49) and was sixth in the 50 free at 25.84.
Additionally for the Hornets at the Class M Championship, Albinger swam to 10th place in the 100 freestyle (57.24) and 14th in the 200 free (2:04) with Nardella taking 15th in that event at 2:04.56 and 16th for the 500 freestyle (5:38.65), junior Margaret Angelo was 13th in the 100 backstroke (1:06.37), junior Jamie Beler took 19th place in the 100 breaststroke in 1:17.73 with senior Cassandra Collins in 22nd (1:18.76) and sophomore Ryan Bohan in 23rd (1:19.11), plus Gillis posted a 23rd-place finish in the 100 butterfly with her time of 1:05.89.
• Branford improved both its place and point total from last season’s Class M meet. The Hornets finished fifth with 431 points in 2014 before taking fourth with 447 this year.
• Scott Butler’s squad went 8-4 for the regular season and then came in sixth place at the SCC Championship.
• Lauralton Hall won the Class M title for the second-straight season by scoring 741 points. The rest of the top 10 is as follows: 2. Brookfield (623), 3. East Lyme (473), 4. Branford (447), 5. North Haven (391), 6. Sacred Heart Academy (298), 7. Immaculate (289), 8. Masuk (250), 9. Windsor Locks-Ellington (208), and 10. Fitch-St. Bernard (207).
• For the other class championships, Greenwich won in Class LL, Darien prevailed in Class L, and Weston was the victor in Class S.