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11/08/2019 11:00 PMThe East Haven-Wilbur Cross (EH-WC) girls’ swimming team put together one of its best performances in recent memory when the Yellowjackets competed at Southern Connecticut Conference Championship last week. EH-WC scored 381 points to finish in 10th place at the SCC Championship, which was held at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 4. EH-WC will continue its postseason by competing in the Class LL State Championship this week.
Head Coach Leanne Boisvert was happy to see the Yellowjackets finish in 10th place among the 17 teams that competed at SCCs. Boisvert felt that was a big achievement, especially since EH-WC is a relatively small team.
“With 17 or 18 girls throughout the season, going up against teams of 30-plus girls is a very formidable feat,” said Boisvert. “So, being 10th overall was a very big accomplishment for us, because we’ve worked so hard over the season and have so many talented girls.”
Sophomore Norah Rome recorded a first-place finish in the 500 freestyle by swimming a time of 5:09.58 for the Yellowjackets. Coach Boisvert said that she was expecting big things from Rome at the meet, but felt that the sophomore eclipsed all expectations with her victory.
“It is really difficult to swim the 500, because of the pressure distance swimming puts on your body. We tried to let her not overdo it this season to give her a shot at SCCs, but we genuinely didn’t see first place coming,” Boisvert said of Rome. “We knew she’d be near the top because of her consistency, but as she kept going in the water and watching her break away, it was where you want her to be. She just pushed it into high gear in the last 25 [yards] and brought it home. It was absolutely beautiful to watch.”
Rome also earned a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle by clocking in with a time of 1:56.31. Freshman Julia Rosado took sixth place in the 500 freestyle with a 5:21.45 and placed eighth in for the 100 backstroke at 1:01.39.
“Julia went into the 500 free in a meet this year on a whim. Out of nowhere, she breaks out with a 5:30 and completely floored me,” Boisvert said. “This was the second time she swam the 500 this season, and she dropped 10 seconds. She is incredible.”
Junior JJ Kim claimed ninth place in two individual events for EH-WC. In the 200 individual medley, Kim finished with a time 2:15.46. In the 100 butterfly, she recorded a mark of 1:00.91.
“Any time JJ gets in the water, she looks like she belongs there. She could’ve had a better run if she wasn’t in the non-championship heat, because she’s one of those athletes who thrives when her biggest competition is surrounding her from both sides,” said Boisvert. “I felt she had a disadvantage, because she wasn’t in one of the middle lanes. At the same time, I loved that all her teammates were pushing her right at the edge of the pool. You could see she was doing everything she could to stay with the pack.”
Junior Alora McCarroll was the Yellowjackets’ other individual competitor at the SCC meet. McCarroll took 18th place in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.62) and finished 29th in the 200 IM (2:27.28).
In the relays, Coach Boisvert was most impressed with her 200 medley group that finished in eighth place with a time of 1:55.92. EH-WC’s quartet of Rosado, McCarroll, Kim, and Rome was just 0.27 seconds away from coming in sixth place.
“Our fastest time during the season was 1:58.41, so the girls ended up dropping almost three seconds. It’s exactly what I’m looking for in regards to our progress as a team,” Boisvert said. “This SCC Championship, it seemed like everyone was shaving seconds off. Being able to keep our place in that heat and our overall seeding is really significant to me, because it shows my girls are pushing themselves as hard as everyone else and we’re keeping up with our competition.”
The Yellowjackets’ 400 freestyle relay team of McCarroll, senior Syreena Melendez, Rosado, and Rome finished in 11th place at 3:55.94. The 200 freestyle relay of junior Sophia Chmelar, freshman Aby Brooks, Melendez, and Kim placed 13th with a time of 1:52.00.
EH-WC is competing at the Class LL State Championship that begins with the Swimming Qualifying at East Hartford High School at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. The Class LL Swimming Championship is at Wesleyan University on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The State Open Swimming Championship takes place at Yale University on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.
The Yellowjackets are sending all three of their relays to the Class LL State Championship meet. EH-WC’s other qualifiers are Rome in the 200 and 500 freestyles, Kim in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly, McCarroll in the 100 breaststroke, and Rosado in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke.