It’s a weekend that all high school winter sports athletes circle on their calendars and hope they are one of the few who are there, when practices began the Monday after Thanksgiving.
For the swimmers, that date is earlier than every other sport, but competing for a state championship never gets old. It’s the truest measurement of testing their skills on a larger scale. The Marblehead High girls were at the MIT pool on Saturday, Feb. 14, to begin state championship weekend, and by the end of the day they finished third in Division 1, their best outcome since 2023. For the third year in a row, the Concord-Carlisle girls took home the state title.
“The girls finished a strong third overall, and it was their best finish since 2023, and for more good news, this is a very young team with only one graduating senior,” said coach Sue Guertin.
The boys competed the next day at the same venue, and they too ended up in the Top 10 in the state, or ninth overall out of 40 Division 2 teams. Wayland finished on top in their division.
“The (boys) team did amazingly well. It was their second-best finish in recent years,” said Guertin.
Girls results
The 200-yard medley relay of Hazell Wright, Shaelyn Callahan, Macy Ladouceur and Winnie Waddington (1:54.04) were second in the state. Wright (1:56.46, personal best) returned to come in fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.
In the 200-yard IM, Grace Ladouceur (2:14.21) was fourth, and Macy Ladouceur (2:21.36, personal best) 15th. Waddington (24.66, personal best) secured a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, and was eighth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.94.
Grace Ladouceur (54.31) was credited with a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Wright (5:13, personal best) accounted for fourth in the 500-yard freestyle. Callahan (5:34.93, personal best) was 13th.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the quartet of Grace Ladouceur, Abigail Moore, Monica Pechhold and Waddington (1:46.80) finished 10th.
Callahan (1:13.12) came in 12th in the 100-yard breaststroke. Wright, Macy Ladouceur, Callahan and Grace Ladouceur (2:44.46) were fourth as a team in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Boys results
Starting with the 200-yard medley relay, the foursome of Ian Chemel, Cale Nelson, Brady Leveroni and Lucas Rosen (1:45.73) picked up an eighth-place finish. Leveroni (1:49.52, personal best) also finished eighth in the 200-yard freestyle.
Nelson (2:05.65) was 10th in the 200-yard IM. Omar Elnabarawy (56.27) finished 15th in the 100-yard butterfly. Leveroni (50.84) came in 16th in the 100-yard freestyle. Ian Chemel (5:15,26) ended up 13th in the 500-yard freestyle, and was 12th in the 100-yard backstroke (57.98).
Nelson (1:05, personal best) chipped in with a 14th place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Leveroni, Elnabarawy, Chemel and Nelson (3:26.64) was the fifth best in the state.
It takes a collective effort for any team to succeed on the varsity level, and Guertin is quick to point out the contributions of her assistant coaches Drew Martin-Ryan, Jen Brehob and Brendon Graffum, the diving mentor, not to mention the support of the parents, who helped out at every meet.
The veteran Marblehead coach, who just completed her 36th season at poolside, is already looking ahead to next year with the goal of getting some divers to qualify for the postseason. This is what makes this program one of the best in the state every year. From Guertin on down, they are never satisfied with past accomplishments, always looking to get better.
