This past weekend, the Hingham High School Girls Swim and Dive Team continued to ride the wave of success. After a 7-1 season, the girls competed at the Patriot League Championships, crushing the competition and earning 2nd place behind the Duxbury Dragons, who handed the Hingham girls their only loss during the regular season. Despite placing second, the girls beat every other team in the competition by at least 100 points, breaking multiple personal records on the way.

The girls 200 yard Medley Relay of senior Laura Lynch, sophomore Thea Bruggemann, freshman Margeaux Fortin, and freshman Amanda Kenn started off the meet with a splash, earning second place overall and qualifying for Sectional and State Championships with a new best time of 2:05.09.

Senior Kristin Saleski, freshman Margaret Strehle, and sophomore Thea Bruggemann braved the 200 IM, and all three placed within the top 10, with Bruggemann earning 4th place overall in the meet. The excitement continued to escalate with senior Tori Baldassini and sophomore Maggie Mulkerrin earning best times in the 100 yard butterfly and Junior Elle O’Connor qualifying for Sectional Championships in the 100 Yard Freestyle. O’Connor’s times continued to cause waves, as she qualified for State Championships in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of .26.83, placing 4th overall in the competition. Sophomore Sarah Smith led the charge in the 50 yard freestyle, causing the pool to erupt with a state qualifiying personal best of .26.24 that earned her first place overall in the competition and missed the school record by less than ½ a second.

Kenn and Junior Maddy Townsend placed 3rd and 6th in the 500 yard freestyle, and sophomores Rose Flynn and Maggie Mulkerrin also courageously endured the long haul of a race. The girls’ 200 yard Freestyle relay of O’Connor, Strehle, Smith, and Fortin sailed past the competition, earning 2nd place overall and qualifying for State Championships.

Up next in the 100 Yard Backstroke, Senior Laura Lynch delivered a State Championship qualifying swim of 1:06.91, a personal best that also earned her 3rd place overall. Fortin, Smith, Townsend, and Baldassini dominated the competition in the 100 yard Breaststroke, earning Hingham crucial points.

Finally, the girls finished triumphantly in the 400 Freestyle Relay. The team of Saleski, Townsend, Senior Maddie Stimson, and Baldassini placed 6th, while the team of Smith, Lynch, O’Connor, and Kenn placed second overall, blowing away their previous time and qualifying for State Championships with a 4:00.04.

The next morning, divers CeCe O’Reilly and Olivia Thomas executed excellent dives, with senior O’Reilly becoming the Patriot League Champion, and Thomas earning an impressive 9th place in her first year as a diver.

Congratulations to the entire team on an incredible weekend, and to all the teams who competed at the Patriot League Championships!