By Sam Rosenblatt
Managing Editor of Sports
After making waves all season in DCL competition, the girls’ and boys’ swimming and diving teams both finished in fifth place at the DCL Championship Meet on Saturday.
Sophomore Kristen Miquel claimed the DCL title in the girls’ 100-meter breaststroke, the Lions’ only individual win in a day packed with strong performances.
Junior Maddie Hofert gave the Lions key points by finishing second in the 100-meter backstroke and fifth in the 50-meter freestyle. Senior captain Jessica Zernitsky finished sixth in the 50-meter freestyle and added a seventh place finish in the 100-meter freestyle.
Hofert and Zernitsky teamed up on two of South’s relays as well. They joined Kristen Miquel and senior captain Alexia Miquel in the 200-meter medley relay, which finished third. Hofert and Zernitsky swam to a fourth place finish in the 200-meter freestyle relay along with junior Rachel Navarrette and sophomore Colleen McElduff.
“A lot of girls beat their times and raced the best they had all season,” Alexia Miquel said. “It was great to see so much improvement.”
Miquel also credited freshmen Liri Mustafa and Rosie McLeod for cutting down their times throughout the season, including strong races at DCLs.
On the boys’ side, sophomore Jordi Boulerice continued his breakout season by earning third place in the diving competition, setting a new school record (which he had set earlier in the season) in the process.
Senior captain Alex Song placed third in the 100-meter breaststroke and fourth in the 200-meter individual medley. According to Song, the fifth place finish is “the best placement by far” that South has reached at the DCL Championship Meet in recent memory.
Song also swam for the Lions’ 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, with fellow senior Quinn Boulerice and juniors Geoffrey Lo and George Knocke, that placed third. Lo added a pair of fourth place finishes in the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke, while junior Andrew Johnston finished third in the 500-meter freestyle.
The South boys’ finished with a total of 281 points, a huge step up from previous years. This success was indicative of the program’s steady improvement throughout the season.
“It definitely shows the result of all the hard work that we’ve been putting in,” Song said. “It’s always good to improve every single year.”
Both South swim teams will compete in the North Sectional Championships this weekend as they hope to achieve more personal bests and break records in the postseason.
