PEABODY — The Wakefield senior swimmers were celebrated at the Peabody YMCA with banners, posters, announcements and flowers, before the team took to the pool for another emphatic victory, this time over Hamilton/Wenham on Jan. 12. With contributions from all swimmers, the Warriors/Pioneers crushed the competition by a score of 92-51.
The medley relay team of senior captain Henry Brown, James Cook, Malcolm Kelton, and Lynnfield’s Nick DeGennaro kicked off the meet by finishing 11 seconds faster than the opposing relay. Then the individual performers began racking up the wins.
The first of several 1-2-3 finishes took place in the 200-yard freestyle, with Wakefield’s Kelton claiming first place, Lynnfield’s Sam Childress second place and Wakefield’s Michael Brown third. Cook, Henry Brown and Marc Gagne soon went 1-2-3 in the 50-yard freestyle. During this race, Cook qualified for sectionals and states with his impressive time of 23.46.
Lynnfield’s DeGennaro and Wakefield senior captain Hudson Little went 1-2 in the 100-yard butterfly, then Henry Brown and Gagne went 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle.
Wakefield swimmers figured prominently in the first and third place finishes for the 200-yard freestyle relay with Kelton, Little and Gagne placing first and Ali Atoui, Gus Sanni and Luke Shea placing third.
Another exhilarating 1-2-3 finish resulted from the 100-yard backstroke race during which Cook qualified for sectionals and states with his winning time of 58.6. DeGennaro placed second, and Little placed third.
Kelton put in a strong showing in the 100-yard breaststroke and claimed second place.
The 400-yard freestyle relay teams again placed first and third to cap off the meet. The first place winners were all Wakefield swimmers: Gagne, Little, Henry Brown and Cook while Shea and Sanni were the Wakefield swimmers on the third place team.
Of the seniors’ experience and influence on the team this year, coach Jeff Boyd stated, “Senior Night is always a bittersweet moment, especially this year since we are graduating 14 seniors between both the boys and the girls teams. Our seniors develop into great leaders over the four years with us. It was special to watch them be so successful in their last home meet.”
The Warriors/Pioneers’ closed out a thrilling victory over their biggest rival, Triton on Jan. 15 and defeated Ipswich in their final regular season meet last meet. Full stories will appear at a later date.