Many athletes throughout the state have worked hard throughout the season to qualify for the postseason tournament; the Swim team is no exception. Although the team as a whole does not work to qualify for playoffs like in other sports, individual swimmers and divers work to qualify for the South Sectional meet and the State meet. This Saturday, November 9, Walpole Swimming and Diving will be competing at MIT in the Massachusetts South Sectionals.
Coming off a sixth place finish at the Bay State Conference meet and a regular season record of 8-5, the Rebels have had a relatively successful season. Swimmers and Divers hope to continue this success in the post-season with a strong performance at Sectionals. Mary Hinton, Helen Hinton, Julie Hinton, Julia Muller, Katie Smith, Lexie Riggott, Paul Ferraro, Joe Burke, Hannah Phelan and Doug Stewart will all be competing in individual events, in addition to the 200 yard medley relay, 200 yard freestyle relay, and 400 yard freestyle relay.
In the medley relay, sophomores Julia Muller and Julie Hinton, junior Mary Hinton and senior Lexie Riggott are seeded 18th and look to qualify for the State meet next weekend. The 200 yard freestyle relay, swum by juniors Katie Smith and Helen Hinton and sophomores Emily Luong and Catherine Shivers, is seeded ninth and hopes to place well in the meet. The boys’ 200 yard relay will be swum by sophomore Paul Ferrarro, junior Joe Burk, and freshmen Padraic Curran and Sean Bergen. Sophomore Julia Muller, juniors Katie Smith and Helen Hinton and senior Lexie Riggott make up the 400 yard relay is seeded eleventh overall. The boys’ 400 yard relay consists of sophomore Paul Ferrarro, junior Joe Burke, and freshmen Padraic Curran and Bobby Burke.
Paul Ferraro is seeded first for the boys’ 200 yard freestyle, and Lexie Riggott is seeded 25th in the 200 yard Individual Medley. In what will be an extremely close race, Katie Smith is seeded fifth in the 50 yard freestyle, and Joe Burke is seeded third for the boys’ event. Smith is also seeded sixth in the 100 yard freestyle and Helen Hinton is seeded 34; Joe Burke is seeded second for the boys. Lexie Riggott is seeded 19th in the 500 yard freestyle and Paul Ferraro is seeded first, as the only male entrant in the event. In the 100 yard backstroke, Julia Muller is seeded 21st. Sisters Julie and Mary Hinton are seeded 24 and 25, respectively.
Diver Hannah Phelan is seeded fourth overall, but hopes to improve in the meet. After coming in second place at the state meet last season, Phelan looks to place well at Sectionals and States this year. Doug Stewart is seeded first for the boys’ diving. Unfortunately, injury will keep sophomore Samantha Chauvin from competing in Sectionals and States.
While many swimmers qualified for sectionals this year, Katie Smith has the greatest chance of doing well in Sectionals. Last year, Smith did very well in this meet last year, getting second in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 freestyle. While the first place seed in the 50 is about a second faster than the rest of the field, about .07 seconds separate Smith from the number 2 seed, giving her a huge opportunity for success in this event.
