Conard’s girls swimming and diving hosted Newington on Wednesday in West Hartford.

Submitted

Conard girls swimming and diving defeated Newington High School on Wednesday afternoon, securing several new state tournament qualifiers during their third Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) West matchup of the season.

The Red Wolves established an early lead and sustained momentum through six individual and relay event sweeps, ultimately outlasting a competitive Newington squad.

Red Wolves Set the Pace Early

Conard opened the meet with a dominant performance in the 200-yard Medley Relay. The foursome of Grace Quinn, Ciara Frewen, Laura Haverly, and Jane Beach captured first place. Teammates Marissa Alicea, Sophie Liu, Kourtney James, and Lily Talit held off a late Newington surge to secure third, giving Conard an initial 10-4 advantage.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Celia Filotto, Edie Kitzman, and Josie Pia preserved the six-point cushion by placing second, third, and fifth, respectively. Conard expanded its lead in the 200-yard Individual Medley as Ellie Harhay and Hannah Krusinski delivered a 1-2 finish, backed by a fifth-place performance from Pia Burnett-Herkes to push the team score to 29-17.

Before the diving break, Emilie O’Sullivan and Frewen combined for another 1-2 finish in the 50-yard freestyle, while Lilah Krajc secured fourth, giving Conard a commanding 20-point cushion.

Newington Rallies on the Diving Boards

On the 1-meter diving board, Conard freshman Hannah McCarthy kept her undefeated season streak alive with a first-place finish, while Beach added points in fifth. However, Newington rallied by sweeping the second, third, and fourth positions, narrowing Conard’s overall lead to 48-30 heading into the second half of the swimming events.

Dominance in the Secondary Events

Conard quickly reclaimed momentum on the track back to the pool:

• 100-Yard Butterfly: Kitzman raced to an individual victory, while Alicea and James followed in third and fourth to add 11 points to the team total.
• 100-Yard Freestyle: Haverly and O’Sullivan delivered the Red Wolves’ third 1-2 sweep of the afternoon.
• 500-Yard Freestyle: Filotto and Burnett-Herkes finished first and third, extending Conard’s lead to 32 points.

Sealing the Victory

Needing just 12 points to mathematically secure the meet victory, Conard’s relay depth put the competition out of reach. The 200-yard Freestyle Relay team of Frewen, Filotto, O’Sullivan, and Haverly captured first place, while the squad of Harhay, Beach, McCarthy, and Kitzman took second to lock down the final points needed for the team win.

Conard closed out the remaining events with a points split in the 100-yard Backstroke behind strong swims from Quinn, Krajc, and Liu. Krusinski and Pia added a fifth 1-2 finish in the 100-yard Breaststroke. In the final event of the afternoon, the 400-yard Freestyle Relay, Conard capped off the day with its sixth 1-2 sweep, led by the first-place team of O’Sullivan, Frewen, Harhay, and Haverly, followed immediately by Filotto, Kitzman, Krajc, and Krusinski.

State Championship Qualifiers

Following Wednesday’s performances, four additional Conard athletes officially met the time standards required to qualify for the state championship meet:

• Ellie Harhay
• Emilie O’Sullivan
• Ciara Frewen
• Hannah Krusinski

They join teammates Laura Haverly, Celia Filotto, and Hannah McCarthy, who previously secured their state qualifying bids earlier this season.

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