West Hartford’s Conard High School girls swimming and diving team hosted a strong Wethersfield team at Cornerstone on Friday and is now 1-0 to start the season.

Submitted

Friday afternoon’s home opener between Conard swimming and diving and Wethersfield was a test of “patience and never giving up” according to head coach John Smachetti.

The Red Wolves hosted the Class M runner-up Eagles, who were undefeated in their 2023 regular season, in a meet that showcased the Red Wolves’ depth in the water and on the board. Forced to dig themselves out of an early deficit, the Red Wolves swimmers and divers showed no signs of backing down as they turned the tide and pulled off a 103-83 win over the Eagles.

Wethersfield kicked off the meet with a 1-2 finish in the 200 Medley Relay, giving them a 12-2 advantage over Conard. The Red Wolves answered back in the 200 Freestyle behind Rachel Mathews, Lucy Pincince, and Kayla Lowney who combined for 9 points to the Eagles 7, and Echo Jo, Lyla Harhay, and Rosie Alonzo racked up another 11 points in the 200 Individual Medley, pushing the score to 24-22 in favor of Wethersfield.

Wethersfield countered the Conard surge in the 50 Freestyle with Jillian Pitchell and Morgan Tracey combining for a 1-2 finish and 10 points, increasing their lead to 34-28 at the break for diving.

Conard seniors Gabby Alekshun and Mia Rosario put on a show for the crowd during diving. Alekshun took first with a state qualifying score of 193.75 and Rosario placed second, also qualifying for the state tournament with a score of 174.70. Senior Reese Gibson rounded out the points for the Red Wolves with her fifth place finish and score of 125.80, pushing the score to a 39-39 tie.

After diving the Conard coaching staff knew the team was rattled by the missteps in the early events, and pulled them together to deliver a simple message: there are a lot of swims left, keep your heads high and fight until the end.

Mathews and teammate Celia Filotto took this message to heart during the 100 Butterfly, with Mathews winning the event in a come-from-behind swim and Filotto nabbing fourth, allowing Conard to split the points 8-8. In the 100 Freestyle, Gracie Lowney blazed to a first place finish with a time of 54.47, while teammate L. Harhay came from behind to take second, edging out the Eagles Pitchell. Claire Haverly placed fifth, giving the Red Wolves 11 points and a 6-point advantage.

In the 500, Jo, Pincince, and K. Lowney combined for 2-3-4, adding 9 points to the Red Wolves’ score, while the Eagles’ Milena Brodowicz notched her second first-place finish for the day. Conard’s 200 Freestyle Relay teams seized the momentum gained in the previous three events with Mathews, L. Harhay, Jo, and G. Lowney taking first, and Haverly, Filotto, K. Lowney, and Pincince taking third, bringing the score to 77-63 in favor of the Red Wolves.

What happened next was not something either coach could have predicted. Conard’s Alonzo, CeCe Peck, and Lilah Krajc were expecting a battle for position in the 100 Backstroke, but Alonzo and Peck cruised to a 1-2 finish and turned to watch Kracj finish her race 0.09 seconds ahead of Wethersfield’s Julia Cartiera, making it a Red Wolves sweep and pushing the score to 90-66.

With two events to go, Conard needed just 3 points to ensure victory. While Wethersfield’s breaststrokers raced strong, Ellie Harhay and Maddie Mancini scored the necessary 3 points to push the Red Wolves to 93 points.

The Red Wolves closed out the meet in the 400 Freestyle Relay with Jo, L. Harhay, Mathews, and G. Lowney coming from behind to take first, and Pincince, K. Lowney, Filotto, and Alonzo finishing third.

Conard is now 1-0 on the season and will take on Meriden Co-op at Maloney High School on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 3:45 p.m.

In addition to the win, the following swimmers qualified for the state tournament:

• Rachel Mathews: 200 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly
• Lucy Pincince: 200 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle
• Echo Jo: 200 Individual Medley, 500 Freestyle
• Lyla Harhay: 200 Individual Medley, 100 Freestyle
• Gracie Lowney: 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle
• Gabby Alekshun: Diving
• Mia Rosario: Diving
• Kayla Lowney: 500 Freestyle

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