Martlets Race Past Kent

The Westminster Boys’ and Girls’ swimming/diving teams had an exceptional meet this Saturday at Kent. The Girls’ team claimed their first victory of the season due to the tremendous efforts of every individual swimmer. The Boys’ team also battled hard against Kent, despite having much smaller numbers than the Kent’s Boy’s team. 

The Girls’ team started with a win in the 200 Yard Medley Relay. The team was composed of Jennifer Weber ‘26, Madison Khuu ‘24, Hayden Schneider ‘25, and Ellie Pearman ‘26. Also battling it out in this relay, was the Westminster B Team who scored a vital third place finish for the Martlets. This team was composed of Sunshine Li ‘26, Lily Raskind ‘25, Fundee Tongtip ‘24, and Grace Li ‘26. In the first individual event of the day, Ellie Pearman claimed another first place finish for the Martlets, swimming a 2:27.68 in the 200 Yard Freestyle. Following the first half of the meet, Margee Mahoney ‘24 placed first in diving for the Martlets in a 178.90 and Cecily Belford closely followed in second place with a 177.65. 

The Martlets then started the second half strong with two second place finishes by Jennifer Weber in the 100 Yard Butterfly (1:08.49) and Madison Khuu in the 100 Yard Freestyle (1:03.38). Weber followed up her Butterfly swim with her first 500 Yard Freestyle for the Martlets in which she claimed first place (6:16.22) by almost thirty seconds. Ellie Pearman then scored her second win of the day in the 100 Yard Backstroke (1:08.43). The Martlet girls dominated the last individual event of the day, the 100 Yard Breaststroke with Madison Khuu scoring first place (1:18.50), Fundee Tongtip scoring second place 1:21.01, and Lily Raskind ‘25 scoring fourth place (1:35.47). 

The Martlet victory in this meet was a true team victory, fully reliant on many third and fourth place finishes as much as first and second place finishes. The overall positive, yes we can, attitude of the team translated to many swimmers stepping up to swim with a tremendous amount of effort and heart. Lily Raskind completed three back-to-back events for the Martlets (100 Breastroke, 100 Backstroke, and 400 Freestyle Relay). Cecily Belford also made her debut performance in the 400 Freestyle relay, despite being a diver so that the Martlets could attempt to gain points in that event. It was a fantastic day of grit and grace exemplified on the pool deck. 

The Boys’ also started the meet in fantastic fashion. The 200 Medley Relay team composed of John Dwyer ‘26, Reggie Kanu ‘25, and Samuel Hyde ‘25, and Will Larock ‘26 scored a five second victory (1:51.19) over Kent. One highlight of the day was the 200 Freestyle which contained two great accomplishments for the Martlets. First, Will Larock battled it out for second place in a gritty and determined swim which resulted in an impressive time of 2:00.49. Second, Matthew O’Connell swam this event, despite having never swam above a 50 Yard Freestyle in a meet before. O’Connell swam a determined race, finishing in an outstanding first time of 2:29.87. 

Reggie Kanu, currently undefeated in the 50 Yard Freestyle, claimed another victory in a time of 23.36. 

John Dwyer began the second half of the meet in a lights-out 100 Yard Butterfly swim, finishing in a time of 55.09. Will Larock then made his first appearance of the season in the 100 Yard Freestyle, accomplishing a fantastic second place finish in a time of 55.65. Dwyer then followed Larock to score his second win of the day by over two-minutes in the 500 Yard Freestyle (5:04.04). Finally, the Boys’ 400 Freestyle relay team finished the meet in determined style, swimming a 4:38.59 in the 400 Freestyle relay. This team was composed of Simon Stambaugh ‘26, James O’Connell ‘25, Filip Tomic ‘25, and Matthew O’Connell ‘25. Both Matthew O’Connell and Filip Tomic ‘25 competed for the first time ever on this relay and notably completed their first 100 Freestyle ever in a meet. 

The Boys’ team continues to race with fearless determination and the accomplishments of today are a testament to the energy they bring every day to the pool deck.  

The Martlets look forward to their next meet at home!