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The RMHS Boys Swim Team capped off a successful season by performing well at the MIAA North Boys Sectionals at WPI on February 11th and D1 Boys States at MIT on February 18th.
D1 North Sectionals
On February 11th, the Boys Swim Team competed in the North Boys Sectionals at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The swimmers who competed were Liam Green (‘25), Rory O’Neill (‘25), Andrew McCarthy (‘25), David McCann (‘25), Leo Diedrich (‘25), Thomas Cockrell (‘26), and Aidan Herlihy (‘26). The team qualified to swim in the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard Freestyle, 200-yard I.M., 50-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Freestyle, 500-yard Freestyle, 200-yard freestyle relay, 100-yard breaststroke, and 400-yard Freestyle. Reading tied for twenty-third place overall alongside Lowell Catholic and accumulated twenty points.
The 200-yard medley relay was composed of Herlihy swimming backstroke, Green swimming breaststroke, McCarthy swimming butterfly, and McCann swimming Freestyle and qualified with a time of 1:49.90. The relay achieved a new best of 1:49.11, placing eighteenth overall. O’Neill and Herlihy both competed in the 200-yard Freestyle. O’Neill finished nineteenth overall with a personal best time of 1:55.72, and Herlihy finished eighteenth overall with a best of 1:55.64.
In the 200 individual medley, an event where swimmers must swim 200 yards of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and Freestyle consecutively, McCarthy placed twenty-fifth with a personal best time of 2:11.24. In the 50-yard Freestyle, Green narrowly missed a personal best with a time of 23.45, tying for nineteenth. In the 100-yard Freestyle, O’Neill placed thirteenth with a best of 52.37. In the 500-yard Freestyle, Aidan Herlihy placed thirteenth overall with a 5:11.78, a shocking five-second drop, and a state qualifying time. McCann, Diedrich, Cockrell, and O’Neill made up the 200-yard freestyle relay. They placed twentieth overall with two personal bests from Diedrich and Cockrell, both with times of 24.90. McCarthy and Green competed in the 100-yard breaststroke, placing sixteenth and ninth, respectively. Green achieved a personal best of 1:02.34.
The 400 freestyle relay comprised Herlihy, McCarthy, O’Neill, and Green. The relay saw a new best-of 3:31.26, placing fourteenth overall. O’Neill commented on the team’s performance at Sectionals and said, “I think we performed really well as a team; we definitely all surprised everyone, especially Aidan Herlihy, who had a great race.”
D1 States
On February 18th, the RMHS Boys Swim Team competed in the D1 Boys States at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Liam Green, Rory O’Neill, Andrew McCarthy, and Aidan Herlihy competed. The boys competed in the 500-yard Freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, and 400 freestyle relay. Reading placed thirty-ninth overall, tying with Cambridge Rindge and Latin and Algonquin Regional High School with five points.
Aidan Herlihy competed in the 500-yard Freestyle, placing seventeenth or eighteenth with a time of 5:14.08, missing his seed time of 5:11.78. Liam Green and Andrew McCarthy competed in the 100-yard breaststroke, placing sixteenth and thirteenth, respectively. McCarthy achieved a personal best of 1:03.15.
Following the 100-yard breaststroke, Green, who had been dealing with a knee injury all season, was in extreme pain with minimal time to recover before the 400-yard freestyle relay. When describing the challenges faced at States, Assistant Coach Ryan Sacco referencing Green’s knee said, “That slowed him down in his individual stroke, which he was trying to go for a certain time, and then that impacted the relay.”
Green stepped up to the challenge after missing the deadline to alter the relay, even though alternate David McCann was ready to take his place. The relay placed twenty-second with a time of 3:31.37. Despite falling behind their seed time, the relay saw stand-out swims from all those in the relay, particularly Rory O’Neill, who had a personal best of 51.84.
Commenting on the team’s performance at States Coach Sacco said, “I think states was good, not as great as Sectionals.”
