BOSTON – When the seniors on the Acton-Boxboro girls swimming and diving team were freshmen in 2021, the outgoing class they learned from passed the torch with the program’s first state title in 22 years.
As the Revolution won their third state title in four seasons with 308 points in the Div. 1 state championships at Boston University on Sunday, those swimmers now get to pass the torch of an expanded winning legacy.
Seniors Caroline Tyrrell, Katie Baxter and Isabela Teixeira were all together for gold finishes in the 200-yard (1:49.77) and 400-yard (3:40.06) freestyle relays, pairing with freshman Lucy Tyrrell to help set the tone of a performance that scored 60 more points than runner-up Brookline (248 points).
Teixeira’s top finishes in the 50-yard freestyle (23.40) and 100-yard freestyle (51.02) made her a quadruple-winner in her last state meet, while Lucy Tyrrell’s gold in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.29) made her a triple-winner in her first.
Complementary points from senior Mariel Tan, junior Kira Kozhemiakina, sophomore Darcy Lillie, freshman Willow Baysinger, freshman Gillian Potnick and freshman Anabela Nikolov were icing on the cake.
Needham and Newton North tied for third place (227 points), while Andover took fifth (213).
“The senior-freshman class, they did everything they could and they did everything right,” said Acton-Boxboro head coach Gretchen Turner. “These seniors learned their freshman year from the seniors that graduated with that (2021 win) what needs to get done. So they’ve been waiting for this particular group, to tell them exactly what they need to do to get a trophy. And they did. It was amazing. Very magical.”
“I really loved all my four years on the team, I definitely have to say that my teammates and my coaches are the main reason for this,” Teixeira added. “I really liked the environment that we’ve built. … (The freshmen) were insane – totally amazing. I’m really glad that they’re going to be able to carry on the A-B legacy that they’ve already started carrying. Really good start for them, and a really good ending for me.”
Needham freshman Andrea Qie was the meet’s first double-winner, taking gold in the 100-yard butterfly (57.11) and 200-yard individual medley (2:07.41). Andover sophomores Emilia Hukkanen and Olivia Landers each had three top-three finishes, working together for third in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:45.93) after Hukkanen won the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.49) and took second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:18.69). Landers took third in those same events.
Andover senior Amelia Barron went out with second-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.37) and 100-yard butterfly (57.19), while Winchester’s Emma Kawai finished first in the 500 freestyle (5:11.53) and third in the 200 individual medley (2:08.47). Brookline also had a couple of second place finishes from Daisy Huang and Mirta Ceraj.
Yet, Teixeira’s gold finishes in all four of her events took the cake in just about as perfect of a send-off as there is.
“There was no better way I could think about it ending,” Teixeira said. “I’m really glad I got to do it for not just myself, but for my whole team. I mean, we were really excited going into the medley, and pulling off the win in that one was a great way to start this meet.”