Better than two dozen schools from around Maine converged on Bowdoin College in Brunswick for Class A Swim States last Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 17-18.

On the boys’ side, Cheverus proved the big winner, besting Brunswick by 100 points to secure their third consecutive crown, while on the girls’ side, something of the opposite turned out to be true. The Lady Dragons downed their Stags opposition, but by a much narrower margin, just 16 points all told.

Local favorites Westbrook and Gorham may not bring home any hardware to their respective trophy cases – not as teams anyway – but they nevertheless had strong showings. In particular, Blazes standout senior Greg Violette took first in the 100-yard Fly (in a time of 52.01 seconds, more than a second and a half ahead of No. 2 Jacob Cost, of Brunswick) and the 100-yard Backstroke (52.10 – more than five full seconds ahead of No. 2 Ben Thibert, of Messalonskee).

“I’ve never won a State Championship before,” said Violette, “so I was really nervous. I’ve always wanted it. I’ve never really said it to anyone, because that just puts more pressure on you in the long run, but I’ve always wanted it. It’s the pinnacle of what you can do in high school swimming in Maine.”

“I was just trying to say loose, listening to music before the race. And once I started, I just kind of went away with it. You get on a hot streak, and it’s like you can’t be beat. So much adrenaline…You finish, and you’re like, ‘Wow, where did that come from?’”

Interestingly, Violette shuns credit for his backstroke win, as Cost would’ve beaten him – did beat him, by half a second or so – but DQed for kicking past 15 meters underwater. In fact, Violette tried to give Cost his first-place medal, but Cost wouldn’t have it. The two are friendly rivals, and Cost simply told Violette they’d meet again.

Violette’s performances at Bowdoin broke multiple Westbrook High School records, including one he set himself back in November.

For the Lady Blazes, Molly Sweet, just a sophomore, claimed fifth in both the 100 Fly and the 200 Free. Emma Sperry (only a freshman) finished eighth in the latter of those, and fifth in the 100 Breast. Another freshman, Camryn LaPierre, grabbed seventh in the 50 Free, in which junior teammate Kari Brown finished one slot behind, in eighth.

Those four girls combined for second in the 200 Free Relay and fifth in the 400 Free Relay.

For the Gorham boys, senior Timmer Sposato took fifth in the 200 Free and fourth in the 100 Back. The quad of Sposato, Riley Jensen (a sophomore), Andrew Eaton (also a sophomore) and Gunder Sandeno (a senior) finished eighth in the 200 Free Relay.

Sophomore Alli LaFerriere won fourth for the Lady Rams in the 200 Free and third in the 500 Free; Meagan Thomsen took fifth in the 50 Free and seventh in the 100 Free. Molly Sposato (sophomore) finished sixth in the 100 Breast.

LaFerrierer, Thomsen, Hannah LeBlanc (sophomore) and Alicia Robinson (senior) combined for fifth in the 200 Free Relay and eighth in the 400 Free Relay.

Boys team scores

1. Cheverus, 360

2. Brunswick, 230

3. Bangor, 257

4. Falmouth, 202

5. Windham, 161

6. Massabesic, 154.5

7. Kennebunk, 134

8. Thornton, 105

9. Scarborough, 103.5

10. Cony, 67

11. Gorham, 65

12. Messalonskee, 61

13. Lewiston, 59

14. Westbrook, 50

15. South Portland, 40

16. Bonny Eagle, 35

17. Portland, 29

18. Lawrence, 28

19. Bucksport, 17

20. Mt. Ararat, 16

21. Biddeford, 14

22. hampden, 13

23. Wells, 12

23. Sanford, 12

25. Deering, 9

26. Brewer, 6

27. Edward Little, 5

Girls team scores

1. Brunswick, 246

2. Cheverus, 230

3. Kennebunk, 217

4. Bangor, 216

5. Deering, 183

6. Falmouth, 143

6. Westbrook, 143

8. Massabesic, 137

9. Gorham, 135

10. South Portland, 100

11. Cony, 92

12. Thornton, 71

13. Edward Little, 68

14. Scarborough, 59

15. Messalonskee, 54

16. Biddeford, 44

17. Brewer, 40

18. Sanford, 30

19. Bucksport, 13

19. Lawrence, 13

21. Portland, 12

22. Mt. Ararat, 8

22. Leavitt, 8

24. Hampden, 3

Westbrook’s Greg Violette, pictured here winning the 100-yard backstroke race during regional competition earlier this month, won two individual titles at last week’s state championship.

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