KEEGAN MCKENNEY, Senior – Swimming

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• Class B Swimmer of the Year
• Class B state champion, 200 individual medley
• Class B state champion, 500 freestyle
• Class B Performer of the State Meet
• All-State, 200 IM
• All-State, 500 free
• All-State, 400 free relay
• All-Conference

McKenney

McKenney was exceptional this all season and was especially brilliant in the postseason, leading Cape Elizabeth to a state championship.

McKenney arrived on the scene as a freshman, winning the Class B state title in the 500 freestyle and placing third in the 200 individual medley. As a sophomore, he repeated as the champion in the 500 free and added a 200 freestyle crown as well. After missing out on the postseason his junior year, due to the pandemic, McKenney had no peer this winter.

He rolled through the competition with a nearly perfect mark during the regular season, excelling in not only the freestyle but in the IM, backstroke and butterfly as well.

At Southwesterns, McKenney won the 200 free in 1 minute, 43.56 seconds and was second in the 100 free, while also anchoring a first-place 200 free relay team.

McKenney then stole the show at the Class B state meet, helping Cape Elizabeth win its first title since 2015, as he took the 200 IM in 1:55.62 and the 500 free (4:41.96). He also anchored the Capers’ champion 200 and 400 free relay teams, with the 400 squad setting a new meet record (3:16.50). McKenney was named the Performer of the Class B state meet for his effort.

“That was so much fun,” McKenney said. “It being our last race and us winning and breaking a record, it was the perfect ending to my high school career. I was super stoked with how the season went. We’ve been trying to win the state meet since I’ve been a freshman and every year we have been really close.”

McKenney graduates as Cape Elizabeth’s record-holder in the 200 IM, 100 fly and the 100, 200 and 500 free. He will take his talents to Division II Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Everything Keegan McKenney needed to do to lead his team to the pinnacle, he accomplished. Not a bad way to bow out.

Coach Ben Raymond’s comment: “Keegan has been a dominant swimmer since he first began here as a freshman and he has continued to improve every year in and out of the pool. Keegan clearly has demonstrated his dominance in the pool and has done so through hard work and a love of competition and racing. I have been fortunate enough to coach great athletes, and when your best athlete/swimmer is your hardest worker, the rest of the team takes notice and puts that much more work in. Keegan also spent lots of time with younger swimmers working on stroke technique, starts and turns. He’s always willing to give of his time and his knowledge. He’s an excellent leader and has helped make Cape Swimming a place that welcomes those of all abilities and is a place where everyone can be successful. I have enjoyed coaching Keegan a great deal. He has always embraced every opportunity to compete and race and has never backed down from a set. He has challenged me to be even more creative as a swim coach and the entire team has seen the benefit of that. He will be greatly missed next year.”

Previous winners:

• 2020-21 Nate Mullen (basketball)
• 2019-20 Matt Laughlin (hockey)
• 2018-19 Andrew Hartel (basketball)
• 2017-18 Finn Bowe (basketball)
• 2016-17 Quinn Hewitt (basketball)
• 2015-16 Devon Lathrop (Alpine skiing)
• 2014-15 Ethan Murphy (basketball)
• 2013-14 Eddie Galvin (basketball)
• 2012-13 Evan Long (swimming)
• 2011-12 Nick Breed (hockey)
• 2010-11 Theo Bowe (basketball)
• 2009-10 Conor Maloney (basketball)
• 2008-09 Alex Bowe (basketball)
• 2007-08 Tommy Ray (basketball)
• 2006-07 Graham Egan (Nordic skiing)
• 2005-06 Kevin Harrison (track)
• 2004-05 Dan Rautenberg (hockey)
• 2003-04 Ben Weimont (track)
• 2002-03 Luke Holden (hockey)
• 2001-02 Tom Alberi (swimming)

DANA SCHWARTZ, Senior – Alpine skiing

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• Class B state champion, Alpine slalom
• WMC all-star

Schwartz

Schwartz capped her terrific high school career by winning an individual state title, and we haven’t heard the last of her dominance.

Schwartz started on the slopes around the age of 5 and quickly wanted to leave everyone else behind.

“After a few years of skiing, I noticed people competing in contests who could ski the fastest and my competitive self immediately wanted to take part,” Schwartz said. “I then officially started ski racing when I was 9 years old. I was considered really old to start racing at the time, but I used that as motivation.”

As a freshman, Schwartz placed fifth at states in the slalom and was seventh in the giant slalom. As a sophomore, she moved up to third in the GS and finished 12th in the slalom. Her junior year didn’t allow for a postseason due to COVID, and Schwartz was bound and determined to make the most of her final high school campaign this winter.

At the Western Maine Conference championship meet, Schwartz finished second in the slalom behind Yarmouth’s Brooke Boone and was fourth in the GS.

Then, at the Class B state meet, Schwartz was second to Boone in the GS (1:30.25) but took the top spot in the slalom (40.20), as the Capers were second to Yarmouth in the team standings.

“Coming off of a season with no real championship end, I had minimal expectations for this year, but definitely one of my main goals was to help our team defend our WMC title, which we did,” Schwartz said. “I think every athlete has a goal of winning states and so accomplishing that was extremely valuable for me.”

Schwartz capped her season by making the Maine state team for the third time (there was no team during the pandemic year of 2021) and was 14th at the Eastern championships.

“There are numerous aspects that I love about the sport, but one of my favorites is the camaraderie and the relationships that you build with your teammates and coaches on and off the hill,” said Schwartz, whose younger brother, Logan Schwartz, is a top talent for the Cape Elizabeth boys’ team. “Skiing can be lonely at times, but having a really good group of people around you makes it so much better than riding the lift after a disappointing run or having people cheer you on at the start or finish. The skiing community is pretty tight-knit and everyone has connections to someone else so you can make friends from all over. I just love the skiing community as a whole on and off the course, like I can ride the lift with someone I have never met and find out they graduated from my same high school 30 years ago.”

Schwartz will next ski at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where she plans to study biology on a pre-med track, while minoring in international relations.

She’ll certainly be missed around here, as her impact on the Cape Elizabeth program is indisputable.

Coach Sarah Plummer’s comment: “Dana is an incredibly strong and disciplined athlete. While her ski season accomplishments are incredible, I am even more impressed with and proud of her leadership and attitude. Dana helped build the middle and high school ski programs at Cape and coached and supported her fellow teammates, always with a smile and lots of positive energy. We will miss her next year.”

Previous winners:

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter:@foresports.