Sacred Heart Greenwich’s Upper School swim team attended the National Catholic Swimming & Diving Championship, held at the campus of Loyola University Maryland, in Baltimore, Maryland, January 17 to January 19.  For the second consecutive year, the team traveled to the eighty-fourth annual co-educational meet, taking place at the Mangione Aquatic Center.

The Sacred Heart diving team was unable to travel to Maryland and participate in the competition due to the inclement weather conditions in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The Upper School swim team entered the championship race with three wins as a team, along with a second-place finish at the Horace Mann Invitational, January 11.  The team will travel to New York City to swim against Convent of the Sacred Heart 91st Street, January 24, for the team’s annual matchup.  This will be their first race after the National Catholic Swimming & Diving Championship meet.

Competing in the national swim event was a beneficial experience for the whole team, according to Ms. Keegan Reed, Upper School head swim coach.

“National Catholic Championships allows our team to have the opportunity to swim against very skilled swimmers,” Ms. Reed said.  “The championship meet brings together teams from all over the east coast, not just the New England area, and is a great starting point for the teams second half of the season.”

The Mangione Aquatic Center opened its pool January 17 to allow teams to practice a day before the competitions, January 18 and January 19.

The Sacred Heart swimmers finished the meet placing twelfth out of 23 teams, along with freshman Alexandra Bastone receiving the Most Outstanding Swimmer award.  Not only did Alexandra achieve the title of the 2020 Most Outstanding Swimmer out of all the participants, but she also won two of the events, the girls 200-yard freestyle and the girls 500-yard freestyle.

“Being named the Most Outstanding Swimmer at a national meet feels not only crazy and exciting, but also rewarding because of how hard the rest of the Sacred Heart team and I work day after day,” Alexandra said.  “I am so proud of the team and how well we have performed so far this season, and being able to receive this award shows how hard work and dedication pays off.”

Charlotte Fallon, a sophomore on the swim team, reflected on her second year attending the National Catholic Swimming & Diving Championship. 

“National Catholic Championships was a great way for our team to experience a higher level of swimming and bond as a team,” Charlotte said.  “We all posted great results and hope to come back again next year as a team for the third time.”

Featured Image by Claire Moore ’22