BRUNSWICK — A year ago, the Camden Hills girls swim team fell short of a state title by 13 points.
Thanks to a strong finishing kick Monday, the Windjammers slammed the door shut on their competition.
Camden Hills (437) won the Class B championship at Bowdoin College’s Greason Pool, ending the three-year reign of Cape Elizabeth (363), which finished as runner-up.
“We’re really happy, we worked really hard (for the title),” said Camden Hills senior captain Rana Abess. “That’s the biggest (factor).”
“I’m so happy, this feels like a dream,” added teammate and fellow senior captain Sally Vannini.
It’s the third state championship for the Windjammers in the last four years, and their first since making the switch from Class A to Class B last season. The Windjammers have four titles overall, including in Class B as Camden-Rockport High in 1981.
“It feels great,” said coach Mark McCluskey, soaked from head to toe after jumping in with his team for the traditional celebratory dip in the pool. “I truly think, in this case, failure was the greatest motivator. Our goal last year was to hit states and we fell just short of (a title). These girls this year, their focus, their drive in practice, you could feel it. We’ve won in Class A before, but there was something special about moving to Class B (and winning) with some really, really tough competition.”
Mt. Desert Island (263) finished third, while Ellsworth and Greely were tied for fourth (144).
The Windjammers had two individual champions. Vannini won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25 seconds, just holding off Gardiner/Hall-Dale’s Addison Pollis (25.22) and Cape Elizabeth’s Dove Brown (25.59). Camden Hills sophomore Flynn Layton (54.84) won the 100 free, beating Cape Elizabeth senior Lucy Shaw (55.86).
“I think we were all feeling (confident),” Vannini said. “We were undefeated this season so we were really excited about that. But we knew that Cape was really big competition. We were nervous but we were excited. I think we were in a good headspace.”
“The (Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships) opened our eyes a little bit more about (the strength of) teams around the state that we don’t compete with in our own region during the regular season,” added Abess. “We worked really hard at KVACs but this was just a really (strong effort).”
Camden Hills earned its biggest points in the relays. The Windjammers started the day with a strong victory in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:49.66. Vannini, London Nicolet, Adella Brainerd and Marguerite Worner posted the fastest time in the state this season — in Class A or Class B. Cape Elizabeth (1:53.53) was second.
“We kind of went into the meet thinking that if we won the medley relay, it would set off the motivation for the rest of the meet,” Vannini said. “We’ve been working toward (that time) for the last three or four years. It was a crazy realization when we looked at the clock and finally achieved that.”
The Windjammers sealed their title in the last event, winning the 400 free relay (3:40.41) with a time seven seconds faster than runner-up Cape Elizabeth (3:47.72).
The Capers, who won six of the last seven Class B championships, battled with Camden Hills throughout the meet. Cape Elizabeth was powered by seniors Hope Taylor, who won the 200 free (1:58.09) and 500 free (5:10.65), and Shaw, who won the 200 individual medley (2:14.34) and 100 free (55.86). The Capers also won the 200 free relay (1:42.84); Camden Hills (1:43.96) finished second.
“We swam really well but Camden swam really well,” Cape Elizabeth coach Ben Raymond said. “We can only swim our best. We had a lot of kids swim really, really well. Our kids leave feeling like they worked really hard and did what they wanted to do. It just didn’t come out the way they wanted it in the end.
“I’m super proud of the group,” Raymond continued. “They’ve been very successful for a very long time. These kids, I may even be more proud of them, in the way they dealt with everything today. Not being ahead, not getting worried how that’s affecting their ability to swim or their interactions with each other. They were up for each other the entire time. They kept each other motivated the entire time.”
Ellsworth senior Ella Montgomery, who won the 100 butterfly (55.12) and 100 backstroke (57.77) was named the Swimmer of the Meet. Teammate Ann-Katherine Burns (107.16) won the 100 breaststroke.
John Bapst/Hermon junior Stephanie Gualtieri (382.00) won the Class B diving title Friday night at Husson University in Bangor.
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