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Shortly before the Class B state championship meet began, Mark McCluskey gathered his 200-yard medley relay team. The Camden Hills coach believed Rowan Stewart, Adella Brainerd, Flynn Layton and Marguerite Worner were about to break the state record, but the quartet of upperclassmen thought differently.

“It’s funny to think about now, but I sort of laughed at him,” Stewart said. “I was like, ‘Oh, there’s no way we can do that. That is such a fast time.'”

As the group amped themselves up by screaming motivational sayings, Stewart grew nervous. Worried she’d somehow forget, the senior asked teammates to keep reminding her what stroke she was about to race as the leadoff leg — backstroke, down and back. Weeks after the state meet, Stewart still can’t forget her 26.78-second split or the Windjammers’ state-record time of 1 minute, 46.83 seconds.

“When we all dove in and we went those times, I mean, it was exhilarating,” she said. “So exciting, and I was so proud of my teammates for how hard they worked. Just to get that record was such a nice way to start off the meet. I feel like everyone on our team was so pumped after that. It got our energy going.”

Stewart’s day only got better. The Class B performer of the meet won the 200 freestyle (1:57.81) and 100 backstroke (57.36), breaking program records in both, and led off the first-place 400 free relay, setting a personal-best split in the 100 free (54.36) to secure back-to-back team championships for the Windjammers.

She finished the high school season with Maine’s season-best time in the 100 back and 11th fastest ever, regardless of class. Stewart didn’t compete in the 100 fly, but all seven of her other swims were top-five marks in Class B. Six were in the state’s top-eight times.

For her overall versatility and contributions to the Windjammers’ fourth state title in five years, Stewart is the Varsity Maine Girls Swimmer of the Year.

The 17-year old from Appleton has been swimming competitively since the age of 6, but this past season was the first year she decided to represent her school. Since 9, Stewart has gone to Augusta to practice with her club team, the Kennebec Valley YMCA Stingrays.

Friends and classmates in the school district often tried to convince Stewart to join the Camden Hills program, but she didn’t want to mess with a process that seemed to be working, especially after the 2024-25 season, which she called one of her best yet. But after hearing more about the team culture and the amount of fun her friends had, Stewart took the leap this winter.

“From our first practice, you would have thought that Rowan had been swimming with us for years,” McCluskey said. “She was always receptive to critique and open to drills and practice styles that may not have lined up with her old practices.”

McCluskey praised Stewart’s ability to stay level-headed and positive, as well as her mastery of the “fifth stroke,” a powerful and quick dolphin kick.

“That’s something that you do a lot of, especially in the backstroke,” Stewart said. “It’s really fun when you can pass people, when they’re on top of the water and you’re still underwater.”

Throughout the season, McCluskey noticed Stewart embracing the spirit of team competition, as the newcomer hosted dinners and became a role model for underclassmen.

In the fall, Stewart will join the Bowdoin swim program, reuniting with her older sister, Oona, a current sophomore on the team. She is undecided on her major but is considering biology.

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