After great seasons in the pool in various capacities, St. John’s Prep’s Will Connolly and English’s Mary Lawlor have been named the 2019-2020 Item Players of the Year for boys and girls swimming, respectively. In addition, Peabody’s Theo Ronan and English’s Hannah Trahant have been named the 2019-2020 Item Players of the Year for boys and girls diving, respectively.
Connolly was one of the most versatile swimmers in the pool this winter, making an impact in the sprints and the relays en route to a state championship season for the Eagles. He won the North Sectional title in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43) and placed second in the 100 freestyle (47.83 seconds). With his help, the Eagles finished second as a team in the North Sectional and then went on to win the Division 1 championship by over 100 points.
Lawlor was named the Northeastern Conference Female Swimmer of the Year following a stellar season for the Bulldogs. She took home the Lynn City Swim Meet title in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:05.07 before moving on to qualify for sectionals. She ended up finishing ninth at the North Sectional with a time of 1:03.16, then she went on to finish 13th at the state meet with a time of 1:02.36.
Ronan, an eighth grader at Higgins Middle School, competed for the Tanners this winter and made an immediate impact. He was named the NEC Male Diver of the Year, won the NEC diving title and qualified for North sectionals in diving, where he finished 15th (279.40). He then moved on to the state meet, where he finished 16th with a score of 281.65.
Trahant took home NEC Female Diver of the Year honors after a strong season. She won the Lynn City Swim Meet diving title (230.64) for the second straight year and then went on to finish 14th at the North Sectional (325.05) and 23rd at the state meet (153.10).
There were also five players each who have been named to the All-Item team for boys and girls swimming/diving. Matthew Brown (Swampscott), Cole Brooks (Marblehead), Luke Magnuson (St. John’s Prep), Palmer Randall (St. John’s Prep) and Antonio Anastasiades (Lynnfield) were named to the All-Item team for boys swimming/diving, while Elizabeth Dokina (Swampscott), Anna Coleman (Marblehead), Clementine Robins (Marblehead), Lauren MacPhail (Peabody) and Meredith Yuhasz (Bishop Fenwick) were named to the All-Item team for girls swimming/diving.
Brown was named the team MVP for Swampscott and has already been named a captain of the Big Blue for next season. An All-Conference pick, Brown was the North Sectional champion in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:50. He also finished third in the 200 individual medley (2:00). He qualified for the state meet in both the 200 individual medley (1:59) and the 500 freestyle (4:46), finishing fifth in both events.
Brooks won the Outstanding Freshman award for his efforts over the winter for the Magicians. An All-Conference selection, Brooks was both a sectional and state meet qualifier in the 200 individual medley. He placed 10th at sectionals with a time of 2:04, then turned around and finished 14th at the state meet. He also recorded a seventh-place finish in the 100 butterfly (54.18) at the state meet.
Magnuson was named Catholic Conference MVP following a strong junior season that saw him win conference titles in both the 100 butterfly and the 200 freestyle. He was also a big part of the success of the Eagles’ relay teams, helping the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams to wins at the North Sectional and second-place finishes at the state meet.
Randall capped off his career at the Prep in style, swimming the breaststroke leg on the Division 1 champion 200 medley relay team (1:36.59). He also qualified for sectionals individually in both the 100 breaststroke (1:01) and the 200 individual medley (2:01), where he placed seventh in both events. He also placed seventh in the 200 individual medley at the state meet.
Anastasiades was named Cape Ann League Swimmer of the Year following a solid senior campaign. He was the Division 1 state champion in the 100 breaststroke (57.59), setting a CAL record in the process. Anastasiades also took first place in the 200 individual medley (1:57.05) at the North Sectional, the second straight season he’s won the event.
Dokina has already been named a captain for Swampscott next winter after a strong junior season. She won her second consecutive Division 2 title in the 100 breaststroke, winning with a time of 1:04.11. Dokina also qualified for the state meet in the 200 individual medley, where she finished 11th with a time of 2:15.92.
Coleman burst onto the scene as a freshman and made everyone take notice. She had a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.56, which was good enough to qualify her for YMCA Nationals in the event. She also notched a third-place finish in the 100 freestyle (53.67) at the North Sectional.
Robins was an All-Conference pick as a freshman, qualifying for both the sectional and state meets in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. In the 200, she finished third at sectionals and ninth at states with a time of 1:57.30. She placed third at sectionals and fifth at states in the 500 freestyle, finishing with a time of 5:16.26.
MacPhail was a team captain for the Tanners as a junior, competing in the 100 freestyle, the 100 backstroke, the 400 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. Her best event was the 400 freestyle relay, where she helped the group qualify for the North Sectional.
Yuhasz was the Fenwick team MVP and a Catholic Central League all-star in her freshman year with the Crusaders. Her best finish of the year came at the state meet, when she finished 10th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:24.48.
Also earning Item All-Star honors for boys swimming/diving were Jacob Lang (Classical); Thiago Pereira (St. Mary’s); Luis Hernandez (Tech); Kai Zola, Andrew Coady, Logan Greenwalt and Teddy Batmaca (St. John’s Prep); Theo Chemel, Jack Grady and (Marblehead); Jared Alphen and Anthony Minichillo (Peabody); Nate Pulido and Sam Caplan (Swampscott).
Also earning Item All-Star honors for girls swimming/diving were Sydney Finnigan (Classical); Catherine Zuffante (English); Lee Lewis (Tech); Sabrina Botthof, Isabella Forte and Emily DelBene (Bishop Fenwick); Lily Bromberger and Maggie Connolly (Peabody); Lola Muntiu (Swampscott).