Sandy Gorham brought three sets of dry clothes to the pool on Saturday.

The head coach of the Barrington High School boys and girls swim teams knew there was a chance his teams could win state championships, and tradition holds that when a team wins the title, swimmers toss their coach into the pool.

By late Saturday afternoon, Coach Gorham had been dunked in the Brown University pool twice.

The Barrington High School boys team captured the state championship late Saturday morning, defeating perennial powerhouse Bishop Hendricken 402-365. It was the first time the Barrington boys team won the state title since 1989, and only the second time in the last 32 years where a public school team had knocked off Hendricken in the state meet.

By late Saturday afternoon, the BHS girls team had defeated LaSalle and the rest of the field, capturing the Eagles’ eighth straight state championship. Barrington scored 313 points and finished well ahead of second place LaSalle, which tallied 201. 

Barrington’s matching boys and girls state titles made history — it was the first time ever that boys and girls swim teams from the same school won the state championship in the same year. 

“I told them they should be proud, that they should wear their (team) jackets to school on Monday,” Coach Gorham said. “They’re thrilled. Absolutely thrilled.

“It’s very gratifying.”

Coach Gorham said swimming does not always receive the same attention and standing as some other sports, but at Barrington High School the swim teams are among the most successful squads ever. The girls team won its eighth straight state title on Saturday and capped an undefeated season — it finished the dual meet season undefeated and won the Division I championship as well. The boys team finished the regular season undefeated, having knocked off Hendricken in a head-to-head meet. The boys had finished second at states for seven straight years prior to Saturday’s championship performance.

Boys win

Coach Gorham said he knew the Barrington boys team had a solid chance of winning the state title on Saturday.

“But I knew we had to swim well,” he added. “We had an opportunity, but we needed to go out and seize it.”

Coach Gorham said his swimmers showed they were ready for the meet during warm-ups, as they turned in fast times during their “take-out 25s.” And once the races began, the Eagles continued to shine. 

Barrington High School standout William McClelland led the way. The junior set a new state record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.97, topping the prior mark of 21.17 seconds set by C.J Sheldon in 2020.

William also helped set a new state record in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The BHS team of William, his brother Alex McClelland, Max LaRoche and Lucas Jauregui finished with a time of 1:27.75, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:28.46 set by a previous Barrington team in 2018. 

William also finished second in the 100-yard butterfly, and swam a leg of the Eagles’ second place 400-yard free relay team. 

“He made a decision two years ago he was going to focus on swimming,” Coach Gorham said of McClelland. “He is incredibly focused and incredibly driven. His work level equals his talent level.”

Coach Gorham winning the championship, however, was a team effort. The Eagles’ depth in a number of events proved to be the difference in the final standings. Barrington had a number of top performances, but also scored key points in places 9 through 16 in each event. 

“If you just scored the meet 1 through 8, we probably would have lost,” Coach Gorham said. 

The coach mentioned a number of swimmers who scored key points: Kellan Lane (second place in 100-yard freestyle, fourth in 100 backstroke), Alex McClelland (fourth in 100-yard freestyle and 50-free), Jared Lesk (eighth in 100-yard butterfly), Jauregui (fifth in 100-yard butterfly, third in 50 free), LaRoche (first in the 100-yard breaststroke), Gavin Lesk (eighth in 100-yard breaststroke), Ben McClelland (seventh in 100-yard backstroke), Gavin Nelson (10th in 100-yard backstroke), and Graham Bennett (16th in 100-yard backstroke). 

Girls win 

The Barrington High School girls swim team showed the power of team depth during the state championship meet. The Eagles, without having a single individual swimmer win an event, outscored the next best team by more than 100 points. 

Coach Gorham said many of his swimmers were entered in events that they would not have otherwise chosen. But they understood the approach to winning the team title and willing to make individual sacrifices.

“They all have bought in,” he said. “I told them at the start ‘You guys are all points to me.’

“They sacrificed for the team, and they were happy to do it.”

Coach Gorham praised the swimmers’ efforts.

“These kids believe in the team,” he added.

Coach Gorham said Garin Stone swam very well at states, the senior finished second in the 100-yard butterfly. He also praised Zoe Webster, who finished third in the 50 freestyle, and in the 100 freestyle, and Kristen Baker, who finished third in the 100-yard backstroke.

“Garin’s our only senior,” Coach Gorham said. “She’s a terrific captain and she’s a terrific swimmer.”

Barrington did have two relay teams win their events. Megan Mungovan, Maude Smith-Montross, Stone and Webster teamed up to win the 400-yard free relay and the 200-yard free relay team.

Coach Gorham also made special mention of some underclassmen who performed well all season and at states: Lara Tolley, Ava Webster, Laurie Garcia and Nellie Beecher.