The Barrington High School girls swim team completely dominated the competition on Sunday, March 2, and won its 11th straight state championship.

The Eagles scored 394 points, nearly doubling any other team’s score at the meet. North Kingstown finished second with 208 points, and Classical was third with 200. 

“I think it’s the most dominant team I’ve had,” said longtime Barrington High School Swim Coach Sandy Gorham. He added that the 186-point win was the largest margin of victory since the girls state swim meet was first started in the early 1990s.

In addition, Barrington now holds the state records for all three relay events, for both boys and girls teams, in Rhode Island. The missing piece — the state record for the girls 200-yard medley relay — was captured on Sunday. Barrington’s team of Lara Tolley, Ava Webster, Grace Lunardelli and Molly DiGiacomo won the event with a blistering time of 1:49.23. (The previous mark of 1:49.55 was set by Prout School in 2009.)

“We hold all the records,” Gorham said. 

The Barrington relay teams were just getting started. Raina Salahuddin, Kate McAdams, Grace Fontaine and Reese Graveline teamed up to win the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:41.42. And the team of Molly Hanratty, Graveline, DiGiacomo and Lunardelli cruised to a first place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Eagles finished with a time of 3:36.44, which was nearly eight seconds faster than second place Classical. 

Barrington’s team depth was paired with some impressive top-end speed at the state championship meet. 

DiGiacomo, a sophomore, won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.28. 

Lunardelli, a freshman, won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.35. She also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley, and set a new school record in the process. 

“She’s humble,” Gorham said of Lunardelli. “But she’s competitive as hell.”

Graveline, another BHS freshman, won the 500-yard freestyle with a time 5:16.65. Hanratty, a junior, finished second in the same event. 

Team effort

Coach Gorham said a team-first approach has always played a key role in the Eagles’ success. 

He said every member of the team — from the first-year swimmers to the senior captains — are focused on doing what is best for the team. That often means swimming in events that may not be their first pick. Gorham said the game plan heading into the state meet is geared toward scoring the most team points. 

“They buy into it. They maintain that level of buy-in every year,” he said. “It’s so important. That’s one of our real strengths. This is all about points and placing.”

Gorham said scoring points in places nine through 16 can often separate Barrington from the rest of the field. 

Meanwhile, team members have grown accustomed to the success. 

“It feels really amazing. It never gets old winning,” said Barrington High School captain Ava Webster, while holding up the Rhode Island Interscholastic League championship plaque. “Our team morale is just always high. We always have such a fun time supporting each other.”

Gorham also praised the youth swim programs that feed talented athletes to the Eagles every year: Bayside YMCA and Commonwealth Swim Club. 

“I’m very lucky because I get good swimmers from them,” he said. 

Gorham said he continues to enjoy coaching the swim teams each year. He looks forward to working with the student-athletes and competing every season. 

“These kids are special kids. They are disciplined, highly-motivated athletes,” Gorham said. “It’s what keeps you going. It’s a sense of purpose.”

Gorham said he hopes for more success in the future. 

“We’re going to try to keep it going,” he said.