Greg LevinskyThe large scoreboard in the back of Bentley University’s Dana Center pool room said it all.
Congratulations
Belmont
Middlesex League
Champions!!!
The Belmont High School boys swim team won the seven-team Middlesex League on Jan. 31, beating second-place Watertown-Arlington Co-op by a comfortable 64-point margin.
“I’m the only one that’s been here for four years, so seeing the team grow has been truly inspiring, and I feel so fortunate to be leading this group of students,” senior captain Rory Smyth said. “Going into the season I knew we were going to do pretty well, but I never would’ve imagined going this far.”
The Marauders (8-1, 5-0 Middlesex League) finished first in the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays, two key events of the 12 held during the meet. In the 200-yard medley relay, junior Sina Rostamnezhad, freshman Ethan Gong, senior Rory Smyth, and junior Benjamin Leger finished more than a second ahead of second-place Melrose. Leger, junior Thomas Borkowski, and freshmen Quinn and Robert Mitchell captured the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“This has been one of the greatest groups I’ve coached, and that was evident from the beginning of the season,” said Lulu Emmons, who has coached the boys since 2020 and girls since 2016. “They were very clear that they wanted to be a high-caliber, successful team.”
Smyth won the 100-yard backstroke by more than three seconds and added a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Leger placed second in the 100-yard freestyle followed closely by Borkowski, who finished in fourth and added a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle.
Other Belmont individual scorers include Benjamin Wu, Oliver Poulin-Kerstien, George Quigley, the Mitchell brothers, Rohan Bhagwati, and Gregory Zeldovich, as nearly every Marauder participating racked up points.
The program last won the league title in 2018.
“Everyone was smiling throughout the whole meet and having so much fun,” Smyth said.
The program lost six seniors to graduation last spring but added more than 10 freshmen with a “very full range of abilities,” Emmons said. They found immediate success.
The coach wants the program to welcome swimmers at all levels, not just those who compete in club swimming year-round. The club swimmers willingly help those learning to race, and the beginners watch their more experienced teammates intently. Throughout the season, the Marauders scouted opponents, identifying which teams would pose the toughest threats and in what races. The culture translated outside the pool, with a record number of team dinners on the schedule.
“I’ve always been a big advocate for everyone on the team having a chance to lead,” Emmons said.
Senior captain Nico Adrian, a third-year swimmer who did not compete due to sickness, cheered on his teammates poolside. A sickness went through the whole team, rendering a handful of swimmers unavailable for the championship meet.
“I was going around telling all the guys who were swimming to just put in what they can because they’re going to come out top-five,” Adrian said. “When I talk about depth, it’s the freshman class … They swim incredibly fast.”
Select members of the BHS boys swim team now focus on the sectional tournament on Feb. 11 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the state tournament on Feb. 18. Swimmers who made specific times compete in these meets, including Smyth and Adrian. Those who did not qualify for individual races over the next two weekends can practice with the team.
“The culture that we built is everyone feeling like a true teammate,” Emmons said. “It’s something I really try to instill in both of my teams is that we are there to support one another, always.”
