Above: The EGHS Girls Swim Team after the state championship. 

When it came to the final relay of the D1 State Championship meet against perennial powerhouse Barrington, the Avengers decided to go for it. They went for the win. And lost. By a hair. 

“The girls wanted to go for the win,” said Head Coach Gina Hand. “They didn’t want to tie it, they wanted to win.”

An unfortunate and, according to Hand, questionable disqualification in the last individual event, the 100 breaststroke, cost EG the cushion it could have used going into the final relay, which came down to a touch at the end of the pool. The Eagles out touched the Avengers, clinching their 6th straight state title, 48-46.

“It’s exceptionally bittersweet … They just swam so hard,” Hand said said of the EG team. 

Among the highlights at the meet Sunday were five broken school records.

“Our 200 medley A relay [team] took first and broke the school record – Jessika Finger, Kelsa Dator, Grace Sheridan, and Megan Huntley,” Hand said. “Our B relay took third in that. They just kept dropping time – Bella Petito, Katie Moran, Audrey Kling, and Genevieve Cava. Kelsa Dator, a junior, broke her own record in 200 IM by more than 2 seconds and Jessika in backstroke broke her own record.” 

She added, “Megan Huntley had a crazy good meet: firsts in 200 and 500 freestyle and she also broke the 100 free record as a leadoff in the last relay.”

The swimmers in that final relay, in addition to Huntley, were Natalia Oganesian, Grace Nardozzi and Grace Sheridan.

The Girls came into the final unbeaten. To Coach Hand, “In that format, on that day, EG was the better team. They swam exceptionally well.”

4×100 Free Relay School Record Team Megan Huntley, Natalia Oganesian, Grace Sheridan, and Grace Nardozzi.

Medley Relay Record Team Kelsa Dator, Megan Huntley, Grace Sheridan and Jessika Finger.

4X 50 Free A relay team Audrey Kling, Kelsa Dator, Natalia Oganesian, and Grace Nardozzi

200 medley relay B team: Genevieve Cava, Bella Petito, Audrey Kling, and Katie Moran.

4×100 B relay team Audrey Kling, Bella Petito, Jessika Finger, and Ava Bradshaw.

4×50 B relay team Jessika Finger, Bella Petitio, Ava Bradshaw, Katie Moran