By Kate Renyi – Sports Contributor
Concord-Carlisle High School senior standout Emlen Lease capped off his high-school swimming career at the February 23 state championships by breaking two school records: in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.53) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.07).
Senior diving sensation Thomas Stone finished in third place overall and surpassed his previous record score of 462.70 by an impressive 47.8 points, with a new total of 510.50. The boys swimming and diving team came in fourth overall in the Division 1 contest, improving on its sixth-place finish last year.
In the opening medley relay, Lease, Brandon Monaghan, Cole Scafidi, and Andrew Hodges finished second in the event with a time of 1:39.43 — just shy of a school record.
Lease finished ninth overall in the 200-yard individual medley. In the 50-yard freestyle, Monaghan and Hodges finished 13th and 14th, respectively. Hodges followed with a 10th-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.
Scafidi dropped 4.79 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle to take ninth place, and the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Austin Sun, Fox Anderson, Caden Watson, and Emlen Lease took 11th. Monaghan trimmed over a second from his best time in the 100-yard backstroke to finish 10th overall.
The 400-yard freestyle relay team capped off the meet in dramatic fashion. Hodges, Monaghan, Presley Rodgers, and Scafidi dropped 4.70 seconds from their best time to take fifth place in the event, sealing a strong team finish.
“These guys looked fantastic in practice this past week, so I knew they were ready but they came out really ready to rock and roll,” said head coach Matt Goldberg. “From start to finish, they were dropping personal bests and making huge time improvements.”
