Audrey Cohen, Greely senior: A three-time Varsity Maine All-State selection, Cohen won her third straight Class B title in the 100-yard breast stroke (1:04.06) and also won the 200 individual medley (2:08.37). She posted the season’s fastest times in six individual events and was second in the other two. She plans to continue her career at Penn State.
Maria DelMonte, Portland senior: After skipping a year of high school competition, DelMonte returned and led the Deering/Portland co-op team to its first Class A state championship. She won the 200 individual medley (2:08.38) and the 100 backstroke (57.94), and ranks 12th in Maine schoolgirl history in both events. She broke school records in the 100 free, 200 free and 200 IM. She plans to continue her career at the University of Denver.
Jillian James, Falmouth junior: For the third year in a row, James won the Class A diving state title in convincing fashion. Her 11-dive score of 488.05 would have broken the 1998 state record held by Katie Mailman of Falmouth since 1998, except that James had shattered that 10 days earlier with a score of 521.22 at North Southwesterns.
Brooke Mahoney, Cape Elizabeth senior: Named Performer of the Meet in Class B, Mahoney won the 100 free for the third straight year and added the 200 free title (1:55.33) to help the Capers extend their championship reign to three years. Her Southwesterns 100 free time of 52.81 was the fastest this season and ranks 15th in Maine schoolgirl history. She plans to continue her career at Davidson College in North Carolina.
Eliza Marco, Morse senior: Marco won the Class B 50 free in 24.36, a time that ranks 19th all-time among Maine schoolgirls, and placed second in the 100 breast stroke. She won KVAC titles in the 200 free and 100 breast, the latter in a time (1:04.55) that ranks fourth all-time in the state. Her times in all eight individual events ranked among the season’s top 10. She plans to continue her career at Colby College in Waterville.
Ella Montgomery, Ellsworth junior: Montgomery swam to a pair of individual victories in the Class B state meet. She won the 100 backstroke in 58.21 seconds and the 100 butterfly in 57.60. Both times rank among the top 15 in state history. She already was a part of three relays that posted top-20 all-time performances.
Lucy Perry, Thornton Academy freshman: Perry won the Class A 100 breast stroke in 1:08.32 and placed second to Maria Delmonte in the 200 individual medley. She also swam on Thornton’s winning 200 medley and 400 free relays. Prior to states, she set a meet and school record of 5:15.90 in the 500 free at South Southwesterns.
Lucy Shaw, Cape Elizabeth junior: Shaw was the Class B runner-up in the 100 butterfly (58.58) and 200 individual medley (2:08.79). She also swam on the winning 200 and 400 free relays to lead the Capers to a third straight team championship. Her 200 IM time ranks among the top 20 in Maine schoolgirl history.
Mackenzie Shields, Thornton Academy freshman: Named Performer of the Meet in Class A, Shields won the 200 free in 1:59.40 (a school record) and the 500 free in 5:16.70 to help the Golden Trojans tie for second with Falmouth, only six points behind Deering/Portland. She also led Thornton to the South Southwesterns title by winning the 100 free and 200 individual medley.
Hope Taylor, Cape Elizabeth junior: Taylor won her third straight Class B state title in the 500 freestyle (5:15.02) and placed third in the 200 individual medley to help the Capers extend their championship streak to three years. She also swam on the victorious 200 medley and 400 free relays. She posted top-10 times this winter in four events, including the 100 breast and 200 free.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Sarah Rasmussen, Deering/Portland
In her sixth season at the helm, Rasmussen led a resilient RamDogs co-op team that finished ninth last winter to a surprising victory in the Class A state championship meet. The winning margin was a mere six points over both Falmouth and Thornton Academy, who had traded the lead for much of the meet until Deering/Portland’s late surge. Problems at both Riverton and Reiche pools forced the team to scramble for practice time, and it sometimes shared the YMCA pool with Cheverus. Home meets were held 45 minutes away in Sanford. “We’re a team of 25 kids sharing three or four lanes with no (starting) blocks,” Rasmussen said. “Their capacity to raise each other up and ride a wave of energy is just remarkable.”
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