BEVERLY — Jason Chiappinelli and his Needham teammates have completed fairly a bit.
But the swimming standout had at all times questioned what it will be prefer to be in a battle for {hardware}, one the place one warmth could possibly be the distinction in successful all of it.
After the occasions of Sunday, he’s now aware of being in such a spot. The Middlebury College commit received the 100-yard freestyle race with a time of 47.99 seconds, and in addition performed a significant position throughout his group’s first place end in the course of the 200 freestyle relay (1:29.86), as Needham rallied to seize its second straight South sectional boys swimming and diving title on the Greater Beverly YMCA.
The matinee meet capped an thrilling weekend of swimming. Similar to the ladies’ South sectional finals, this championship got here all the way down to the final race, and the Rockets wanted nearly each single one of many 254 factors they accrued for the title. In addition to Chiappinelli’s heroics, Needham additionally obtained an enormous enhance within the diving competitors from Van Hotchkiss (488.9 factors). The Rockets handle to compile factors utilizing their depth, inserting within the top-five throughout seven occasions.
Chiappinelli additionally completed second within the 50 freestyle (21.76).
Yet Needham discovered itself in a battle with Xaverian from the opening race. Entering the ultimate 400 freestyle relay, the Rockets had been clinging to a four-point cushion within the college standings. With each applications taking part within the last warmth, it was as much as Needham’s group of William Robock, Cole Conway, Aiden Wolcott and Chiappinelli to ship a championship-winning efficiency. They proceeded to position third (3:17.37), with Xaverian clocking in second (3:15.80).
After anchoring his group down the stretch, Chiappinelli instantly spun round, and glanced up on the scoreboard.
“I thought we lost actually when I finished,” Chiappinelli stated. “I tried to give it everything I had, get a good time, get a hand on the ball. I felt alive. It was the first time I’ve really felt something with that much pressure on it, where it’s: ‘This is it. It’s this relay or nothing.’ It was fun looking back, but definitely scary coming into it for sure.”
When the ultimate outcomes had been introduced, the Rockets erupted in celebration, as that they had outpaced the Hawks by two factors for the crown. The kicker? One of Xaverian’s archrivals positioned first, as BC High received the occasion at 3:14.26. That was the distinction, because it allowed Needham to take care of its stronghold on the lead. The Hawks, in the meantime, completed with 252 factors as a gaggle.
This marked the third sectional title for Needham since 2018.
“Just watching it play out, I was cheering for (BC High) almost as much as I was cheering for our team.” Needham coach Adam Cole chuckled.
Xaverian was propelled by Alabama commit Tommy Hagar, who could have had one of the best day amongst particular person racers by setting a meet report within the 100 backstroke (48.66) and the 100 butterfly (48.8). The senior additionally helped the Hawks set a brand new meet report within the 200 medley relay (1:36.34).
“There were times during this meet where I didn’t know if we were going to be able to move up enough,” Cole stated. “It was really challenging. It was back-and-forth. It was a dogfight. It was uncertain, and that’s what makes it fun. They’ve got to go out, and they’ve got to swim hard. The guys that moved up, got those state cut times, moved up places. It’s really, really satisfying to see the hard work pay off.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com