The women’s swimming and diving team triumphantly secured the Landmark Championship in Baltimore, Maryland the weekend of Feb. 17.  

The victory was thrilling for the Royals as it was the first championship for the women’s team in 14 years. The Royals sat on top of the standings with 848 points, edging out Catholic, last year’s champion. Catholic finished second with 693 points. 

The Royals demonstrated remarkable determination against their fierce competitors with multiple wins and podium mounts throughout the championship weekend. The 800 free relay team kicked off the team’s success.  

Senior team captain Marina Nunziato, freshman Kim Gingrass, senior Alyssa Benzija and junior Aviah Dahlgren combined to finish the relay in second. Nunziato emphasized how the atmosphere of the competition fueled the team.  

“Champs is really unmatched, in prelims; it’s always electric, and in the finals it’s crazy,” Nunziato said. “We kept the energy and the excitement at a high level. We went into the rest of the meet with that same mindset.” 

Day two in Baltimore was filled with spectacular achievements. Sophomore Nicole Stofko secured gold in the three meter dive with a score of 302.00. Freshman Chloe Furlong secured third place with 210.05 points.  

Gingrass also shined, grabbing second place in the 500 free, breaking a Royals record with a time of 5 minutes and 8.33 seconds. It was just a hundredth of a second off the first place.  

The podium for the 500 free was completed with Aviah Dahlgren in fifth and Jaclyn Papalski in sixth. Senior Giavanna Baquerizo grabbed third place in the 50 free and Benzija placed sixth in the 200 individual medley.  

Another relay team finished second in the 4x400, boosting the team’s points. With these achievements the Royals led Catholic with 271 to 206, setting the tone for the rest of the weekend.  

Heading into day three, the Royals maintained their lead. The Royals dominated the 200 free, taking second through fifth, with Gingrass leading the pack. 

Stofko secured her second gold in the one meter dive and junior diver Kristie Schieck took third. Schieck commented on how different the crowd is for the competition. 

“It was truly insane, as for prelims it’s just our parents, then we come back at night for finals, with everyone there,” Schieck said. 

On day four, another relay team secured second place, highlighting the Royals consistency. In the 200 fly, the Royals swept the top three spots, with senior Kayleigh Olszewski clinching gold, followed by sophomores Madison Rae and Isabella Kane with silver and bronze respectively.  

The Royals never gave up their lead after day two. The team ended with 848 points, three golds and 18 swimmers and divers in the top three’s.

The team won Coaching Staff of the Year, with head coach Chris Brown and staff. Nicole Stofko secured Diver of the Year honors, with her two golds. 

Nunziato shared how the team chose to celebrate when their victory was announced. The Royals made quite the splash. 

“We all jumped into the pool, we got to hold up the trophy and we got those shirts which are pretty awesome,” Nunziato said.