MIDDLEBORO — The Middleboro High School Sachems swim team made a big splash at the South Shore League championship meet, with the girls team finishing in first place.

The girls’ team won its third consecutive South Shore League championship at the Feb. 4 meet at Henry B. Burkland Elementary School, while the boys’ team finished in second to Cohasset High School.

The Sachems finished their season against league rivals Cohasset, Norwell High School, Randolph High School, and Rockland High School.

Near zero-degree temperatures caused travel issues: Cohasset and Norwell arrived an hour late due to their buses breaking down, so the meet began at 10:45 a.m. instead of 10 a.m.

The girls team won by 110 points with a total of 380, while the boys finished with 254 points to Cohasset’s 325.

Teams earn 16 points for first place finishes, 13 for second, 12 for third, 11 for fourth, and 10 for fifth.

“For the girls, we knew we had a pretty good chance,” said Middleboro swim team head coach Sean Siciliano. “They swam great today. We knew going into this that Cohasset would be the competition for the boys.”

Middleboro won four of the 22 total events. 

Allie and Amber Mitschele finished first and second respectively in both the girls’ 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke.

The Sachems also took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where each of four swimmers swims 100 yards. Jamison Studley, Grace Lynch, Madison Ryder, and Kendall Santos made up the team.

On the boys’ side, Luke Franey won the 200-yard freestyle, beating his previous season-best time by nearly three seconds.

Siciliano emphasized the value of second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-place finishes in the meet. 

“Whatever you can get, those numbers really help us for points,” Siciliano said.

In the boys’ 100-yard freestyle, Gavin Fritz finished second and Braden Borromeo finished third. The latter beat his season-best time by almost two seconds.

Borromeo, Franey, Fritz, and Kevin Heleen teamed up to win the boys’ 400-yard freestyle relay. In the 200-yard medley relay, Borromeo, Fritz, Kevin Heleen, and James Lee finished second.

Fritz took second in two more individual races: the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle.

Finley Kearns finished second in the 100-yard backstroke race.

Middleboro’s Kendall Santos, Cristina Chane, and Noelle StClair finished second through fourth respectively in the girls’ 200-yard freestyle race.

Studley picked up third-place finishes in the girls’ 50-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

Lillian Dwyer finished second in the girls’ 100-yard freestyle and fifth in the 200-yard individual medley. Dwyer, Allie Mitschele, Leah Fregeau, and Sarah McCollem finished third in the girls’ 200-yard medley relay.

As always, those who were in between races gathered at the end of the pool to motivate their teammates.

After the win, captain Ryder made sure her teammates did their part to clean up the pool area.

“We have a great team,” Siciliano said. “We’re really excited for next year and for the future.”