Westfield entered the Public A state championship finding itself facing off against a familiar opponent, Cherry Hill East. The Blue Devils narrowly beat the Cougars last season in the state championship and were aware they needed to be at the top of their game in order to reclaim their throne as state champions.
The Cougars and the Blue Devils were neck and neck for the first half of the meet, which was an unfamiliar sight for Westfield. The Blue Devils were undefeated coming into the final and had not lost a meet since Mar. 23, 2021.
Despite this long stretch of dominance, Westfield was prepared for a close matchup. “We knew we weren’t as deep as them and we needed to win as many events as possible,” said junior Clare Logan.
The Blue Devils started off by winning the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:48.52, due to the efforts of Loyola University-Maryland commit Lauren Lane, Vanderbilt commit Emily Constable, Lafayette commit Abby Bebel and senior Katherine Li.
As both teams battled back and forth, key performances from Duke commit Logan and Bebel kept the Blue Devils close to the Cougars. Logan placed first in the 50 free, and Bebel took second in the 200 IM. However, Westfield found itself down 36-26 at the break.
Coming out of the break, Logan won the 100 free. Additionally, Constable won the 100 breast. These wins were key for the Blue Devils as they needed a spark coming out of the break.
Sophomores Brooke McAndrew and Chloe Yu made late efforts as McAndrew placed second in the 500 free and Yu placed second in the 100 breast. However, the Blue Devils were not able to overcome the deficit as placing second in the 200 and 400 free relay hurt their chances of making a comeback and put the meet out of reach.
“This season has taught us a lot,” said Constable. “We learned how to work together as a team when we are put in difficult situations and have learned to never give up.”
Constable is optimistic for next season, saying, “Although the season didn’t turn out how we expected it to, we are ready to make a comeback next season and work toward a state championship.”
