WELLESLEY, Mass. (February 16, 2026) – The women's swim team spent the weekend in Wellesley, Massachusetts, at the LEC Championship meet. Every swimmer who swam in the meet for WNE picked up a season-best time. The team earned 5 gold, 5 silver, and 1 bronze medals, along with 8 program records and 3 meet records. The meet concluded with WNE's
Ella Smith being named the LEC Swimmer of the Year for a second season in a row.
Results:
Western New England: 7th/11 overall
How it Happened:
Day 1:
200 Yard Freestyle Relay:
- WNE started the weekend the right way by placing fourth out of ten in the first relay of finals. Olivia Young, Bella Giard, Alex Watroba, and Caitlin Guntly swam the race for WNE, earning the first program record of the meet with a time of 1:44.73.
100 Yard Butterfly:
- Caitlin Guntly kept the Golden Bears rolling by winning the gold medal in the 100-yard Butterfly. Guntly swam a season-best time of 1:00.86 to win the race.
- Olivia Emanuele also swam in the championship final with Guntly and swam a season-best time of 1:05.43 to earn seventh.
200 Yard Backstroke:
- Alexandra Watroba swam the 200 Back for WNE, earning a season-best time of 2:18.33 and placing sixth in the championship final.
50 Yard Freestyle:
- WNE's Olivia Young and Bella Giard swam in the consolation final on Friday evening. Young would place eleventh with a time of 26.66. Just behind Young's season-best time of 26.55 from the Friday morning session.
- Giard swam a season-best time to place 14th in the 50 Free. Giard swam a time of 26.98.
200 Yard IM:
- Ella Smith started the meet exactly as she wanted. Smith swam a season-best time of 2:07.23 in the 200 IM to earn Smith's first gold medal of the weekend. Smith not only won the race but also won by almost 12 seconds, earning a new program record and setting a new LEC Championship meet record by almost 3 seconds.
400 Yard Medley Relay:
Day 2:
1000 Yard Freestyle:
- Sofia Piantedosi swam the 1000 Free during the timed finals. Piantedosi swam a season-best time 13:37.78 in the event to get WNE started on day two of finals.
200 Yard Medley Relay:
400 Yard IM:
- Ella Smith added to her two medals in the 400-yard IM on Saturday in the Championship Final. Smith swam a time of 4:35.57 to win the event and claim another gold medal. That time was just shy of the program and the LEC Championship meet record of 4:33.95 that Smith set during the morning session. Smith had swum in two individual championship finals and had earned program records in both.
- Alexandra Watroba earned her first career individual LEC Championship medal in the 400 IM, placing second. Watroba swam a season-best time of 4:55.05 to earn the silver medal.
- Vicky Stepien swam in the consolation final during the event. Stepien swam a season-best time for the second consecutive 400 IM of the day. Stepien's time of 5:33.05 helped Stepien place eleventh overall in the event.
50 Yard Butterfly:
- Two individual events and two gold medals for Caitlin Guntly as she won the 50 Butterfly with a time of 26.82, which was just shy of her previous best time and new program record, 26.68 from the morning session.
- Olivia Young joined Guntly in the championship final, placing sixth with a season-best 28.54, another best time after the previous best time was set in the morning session.
- This event was a successful one for WNE, as Olivia Emanuele also placed in the top ten, posting a season-best time of 29.16 and finishing tenth.
100 Yard Backstroke:
- Bella Giard and Molly Butler would both make the consolation final for the 100 Yard Backstroke. Giard placed twelfth in the event with a time of 1:07.55.
- First-year Molly Butler swam a time of 1:10.68 to place 14th, just missing another season-best time after earning a best time of 1:10.60 in the morning session.
800 Yard Freestyle Relay:
- WNE's team of Alex Watroba, Olivia Emanuele, Caitlin Guntly, and Ella Smith shocked everyone except WNE again in the 800 Free relay. They placed second, earning another silver medal with a new program record time of 8:18.89.
Day 3:
1650 Yard Freestyle:
- The last set of finals events started with the timed final for the 1650-yard freestyle. Sofia Piantedosi did not just have an unreal swim, but earned points for WNE, placing 16th. Piantedosi swam a season-best time by around a minute and a half, going a time of 21:58.36. Piantedosi also earned another season-best time in the 1000-yard freestyle during the swim for the second day in a row. Piantedosi swam a season-best time of 21:58.36.
100 Yard Freestyle:
- Olivia Young then won the consolation final with a season-best time of 57.34. Young placed ninth overall and earned a second season-best time in that event on the same day.
50 Yard Backstroke:
- Caitlin Guntly continued the trend of season-best times, earning a best time and a new program record in the 50 Backstroke with a time of 28.26. That time placed Guntly in second place, a silver medal.
- Bella Giard swam in the consolation final for the event, earning a season-best time of 30.03 and finishing the event tenth.
- Molly Butler also placed 14th in the event with another season-best time of 33.04.
200 Yard Breaststroke:
- Ella Smith made it three-for-three in individual event gold medals and LEC Championship meet records in this event. Smith swam a season-best time of 2:23.14 to earn those accolades.
200 Yard Butterfly:
- Olivia Emanuele swam in the Championship Final for the 200 Butterfly and once again, excelled. Emanuele earned seventh place with a season-best time of 2:34.35. Another season-best time on the same day for the event.
100 Yard IM:
- Alexandra Watroba would add another medal in the 100 IM with a third-place finish. The bronze medal was made possible by Watroba swimming a time of 1:04.99, just slower than the morning session's season-best time of 1:04.75.
400 Yard Freestyle Relay:
- The Golden Bears added one final silver medal to the collection in the 400 free relay. Caitlin Guntly, Olivia Young, Alex Watroba, and Ella Smith earned another program record with a time of 3:43.59 to place second and end the season in a great way.
