Hometown Hero – Molly Digiacomo, Barrington
The Barrington Sophomore repeated her Gold in the 50 Yard Freestyle at the RIIL State Swim Championships then helped the Eagles to two Relay wins, including a Meet record in the 200-Yard IM. Those points helping Barrington clinch its 11-th straight Girls State Swim Title.
'She's a fierce competitor,' said Eagles Head Coach Sandy Gorham. 'We held off that Medley Relay because we knew we were going to be behind in the beginning and we were strong at the back half, and she won her 50 just by a couple of tenths of seconds, so a fierce competitor and a great kid to coach. A lot of fun. She's a terrific girl.'
'I think a lot more was at stake this year because I wanted to come back and defend my 50-title,' DiGiacomo said. 'But I also think I was a lot more relaxed this year because I knew what to expect and the environment and I just knew what was going to happen.'
The crown was Barrington's 16th overall continuing the Eagles run as the State's most dominant program.
'We have a really, really united and strong team,' DiGiacomo said. 'And that all comes from Sandy and our Assistant Coach Jerry. We're all a really tight knit team. We practice every day together; we see each other at school. We drive each other to practice and it's just really, really fun that everyone did so great here.'
Eagle Freshman Grace Lunardelli and Reese Graveline also won Individual Golds and teamed with DiGiacomo for the Relay Wins, so Barrington will have plenty of talent returning to defend their Title. And despite her success, Coach Gorham believes Molly still have room to grow in the pool.
'Yes, we have a lot of amazing Freshman and a lot of young talent. And we have a lot of 8th graders coming up so I think we can keep this going for a long time,' DiGiacomo said.
'We talked about there's some adjustment in her stroke that I would like to make in the off season, and she can always get better in starts and turns, break outs, so there's always room for improvement,' Gorham said. 'But she's a hard worker and her talent level equals her work ethic, and that's when you've got a really good athlete.'
If you have a Hometown Sports Hero you'd like to nominate, email sports@wpri.com.
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