Posted: Feb 25, 2024

Wellesley Swimming & Diving Finishes Fifth at NEWMAC Championships; Sekhon Victorious in 200 Breaststroke

Wellesley swimming & diving's Kavita Sekhon '26 won the 200 Breaststroke on Sunday (Gil Talbot)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Wellesley College swimming & diving sophomore Kavita Sekhon (Los Angeles, Calif.) won the 200 Breaststroke race on the final day of the NEWMAC Championships, held at MIT's Zesiger Center Pool. The Blue finished fifth out of 10 in the team competition for the second straight year.

Sekhon's time of 2:18.02 broke her own program record by over a second, and earned an NCAA "B" cut. Sekhon earned a second NEWMAC First Team All-Conference honor, having won the 100 Breaststroke last night. Classmate Lara Dashti (Kuwait) snagged eighth in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:25.99.

Host MIT won its 13th consecutive NEWMAC Championships with 1565.5 points. Coast Guard was the runner-up with 750 points and Wheaton took third with 713 points. Springfield (693.5), Wellesley (595), WPI (451), Babson (284), Smith (271), Mount Holyoke (254) and Clark (220) finished out the team competition.

Junior Cecilia Cai (Palo Alto, Calif.) put up a time of 2:09.11 to grab seventh in the "A" finals of the 200 Fly.

First year Jaya Magavi (West Hartford, Conn.) came in ninth in 3-Meter Diving with an 11-dive score of 414.55.

In the "A" finals of the 200 Back, senior Mira Tang (Mercer Island, Wash.) recorded a time of 2:08.03 to finish 10th. Tang's prelim time of 2:07.07 was a personal best.

Sophomore Emily Richardson (Bedford, N.H.) set a PR of 18:14.13 in the 1650 Free. The time earned the sophomore 10th overall. First year Chloe Weingarten (Rochester, Minn.) finished 19th with a time of 19:02.88.

Sophomore Tracey Liu (Princeton, N.J.) and Richardson qualified for the 200 Back "B" final. Liu took second with a time of 2:08.56. Richardson's time of 2:13.13 placed her in ninth.

Seniors McKaela Glanville (Menlo Park, Calif.), Ariana Mitsuoka (Centennial, Colo.) and sophomore Aubrey Cantrell (Palo Alto, Calif.) each raced in the "B" finals of the 100 Free event. Mitsuoka came in fourth with a time of 53.29. Glanville was sixth with a time of 53.64 and Cantrell placed 10th with a time of 54.78.

In the 200 Breaststroke "B" finals, senior Alice Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) swam a time of 2:30.21 for sixth place. First year Chelsea Park (Long Beach, Calif.) had a time of 2:35.30 for ninth and junior Maya Hart (Menlo Park, Calif.) was right behind with a time of 2:37.74.

Cai, Glanville, Sekhon, Mitsuoka earned fifth in the 400 Free Relay "A" final with a time of 3:36.79. The "B" squad of Cantrell, senior Mona Li (Cary, N.C.), Tang and Liu picked up third in the "B" finals with a time of 3:38.10.

Up next, Magavi will represent the Blue at the NCAA Division III Diving Regionals. The event takes place March 1-2 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.