At the 29th annual St. Mary Academy-Bay View Invitational, Bella Miko-Rydzaj, 15, above, a sophomore at The Prout School, won two awards, including second place for the 200 individual medley and third place in the 100 butterfly.
The swim meet, which was held at the University of Rhode Island’s Tootell Aquatic Center on January 11, welcomed about 30 teams from high schools across Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts to the largest all-girl swim invitational in the Ocean State. Below, an event tradition is to recognize graduating seniors from Rhode Island high schools during their final participation in the invitational. This year, seniors from the four participating Rhode Island Catholic schools, such as Bay View, Mount St. Charles, La Salle Academy, and The Prout School, gathered after each of them received a rose. Kristen Need, who serves as Prout’s women’s swim coach, as well as the school’s director of admissions, praised the senior members of the team. “It’s special every year for all the kids that graduate, but this particular group of girls have exceptional leadership qualities,” Need said during a brief interview following the meet, noting the girls’ maturity. “They’ve shown the underclassmen and the younger swimmers the trait that I cherish most about this group.”
