There’s a team in Queens that just made quite the splash. 

The Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood, girls’ varsity swim team recently won the CHSAA Tier 1 city championship at the Eisenhower Park Aquatic Center in East Meadow, Long Island. The Stanners capped off a memorable campaign with a dominant victory on the biggest stage. 

Molloy has built an impressive girls’ swimming program since the school went co-ed in 2000. The team has won multiple Brooklyn-Queens championships and numerous city championships. 

Yet heading into the season, the Stanners had a chip on their shoulder after rival Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge, won last season’s city championship. Even after losing several talented seniors to graduation, the Molloy squad knew that anything could happen if they stayed dedicated. 

Without a pool at the school, the Stanners — comprising 26 student-athletes across all four grade levels — traveled to the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston four days a week for practice. Every Sunday from October through January featured a match against an individual team, and each match made up the dual meet season. 

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Week after week, the Stanners were racking up victories. The team was undefeated heading into the final matchup of the season against Xaverian. 

“As we were going through the season, I looked at one of my captains and said, ‘I think we have a shot,’ ” said Heather Green-Wresch, Molloy’s girls’ and boys’ varsity swimming coach and also the school’s executive director of enrollment management. “I told them I believe in you, the coaches believe in you, and now you just have to believe in yourselves.” 

Halfway through the meet, Molloy trailed Xaverian by six points with four events to go. The Stanners, though, rallied late to capture the statement win, resulting in a fully undefeated dual meet season and the Brooklyn-Queens title. 

In CHSAA Tier 1 girls’ swimming, all 13 of the teams in the diocesan league compete in the city championship meet if their swimmers qualify in individual events. So the Stanners knew that Xaverian would be waiting once again. 

Day 1 of the meet featured the trials, which set up the final matchups for Day 2. When the excitement of the championship finally subsided, the Stanners won by a whopping 56 points over second-place Xaverian — astounding even their coach, who thoroughly believed in them the whole way. 

“Even without the title, the whole atmosphere of the team and especially the coaches, they just really made everything worth it,” said senior Karolina Heerey, who competed in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard fly while also winning the league’s Career Swimmer Award. “Whether we won or whether it was just knowing that I got a chance to be on this amazing team, it’s all that mattered.” 

Making major strides in her first Molloy season was freshman Julia Bak, who swam in multiple events. In the city championship meet, she swam the 100-yard fly and 50-yard freestyle. 

In both events, Bak set new CHSAA and school records — 23.33 in the 50-yard freestyle and 54.81 in the 100-yard fly. While she swims individually as part of a swimming club, her experience with Molloy has allowed her to feel part of a team. 

“Being on a high school team, it’s such a different feeling,” said Bak, who was named MVP of the city championship meet. “You don’t just win for yourself; you win for the whole team.” 

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Following the victory, the icing on the cake was that Green-Wresch was voted as CHSAA girls’ swimming Coach of the Year, an honor decided by the league’s coaches. She previously won the award in 2024 — which ended with a city title — and also won the boys’ top coach award last season. 

“To be recognized by my fellow peers as the outstanding coach of the year, it truly was special,” said Green-Wresch, who took over both programs from her father, Donald Green, who coached for 38 seasons. “I want the girls to know that this is all about them and not me. When I brought the award back to them, I said this is our award, not just mine.” 

Though the Stanners will lose some top seniors, Green-Wresch is excited about the next crop of freshmen set to enroll. For any high school program, replacing talent with new talent is a recipe for sustained success. 

Expect Molloy to be right back at it next season. If there’s a will, there’s a wave.