By ALEX SPONSELLER The Bishop Hendricken swim team cruised past Barrington 64-30 to claim its 31st championship in 32 years.

The usual suspects came up big once again, as senior CJ Sheldon reclaimed the state championship in both the 50 and 100 freestyles with times of 21.25 and 46.59, respectively.

Nick Andrews won the 200 free with a time of 1:44.96 as well as the 500 free. Matt Waldon won the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.28 while Jon Smith took first in the backstroke with a time of 55.5.

The Hawks’ relay team of McPherson, Tim Andrews, Nick Andrews and Sheldon finished first in the 200 free relay. The Hawks won the 400 free relay with a team of Waldon, Nick Andrews, Sheldon and Sean Miranda.

Hendricken continued to dominate the state’s swim scene this winter, going undefeated and rolling to another title.

“The kids worked very hard to accomplish what they did. If you were to ask me what our times would be at the beginning of the season, I would not have expected them to be what they were,” said coach Dave Hanson.

The Hawks will look to continue their reign next winter, but will have a tough challenge as guys like Sheldon and McPherson are set for graduation. Although they will have big shoes to fill, Hanson likes the returning core and its versatility in the pool.

“The Andrews brothers are coming back, Matt Waldon is coming back. Matt made an unbelievable jump. He swam well last year, but he swam really, really well this year. It’s going to be tough, you can’t replace a CJ Sheldon, he was just phenomenal. You could pencil him in anywhere. Ryan McPherson, he was our best backstroker the past three years but didn’t compete in the backstroke this year. We needed him in the freestyle and he did an excellent job. That’s also because Alex Walsh stepped up and Jon Smith said, ‘Coach, I’ll do the backstroke.’ These guys were very unselfish,” said Hanson.

Hanson and the Hawks will also look forward to having a full season in which to work and appreciate the accommodations that their temporary home provided.

“It’ll be nice to have a full season and our pool back. (Bishop Hendricken Athletic Director Jamal Gomes) was able to secure the Cranston YMCA which turned out to be a great facility; they treated us royaly. It really worked out great for us,” Hanson said.