DURHAM, N.H. — The Hanover High girls swimming and diving team starts off each winter with the same goal: to end the season with a victory in Durham. But over the course of the season, the team breaks up into its respective ranks for practice.

While the divers practice in New Hampshire at Dartmouth’s Karl Michael & Spaulding Pools, the swimmers head across the Connecticut River to the Upper Valley Aquatic Center in White River Junction. Swimmers acknowledge divers and vice versa, but the two are rarely in the same place at the same time.

On Saturday night at the University of New Hampshire’s Swasey Pool, the goal became a reality as game recognized game. The Marauders cruised to their third consecutive NHIAA Division II state championship thanks to Amelia Wallis’ dominant diving performance — she picked up her fourth consecutive state title on Friday night — and the Marauders’ record-breaking 200-yard freestyle relay of 1:39.95.

The Marauders finished with 203 points. Their closest competitor was Portsmouth at 152.

The impact of having great swimmers and divers can change the entire momentum of the event, Hanover coach Fritz Bedford said. 

So, just how good does the three-peat feel?

“It’s pretty exciting,” Wallis said. “It’s so much fun. And the fact the swimmers acknowledge you and you acknowledge them makes it more of a team. We don’t even practice together during the season. It’s kinda crazy. But at the end of the season, we come together.”

The Wenger sisters set the tone early for Hanover in the second event of the day. Grace and Maggie Wenger finished second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle. The two were only separated by 0.29 seconds. 

Grace clocked a time of 58.13 seconds in the 100 butterfly for second place, and Maggie took second place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.37. Teammate Jocelyn Hazen placed fifth (25.59) in the 50 freestyle. Emma Dunbar (5:17.62) finished third in the 500 freestyle. 

While the 200-yard relay team of the Wenger sisters, Dunbar and Hazen all but iced the victory for Hanover, they delivering the final punch in their last event of the day. The four combined for a win in the 400 freestyle relay thanks to a time of 3:33.96, just shy of the state record by roughly 5 seconds. 

“Good way to end it (senior year); this was our goal,” Grace Wenger said. 

“We had a lot of new people on the team; we had a bunch of new qualifiers,” Maggie Wenger added. “Really great to have one last meet with our friends. Going out with a bang.”

The Hanover boys, who graduated five seniors from last year’s seven-man squad, finished in fourth place. After back-to-back state titles, Hanover finished behind champion Oyster River by 78 points. 

With five first-time qualifiers, the Marauders had a lot of room to make up for in the pool because Oyster River and Windham were the only two schools competing in the diving event on Friday night. 

Still, they placed well in events Bedford was concerned about entering the championship. In the opening event Saturday, Hanover’s 200 medley relay team of Kieran Artman, Christopher Rieseberg, Benton Cesanek and Aidan Lackstrom finished second with a time of 1:47.80. 

“They exceeded expectations; they did very well,” Bedford said. “I thought a third or fourth-place finish coming in would’ve been quite good. They performed well. They swam hard.”

Cesanek and Rieseberg were the two returners from last year’s championship team, and it showed.  

In the 200 individual medley, Rieseberg took second place with a time of 2:01.94, while Cesanek grabbed third place in the 100 butterfly in 55:47 seconds. 

Lebanon’s Zethan Moss finished in second place in the 100 fly. He also finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:11.36. Teammate Aidan Urnezis had a fifth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. 

Rieseberg grabbed third place in the 100backstroke in 1:00.46. Freshman Andres Savellano (1:03.35) finished in sixth. 

The 400 freestyle relay team of Cesanek, Lackstrom, Rieseberg and Savellano had a second-place finish in the final event of the evening with a time of 3:33.22. 

“Our swimmers swam hard today, can’t ask for much more,” Bedford said. 

Notes: Wallis was a gymnast for most of her life but fell for diving in eighth grade. What started off as a hobby has taken off. She now plans to dive in college and will probably end up at a Division III school, she said. … Grace Wenger is headed to Bates College to swim, while Maggie is going to St. Lawrence University. … Rieseberg will be attending Ithaca College. … The Bishop Guertin boys team won the D-I title for the third consecutive year. On the girls side was Exeter. … The NHIAA does not host a meet of champions in swimming, leaving the New England championship meet next. 

Girls team scores: Hanover 203, Portsmouth 152, Oyster River 136, Derryfield 122, Winnacunnet 116, St. Thomas 114, Windham 106, Hopkinton 99, Newmarket 69, Souhegan 55.

Boys team scores: Oyster River, 205, Windham 192, St. Thomas 167, Hanover 127, Portsmouth 118, Milford 95, Winnacunnet 94, Goffstown 74, Souhegan 57. 

Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.