Two young Wareham residents took home medals at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s All Regional Swim Meet in Buzzards Bay on Sunday, Nov. 6.

11-year-old League Cadet Hunter Mackey, a student at Wareham Middle School, and 16-year-old Sea Cadet Zachary Travis, a student at Old Rochester Regional High School, competed as part of the Cape Cod-based United Naval Sea Cadet Corps Gosnold Division. The Naval Sea Cadets are not students at the Maritime Academy, but train there. 

They swam against the Michael Murphy Division of Long Island and the Naval Construction Battalion Center Division of Quonset, R.I. 

Mackey beat Nicole Kettle of Long Island in the 25-yard freestyle with a time of 17.35 seconds.

“It’s thrilling,” said Mackey, who is studying to become an engineer in the Armed Forces. “Being in the water is nice. It relaxes you. Feels great.”

Travis beat Louis Sabellichi of Long Island and Cyrus Anand of Rhode Island in the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 35.27 seconds. 

“I enjoy the competition and race against the clock to beat your best time,” said Travis, who is studying to become a state police officer. “I didn’t really care about winning. I enjoyed cheering people on, helping them finish the race.” 

To celebrate his victory, he cheered on his opponents, who were still swimming to the finish line. 

The Gosnold Division’s League Cadets, students between the ages of 11-13, came in second overall. Sea Cadets, between the ages of 13-18, came in third. 

“We all did our best,” Mackey said. “No one lacked skills.” 

“The most important thing was teamwork,” Travis said. “Helping each other on when times are tough.”