The FCIAC has long had a tradition of success in the sport of boys swimming and diving and that tradition bore out yet again as many athletes from the conference were selected to the 2021 Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Boys Swimming and Diving Team.
All-State accolades were earned by either being a swimmer whose personal-best time was one of the 16 fastest in the state in a respective individual event, a swimmer who was a member of a relay team which had one of the 12th fastest times, or a diver whose highest score of the year was among the 16 highest in the state.
Consequently, there were plenty of FCIAC swimmers who were all-state in multiple events.
Ridgefield senior Connor Hunt and senior Tyler Sicignano of the Fairfield Ludlowe/Warde co-op program distinguished themselves as the preeminent swimmers in the state as they both had the fastest times in the state in two individual events and were also all-state as members of two relay teams.
Nicholas Malchow and Ryan Jee of Greenwich each had the state’s fastest time in one individual event and among the fastest times in other individual events and were teammates on a pair of relay teams with the fastest times in the state.
Ridgefield’s Hunt had the fastest 200-yard freestyle time of 1:39.01 and 500 freestyle time of 4:22.9 and he achieved both of those times at the 2021 FCIAC Boys Swimming and Diving Championships, which made him the recipient of the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer Award. He broke his own previous conference record of 4:25.4 in the 500 free.
Hunt swam the leadoff leg to help the 200 free relay team register the fastest time (1:26.43) in the state. Kai O’Malley, Andrew Yu and Gavin Egerton swam the following legs. Hunt was joined by Jack Clancy, Matthew Weiner and Luke Mignano on the 400 free relay team which had the state’s second fastest time of 3:07.92.
The Ridgefield all-state swimmers in the other individual or relay events included O’Malley (100 butterfly, 200 free), Yu (50 free, 100 free, 200 medley relay), Egerton (100 fly, 200 IM), Weiner (100 butterfly, 200 IM, 200 medley relay), Mignano (100 free, 200 medley relay), Clancy (200 free, 500 free), Max Wolfenden (100 breaststroke, 200 IM, 200 medley relay) and Matthew Johnston (100 backstroke, 200 free).
Similar to Hunt, Sicignano also got his two state-best times at the conference championship meet when he established two new FCIAC records with a 20.47 in the 50-yard freestyle and a 48.72 in the 100 butterfly.
Emmett Adams, Sicignano’s Fairfield Ludlowe/Warde teammate, was all-state with the state’s fastest time in the 100 breaststroke (56.96) and the second fastest time in the 200-yard individual medley (1:52.97).
Sicignano, Adams and Marcelo Leite were teammates on the all-state 400 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay teams. Jack Mocarski joined them on the 400 free relay and Nathaniel Taft was on the 200 medley relay. Mocarski was all-state in the 500 free, Taft in the 100 backstroke, while the other Fairfield Co-op all-staters were Michael Cowenhoven in the 100 breaststroke and diver Jack Holland.
Malchow, Greenwich’s senior captain, had the state’s fastest time in the 100 free (45.54) and he was .22 of a second behind Sicignano at the FCIAC Championships with the state’s second fastest time of 20.69 in the 50-yard freestyle.
Jee, a junior, had the state’s fastest time of 1:50.67 in the 200 IM and the third fastest time of 49.95 in the 100 fly.
Malchow and Jee helped lead Greenwich to its 50th FCIAC championship, so, suffice it to say, there were plenty more Cardinals who were all-state swimmers and divers.
Grover Whitaker had the state’s highest points total in the one-meter diving by a whopping 71.03 points as he established a new conference record of 569.1 at the FCIAC Championships. His teammates, Joel Satir and Jayden Satir, were also all-state divers.
Malchow, Jee and James Pascale were on the 200 medley relay (1:33.74) and 400 free relay (3:05.36) which had the fastest times in the state. Pascale was also all-state in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle.
The other Greenwich all-state swimmers included Aiden Bucaria (100 breaststroke, 200 IM, 200 medley relay, 200 free relay), Alex Plavoukos (200 free, 500 free, 400 free relay), Hunter Johnson (50 free, 100 free, 200 free relay), Mic Dilascia (100 free, 100 breaststroke), Thomas Cass (200 free, 200 free relay), Daulton Kendall (100 free, 200 free relay), Ben Schinto (100 backstroke, 200 IM), Matthew Hake (100 breaststroke), Marco Todorovic (200 free, 500 free) and Eric Stehmann (500 free).
Greenwich scored 534 team points to win the FCIAC championship for the 14th consecutive year and the 50th time in the last 51 years. Ridgefield was runner-up with 394.5 and followed by Fairfield Co-op (276), New Canaan (189.5) and Norwalk/McMahon (187.5) in the top five.
Nicky Adl of New Canaan was all-state in two individual events – the 100 backstroke and 100 free – and he was also a member of the all-state 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams with Mikey Rivas and Griffin Trygg. New Canaan’s other all-state swimmers were Dalton Trygg (100 free), Deacon Mascarinas (100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay, 200 free relay), Ben Madan (200 free relay, 400 free relay), Summer Pellegrini (200 free relay) and Gabe Pozzolini (200 free relay).
Mykhailo Kvashchuk of the Norwalk/McMahon cooperative team was all-state individually in the 100 freestyle and 50 free and he earned all-state honors as the anchor swimmer of the 200 free relay team which included Blake Alford, David Montoya and Jorge Chajon. Also all-state in individual events for Norwalk/McMahon were Kalen Anbar (200 IM) and diver Benjamin Bradley.
Darien placed sixth in the FCIAC Championships with 182.5 points, was followed by Trumbull (137), Wilton (117) and ninth-place Staples (104), and all four of those teams had all-state swimmers.
Darien’s Harris Fitzpatrick (200 free, 500 free), Ryan Roberts (200 free, 500 free) and Thomas Dupont (100 backstroke) were all-state in individual events and as members of the 200 medley relay team with Maximillian Scalise.
Wilton had a pair of all-state swimmers in Kevin Hu (100 breaststroke, 200 individual medley) and James Labant (500 free).
Trumbull’s Liam Crecca was all-state in the 50 free and as a member of the 200 medley relay with David Datz, Anthony Lemma and Raj Prada.
Riley Twiss of Staples was all-state in the 200 freestyle and he also swam the anchor leg on the all-state 200 free relay team which included Jacob Lee, Lucas Amlicke and Joshua Tanksley.