Printer Friendly Version - HK Middle School Swims to Success at Open Championship

The Haddam-Killingworth Middle School swimming team finished third in the overall standings at the Connecticut Middle School Swimming and Diving Open Championship that took place at Southern Connecticut State University on Jan. 29. Photo courtesy of Samantha Sierpinski

The Haddam-Killingworth Middle School swim team competed in the 2017 Connecticut Middle School Swimming and Diving Open Championship at Southern Connecticut State University on Jan. 29. The boys’ team finished second overall and broke five state records. Additionally, the girls’ team placed fourth and helped the Cougars take third overall in the combined boys’ and girls’ standings. The team is led by Head Coach Samantha Sierpinski, along with assistant coaches Jamie Sierpinski and Mary Kate Almeida.

The day started off strong for HK with a second-place finish from Katie Mathews, Nina Lamb, Jackie Flaherty and Erin Marica in the girls’ 200 medley relay behind a time of 2.16.09. They were followed by the boys’ 200 medley relay of Kyle Mazziotti, Andrew Mitchill, Malone Revis and Noah SanVicente, who not only won the event, but also set a new record with a mark of 1.50.09. Mitchill continued his winning streak with a first-place finish in his next event, the 50 freestyle, which he completed in 24.0 seconds. The 100 individual medley proved to be another strong event for the HK swimmers with Flaherty grabbing second for the girls at 1.09.96, while the boys saw Revis bring home first (1.01.98) with Adam Anziano in fourth (1.07.15) and SanVicente taking fifth (1.07.29). The girls continued their strong relay performances with a seventh-place finish in the 200 free relay, which was swam by Kristen Thebeau, Marica, Lizzy Celano, and Rhianna Phipps (2.12.04) The boys pulled off a runner-up finish in the same event with a time of 1.48.41 behind the efforts of SanVicente, Anziano, Sean Rutledge, and Christo Garrelts.

HK’s swimmers kept the ball rolling during the second half of the meet. In the 50 breaststroke, Lamb posted a second-place finish (37.01) for the girls. For the boys, Mitchill set a state record by swimming a time of 28.88 seconds, plus Garrelts saw a second-place showing at 32.51. In the 100 free, Mazziotti broke his own state record and took home another title with a time of 49.69. The boys also took second place in this event with an impressive swim by Garrelts in 55.71. Adding to the girls’ points, Mathews came in eighth in the 100 free (1.07.84) and sixth in the 50 backstroke (35.97). Mazziotti again broke his own record by coming in first in the 50 backstroke with a time of 27.01. Anziano also placed well in this event, coming in seventh at 33.12.

To finish out the day, Flaherty finished fifth in her 50 butterfly (30.67), while Revis and SanVicente placed second (27.24) and fifth (30.19), respectively, for the boys. In the final event, the 400 free relay, there were great swims from the girls’ team of Lamb, Mathews, Phipps, Flaherty, who came in third at 4.29.63 and all recorded had personal-best splits. The boys’ 400 free relay of Mitchill, Revis, Garrelts, and Mazziotti stood out as a highlight of the day with a first-place performance and a new state record of 3.30.83, smashing the previous record by seven seconds.