The 2024 winter season ended on a high note for the Norwalk Boys Swim team!
For the first time in program history, the Norwalk-McMahon Boys Swim team picked up their first top-two finish at the CIAC Class LL finals at Wesleyan University. Let’s take a look into how they secured their second-place finish.
The boys kicked off the meet with a bang, taking first place in the 200 medley race. Together, Wyatt Vitiello SO, Kris Flores SR, Mike Kvashchuk SR, and Alex Sharpe SO combined for a time of 1:35.84, finishing almost three seconds over the Greenwich Cardinals.
Followed by their early victory, Kris Flores SR, Sebastian Camille SO, Alex Sharpe SO, and Mike Kvashchuk secured second place in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:25.81, just over a second behind the Greenwich Cardinals.
Finally, in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, Sebastian Camille SO, Christian Sanchez FR, David Delong SO, and Wyatt Vitiello SO, took third place with a time of 3:13.32.
Wyatt Vitiello SO and Mike Kvashchuk SR had outstanding performances in the individual races to ultimately boost the bears into their second-place team finish.
Vitiello finished the night with two individual victories; He finished first in the 200 Yard IM with a time of 1:51.20; and finished first in the 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 50.77, beating his time of 51.27 that secured him his FCIAC title.
Kvashchuk finished the night with an individual victory in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a time of 21.09, outracing the runner up by three-hundredths of a second. Kvashchuk also finished second in the 100 Yard Freestyle with a time of 46.09.
The team’s impressive performance was done all while competing in the lane that caused the championship meet to be delayed 20 minutes.
The boys competed all night on a starting block with a faulty wedge, hindering the swimmers ability to adjust the block to their preferred distance. All swimmers were prohibited from adjusting the wedge on their starting block to maintain a fair competition. Despite this unexpected obstacle, the team was able to preservere through the meet without any major challenges.
In addition to the team’s success at the State Championships, several of the members on the team earned accolades for their success this season.
Wyatt Vitiello was named First Team All-State and First Team All-FCIAC. Mike Kvashchuk was named Second Team All-State and First Team All-FCAIC. Alongside Vitiello and Kvashchuk, Kris Flores SR, Alex Sharpe SO, Christian Sanchez FR, and Sebastian Camille SO were all named First Team All-FCIAC.
For the first time in program history, the Norwalk-McMahon Boys Swim team placed second in the Class LL finals. Congratulations to Head Coach Marco Minnocci, Assistant Coach Z, Assistant Coach Baron, and the entire Norwalk-McMahon boys swim team.
