Ten Avon High swimmers and two relay teams finished in the top 10 in their respective events at the recent CIAC Class M boys swimming championships to lead the Falcons to a third place finish, which matched their best-ever finish at the CIAC meet.
Avon, which finished third in Class S in 2007, scored a school-record 391 points in the meet, finishing behind Pomperaug (834) and Wilton (447). At the CIAC swimming meets, the top 24 athletes in each event can earn points, which can really swell the number of points a team can earn.
Senior Sarah Grady was second in diving for the Falcons with senior Rhys Vale finishing third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.83 and 500-yard freestyle (4:46.57). Maxim Metlitski was fourth in the 100 free (49.44) while the 200 medley relay team (Metlitski, Owen Vale, Gautham Kumar, Rhys Vale) was fourth in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:42.92.
Owen Vale was fifth in the 200 individual medley with a school record time of 1:59.37, erasing a mark set 28 years ago in 1995 by Chris Xistris while the Falcon 200 freestyle relay (Ryan Jezek, Owen Vale, Rhys Vale, Metlitski) also finished fifth in 1:3.08.
“We had a tremendous year. This was a very senior heavy team and those seniors stepped up big when the moment was the brightest,” Avon High boys swimming coach Brandon Smith said. “In the last two years, this team has gone 15-2 and won back-to-back conference championships. There can’t be enough said for the seniors and their dedication to not only the sport but to each other as a family.”
The Falcons went 7-1 on the season and 5-0 in the CCC North for the second straight year. Their only dual meet loss came to Hall, 94-90 in mid-January. Avon won the CCC North meet to capture the league championship with seven swimmers (Rhys Vale, Owen Vale, Gautham Kumar, Ryan Jezek, Sarah Grady, Gabrielle Fisher, Maxim Metlitski) earned All-CCC North honors.
Since Avon has no girls swimming team, which competes in the fall, girls are allowed to compete on the boys team during the winter. But to compete in the boys CIAC championships, girls need to qualify under the same standards as the boys.
For the second straight year, Grady finished second in Class M in diving. She had 406.2 points, which trailed Wilton’s Griffin Casey with 472.05. But the Falcons had all five divers qualify for the state tournament and Gabrielle Fisher finished sixth with 345 points.
“To lose as many great swimmers as we did from last year and not only rebuild but finish in third in the state was a tremendous accomplishment,” Smith said.
Grady and Rhys Vale each earned All-State honors for finishing in the top three of their respective weight classes.
Other Avon swimmers earning top 10 finishes at the Class M meet included Metlitski, who was sixth in the 50 free with a time of 22.52. Metlitski set a new school record of 22.37 in the Class M trials to erase the mark set by Andre Richard in 2018.
Owen Vale finished eighth in the 100 breast stroke in 1:03.02 with teammate Gautham Kumar finishing ninth in 1:03.83.
At the State Open, Grady finished 11th with a season-best score of 433.65 points, the second-best finish for an Avon diver at the event. Only Brendan Downey in 2018 was better when he finished fifth.
Rhys Valey was 13th in the 500 free (4:51.34) with Metlitski finishing 17th in the 100 free (48.73) and Rhys Vale taking 17th in the 200 IM in 1:59.62. The 200 medley relay (Metlitski, Owen Vale, Kumar, Rhys Vale) was 18th in a season-best time of 1:41.93.
As a team at the State Open, Avon was 23rd with 70 points.
2023 Class M boys swimming championships
At West Hartford
Team results – 1. Pomperaug 834, 2. Wilton 447, 3. Avon 391, 4. Hand 356, 5. Middletown 318, 6. Masuk 314½, 7. Brookfield 313, 8. Xavier 278, 9. Windsor 255½, 10. Cheshire 252, 11. Haddam-Killingworth co-op 201, 12. Wethersfield 197, 13. Lyman Hall/Coginchaug 184, 14. East Lyme 176, 15. Foran/Jonathan Law 158, 16. Notre Dame-West Haven 146, 17. Torrington114, 18. Joel Barlow/Bethel 108, 18. Bulkley/HMTCA 56
200 Yard Medley Relay: 1. Pomperaug (Jason Hu, Logan Keane, Cole McKirryher, Robert Regan), 1:38.80; 2. Hand (Jonah Kehew, Matthew Gentil, Elliot Lee, Adam Signorello), 1:38.99; 3. Xavier (Samuel Enes, Nathan Brasky, Maxwell Enes, Patrick Mitchill), 1:39.41; 4. Avon (Maxim Metlitski, Owen Vale, Gautham Kumar, Rhys Vale), 1:42.06; 5. Masuk (Jack McHugh, Carter Adragna, Samuel T McHugh, Riley Sheppard), 1:42.92; 6. Wilton (Hirsh Iyer, Oswald Andrews, Vrishak Duriseti, Jake Mercer), 1:43.39
200 yard freestyle: 1. Jude Boukarroum, Brookfield, 1:41.05; 2. Maxwell Enes, Xavier, 1:43.86; 3. Brendan Kirberger, Masuk, 1:46.83; 3. Rhys Vale, Avon, 1:46.83; 5. Ryan Prendergast, Pomperaug, 1:48.54; 6. Colin Martin, Pomperaug, 1:48.74; 7. Paolo Pirrotta, Wethersfield, 1:52.67; 8. Adam Signorello, Hand, 1:52.97.
200 yard IM: 1. Elliot Lee, Hand, 1:49.56; 2. Jack Ferguson, HK Coop, 1:54.76; 3. Robert Regan, Pomperaug, 1:57.00; 4. Collin Thompson, Pomperaug, 1:57.59; 5. Owen Vale, Avon, 1:59.37; 6. Gerold Gutierrez, Foran-Law, 2:00.77; 7. Kristopher Janney, Brookfield, 2:01.95; 8. Matthew Gentil, Hand, 2:05.23.
50 yard freestyle: 1. Samuel Enes, Xavier, 21.91; 2. Jake Mercer, Wilton, 22.11; 3. Logan Keane, Pomperaug, 22.16; 4. Richard Bailey, Middletown, 22.21; 5. David Cappiello, Pomperaug, 22.41; 6. Maxim Metlitski, Avon, 22.52; 7. Eric Wang, East Lyme, 22.92; 8. Alexander Fang, Cheshire, 23.33.
Diving (one meter): 1. Griffin Casey, Wilton, 472.05; 2. Sarah Grady, Avon, 406.20; 3. Cody Schad, Middletown, 405.10; 4. Diego Carrillo, Middletown, 404.05; 5. Tyler Robie, Pomperaug, 397.85; 6. Gabrielle Fisher, Avon, 345.00; 7. Dino Turk, Pomperaug, 336.20; 8. Nathan Ivans, Middletown, 330.35.
100 yard butterfly: 1. Elliot Lee, Hand, 49.70; 2. Samuel Enes, Xavier, 51.67; 3. Jerick Lagamao, Lyman Hall-Coginchaug, 51.95; 4. Vrishak Duriseti, Wilton, 53.33; 5. Jonah Kehew, Hand, 53.43; 6. Cole McKirryher, Pomperaug, 53.66; 7. Collin Thompson, Pomperaug, 53.96; 8. Samuel T McHugh, Masuk, 54.33.
100 yard freestyle: 1. Richard Bailey, Middletown, 48.15; 2. Kristian Adlianitski, Cheshire, 49.16; 3. Alexander Fang, Cheshire, 49.32; 4. Maxim Metlitski, Avon, 49.44; 5. Benjamin Steward, Wilton, 49.47; 6. Jacob Collette, Foran-Law, 49.71; 7. Eric Wang, East Lyme, 50.57; 8. Patrick Mitchill, Xavier, 50.64.
500 yard freestyle: 1. Jude Boukarroum, Brookfield, 4:36.72; 2. Maxwell Enes, Xavier, 4:43.41; 3. Rhys Vale, Avon, 4:46.57; 4. Brendan Kirberger, Masuk, 4:47.73; 5. Hirsh Iyer, Wilton, 4:54.17; 6. Colin Martin, Pomperaug, 4:54.70; 7. Christian Wilk, Notre Dame WH, 5:07.13; 8. Thomas Manzo, Pomperaug, 5:08.04.
200 yard freestyle relay:1. Pomperaug (David Cappiello, Thomas Manzo, Colin Martin, Collin Thompson), 1:30.14; 2. Wilton (Jake Mercer, Eric Ding, Vrishak Duriseti, Benjamin Steward), 1:31.67; 3. Cheshire (Kristian Adlianitski, Silas Wang, Zackary Schnitzer, Alexander Fang), 1:31.90; 4. Middletown (Andrew Green, Cole Strickland, Eric Liesener , Richard Bailey), 1:32.86; 5. Avon (Ryan Jezek, Owen Vale, Rhys Vale, Maxim Metlitski), 1:33.08; 6. Brookfield (Jude Boukarroum, Kristopher Janney, Ewan LeJava, Nickolas Coelho), 1:33.32
100 yard backstroke: 1. Jonah Kehew, Hand, 52.01; 2. Jerick Lagamao, Lyman Hall-Coginchaug, 52.91; 3. Gerold Gutierrez, Foran-Law, 54.13; 4. Ryan Prendergast, Pomperaug, 55.15; 5. Cole McKirryher, Pomperaug, 55.85; 6. Hirsh Iyer, Wilton, 56.02; 7. Lance Hansen, Barlow-Bethel, 56.12; 8. Keller Hall, Masuk, 57.98.
100 yard breaststroke: 1. Jack Ferguson, HK Coop, 57.82; 2. Matthew Gentil, Hand, 1:00.49; 3. Silas Wang, Cheshire, 1:00.56; 4. Logan Keane, Pomperaug, 1:00.61; 5. Robert Regan, Pomperaug, 1:00.68; 6. Brayden Green, Pomperaug, 1:00.99; 7. Kristian Adlianitski, Cheshire, 1:01.17; 8. Owen Vale, Avon, 1:03.02.
400 yard freestyle relay: 1. Hand (Elliot Lee, Adam Signorello, Jonah Kehew, Matthew Gentil), 3:16.02; 2. Xavier (Samuel Enes, Patrick Mitchill, Ian Hawley, Maxwell Enes), 3:16.45; 3. Pomperaug (Miles Montello, Brandon Schuessler, Ryan Prendergast, Collin Thompson), 3:17.11; 4. Masuk (Riley Sheppard, Samuel T McHugh, Brendan Kirberger, Carter Adragna), 3:22.04; 5. Wilton (Hirsh Iyer, Eric Ding, Aidan Yee, Benjamin Steward), 3:24.18; 6. Windsor ” 3:24.84
2022-23 results
January 3: Avon 96, South Windsor 75
Jan. 1: Avon 97, Bristol co-op 84
Jan. 17: Hall 94, Avon 90
Jan. 24: Avon 95, Rocky Hill 78
Jan. 31: Avon 98, Newington 83
Feb. 7: Avon 97, Wethersfield 86
Feb. 11: Avon 96, E.O. Smith/Tolland 83
Feb. 18: Avon 73, Hartford Public 52
Feb. 26: Splash Classic, fifth place (156 points)
March 3: CCC North championships, first place
March 15: Class M championships, fifth place
March 18: State Open championships, 23rd place
