Bobcats Boys Swimming Three-peats as Class M Champions

The long road that is the boys swim season came to a thunderous close for the Brookfield Boys Swimming and Diving team as they won their third consecutive state championship handily ahead of the rest of the league with a 171.5-point victory over runner-up East Lyme at Wesleyan University.

Brookfield has now won seven state championships in boys swimming in the last 14 years to go along with six SWC titles as well.

The boys were led by their tri-captains and all-state athletes Nick Miller, Dan Krentsa and diver Sam Baluzy.

The Bobcats fell behind early in the state finals meet with a third place finish by the young talented group of sophomore Jeff Ragatz (also All-State) junior Peter Lazorchak, and sophs Greg Krentsa and Jimmy Murray. After that, the Bobcats built points with their depth as Lazorchak, Rory Collins and Daniel Krentsa all scored in the 200 freestyle. Krentsa set the school mark as he blazed a 1:43.06, good for a second place finish.

Miller finished second in the 200 Individual Medley with a 1:55.71 (second fastest time in BHS history) with sophomores Alex Duffield finishing 10th and Murray in fifth place.

The 50 freestyle saw Christian Ferrarie post an All-State time of 22.13 for a third place finish and with Baluzy’s All-State performance and second place finish on the diving board, the Bobcats had now built a healthy lead.

Seniors Danny Dixon and Matt Delia finished 10th and 11th in diving to also bring big points. Greg Krentsa finished ninth in the butterfly with points also coming from senior Joe Vitti and sophomore Eric Forsberg. However, the next two events would put the meet out of range as the Bobcats had Miller, Collins and Murray all in the top heat of the 500 freestyle amassing a total of 76 points.

The relay team of Ferrarie, Collins, Miller and Dan Krentsa would then pull off a come-from-behind win in the 200 Freestyle Relay and it was smooth sailing from there.

In the final three events, Ragatz and Duffield were big scorers in the backstroke, finishing third and 11th, while in the breaststroke Ferrarie finished second as he closed in on the school record, Lazorchak finished sixth, while freshmen Nick Merkle and Mikey Poplardo made their early career mark as Merkle finished 13th (highest placing freshmen breaststroker) and Poplardo 21st.

The icing on the cake would come as the relay team of Collins, Ferrarie, Miller and Dan Krentsa would have a run away victory in the 400 Freestyle Relay tipping off a celebration for the now three-time Class M State Champions.

“I’m so proud of this group” long time veteran coach Brian Reiff said after taking the celebratory leap in the pool. “They’ve worked incredibly hard after losing seven seniors last year and all in the swimming world said they would not be able to come back from losing that much talent. They wouldn’t accept that and we executed a plan that was about hard work at the forefront and everyone understanding their roles on the team. There was trust and sacrifice and for that dedication I’m extremely proud of my boys.”