By David Fierro
Once again, the Greenwich High School boys swimming team, Connecticut’s longest-standing sports dynasty, won the Triple Crown.
After cruising to victories at the FCIAC and CIAC Class LL Championships, the Cardinals won their third title of their 2024-2025 season on March 22, finishing atop the team standings at the final meet of the season – the CIAC State Open Championships.
Winning four events, while having numerous athletes place among the top six in their respective races, Greenwich was victorious at the State Open for the 11th straight season, winning the team title for the 39th time in its illustrious aquatic history. Greenwich amassed a team total score of 728 points, well ahead of runner-up Fairfield Prep, which posted a team score of 416.5 points at the 52-team State Open, held at Yale University’s historic venue. Pomperaug placed third (307.5 points), while Norwalk/McMahon (256) and Wilton (220) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
The first State Open Swimming Championships was held in 1973 and since then, the Cardinals have captured 39 State Open team titles, with coach Terry Lowe guiding the squad’s unprecedented success. Following Saturday’s State Open triumph, Lowe mentioned his admiration for this season’s Cardinals team.
“The team did beyond my fondest dreams,” said Lowe, who has coached the Cardinals for more than five decades. “We’re super proud of the fact that it was a team effort. Today we shined in almost every event. I knew it was going to be a good team; we have swimmers who can dig deep and get it going. It was one of the greatest team performances we’ve ever had.”
Greenwich’s first victory at the State Open came in the 200-yard individual medley. Senior captain Luke Mendelsohn won the gold medal for Greenwich in the 200 IM, touching the wall in 1:50.39, giving GHS 30 points in the team standings. Colin Bucaria, a junior, finished sixth for Greenwich in the 200 IM (1:54.63) while teammate Matthew Bergner, a freshman, was 10th (1:59.83).
“It has always been a dream of mine to win something at Opens,” Mendelsohn said. “I knew I had it coming home, I just had to finish strong and it’s great to finally get to the top of where I want to be.”
Following the 200-yard individual medley, the 50-yard freestyle was held and senior Noah Barrett gave GHS another winning effort. Barrett registered a championship time of 20.66 seconds. Benjamin Pople of E.O. Smith/Tolland placed second in 20.77 seconds and Cardinals senior captain Jake Melly took sixth in the race (21.45).
“The victory felt amazing,” Noah Barrett said. “When I was flip turning, I remembered how I envisioned the race. I was the first one out and I was there and I just had to take it home.”
Barrett rejoined the Cardinals this winter after not competing with the team during the 2023-2024 campaign, as he focused on his club swimming schedule.
“It’s amazing, coming back from sophomore year,” he said. “I forgot how much I enjoyed the team aspect. Training with the team, the whole entire community that we have.”
The 200-yard freestyle relay saw the Cardinals quartet of Mendelsohn, freshman Noland Barrett, Melley and Noah Barrett combine for a State Open winning time of 1:23.59, good for 60 additional points in the team standings. Notre Dame/West Haven placed second (1:28.51), followed by Fairfield Prep (1:28.52).
Fittingly, the State Open Championships concluded with Greenwich claiming the gold medal in the 400 freestyle relay. Melley, Colin Bucaria, Noland Barrett and Noah Barrett teamed up for a winning time of 3:05.44. Fairfield Prep was the runner-up in 3:07.71 and Norwalk/McMahon had a third place finish (3:11.90). For Noah Barrett, being a part of two State Open championship relay squads was the perfect way to cap his Cardinals career.
“I’m glad that I finished it off with two great relays,” Noah Barrett said. “I got to swim with my brother – a freshman finish off my high school career with two relays with him.”
Earlier in the week, the CIAC State Open Diving Championships was held and Greenwich’s divers gave the team plenty of points heading into the State Open swimming finals. Freshman Nikitas Kassaris won the State Open diving title for Greenwich, earning 500.35 points over 11 rounds of diving.
Jake Simon of Darien, a junior, finished second on the 1-meter diving board (482.25 points) and Greenwich freshman Matthew McFarlane took third (413.90). Freshman Reilly Anderson (373.40) and junior William Hanna (309.70) were eighth and 10th, respectively, at the State Open diving competition for the Cards.
Greenwich began the State Open by placing third in the 200-yard medley relay. Junior William McCarthy, Mendelsohn, senior captain Hadden Wood and freshman Carl Johnson produced a time of 1:35.91. Fairfield Prep won the race in 1:34.08. New Canaan senior Jack Haley was the 200-yard freestyle champion, posting a time of 1:37.06. In second place was Cody Lonsberry (Enfield/Ellington, 1:40.18) and Noland Barrett gave GHS a third place finish in 1:41.21.
The 100-yard butterfly was also a strong event for the Cardinals. Noah Barrett (50.94), Melley (51.04) and Wood (51.93) were fourth, fifth and seventh in the butterfly, which was won by New Canaan senior Eric Huang (49.07).
“We came in 200 points ahead in the standings, but we definitely moved up, everyone moved up,” Melley said of the Cardinals’ dominant team victory at the State Open. “That’s how you want to finish the season.”
In the 100 freestyle, Bucaria, a junior, had the Cards’ best finish, placing 10th in 48.27 seconds. Teammate Charles Koven, also a junior, was 12th (48.48) in the 100 freestyle, which saw junior Benjamin Pope (E.O. Smith/Tolland, 45.69) touch the wall first. Noland Barrett (4:40.00), junior Jack Smith (4:46.76) and freshman Matthew Bergner (4:53.17) were fifth, eighth and 13th, respectively for the Cards in the 500 freestyle. New Canaan senior Jack Haley claimed the State Open gold medal in the 500 freestyle, clocking in at 4:25.64).
The 100-yard backstroke was an event that the Cardinals were especially proud of at the Open. Greenwich produced four top-10 finishes, with McCarthy (53.30), sophomore Hunter Bodey (53.35), freshman Carl Johnson (53.82) and junior William Hanna (54.35) placing fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively for GHS. New Canaan senior Eric Huang was the 100 backstroke State Open champion (50.38).
“The beginning of the year we were a struggling backstroke team,” Lowe noted. “To end up with two kids on the podium and four kids in the top nine with lifetime bests by far is a real example of how far this team came this year.”
Said Melley: “After the 200 free relay, watching the backstrokers was great. they all dropped six seconds by the end of the year. We thought we were a weak backstroke team at the beginning of the season, but they took care of business.”
Mendelsohn also credited the squad’s athletes in the backstroke race.
“Shout out to the backstrokers,” Mendelsohn said. “We didn’t think that was going to be one of our stronger events coming into the year. We had four guys make the top-10. That was insane.”
In the 100 breaststroke, Pomperaug’s Robert Regan earned top honors, winning the State Open title with a time of 56.69. Mendelsohn took the silver medal for the Cards (56.72).
Prior to swimming away with the State Open team title, Greenwich won the CIAC Class LL team title for the 11th straight season. The Cardinals have also matched their State Open championship count, winning 39 Class LL titles overall. Greenwich placed first in the team standings at the Class LL Championships on March 18 at Cornerstone Aquatics Center, totaling 1,034.5 team points. Glastonbury took second (644.5) and Norwalk/McMahon was third (489).
McCarthy, Mendelsohn, Wood and Johnson combined for a first-place time of 1:36.84 in the 200 medley relay at the Class LL finals, while Noland Barrett (1:41.03), junior Jack Smith (1:46.39) and sophomore Hunter Bodey (1:47.85) were second, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200 freestyle.
Mendelsohn won the 200 IM Class LL title (1:50.38), while Bucaria (1:55.03, third place), Matthew Bergner (1:59.49, sixth place) and Connor McMahon (2:03.89, eighth) also paced the Cards in the race.
Noah Barrett was the Class LL champion in the 50 freestyle (20.93), while Melley (21.80) and Johnson (21.83) were third and fourth, respectively. Kassaris also won the 1-meter diving title in the Class LL competition for the Cards, totaling 455.20 points. McFarlane was second (407.70) and Anderson finished fourth (340.55).
Noah Barrett’s second individual victory at the Class LL finals came in the 100 butterfly, which he won in 50.59 seconds. Melley took second (51.11), followed closely by Wood (51.93). Bucaria (48.39), junior Charles Koven (48.96) and McCarthy (49.30) were third, sixth and eighth in the 100 freestyle, while Noah Barrett (4:46.09), Jack Smith (4:48.84), Bergner (4:51.73) and Wood (4:55.76) took third, fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively in the 500-yard freestyle.
McCarthy was second in the 100 backstroke at the Class LL Championships (54.39), while Bodey took third (54.61) and Hanna finished fifth (54.98). Mendelsohn claimed the winner’s medal in the 100 breaststroke at the Class LL finals (56.35).
Melley, Bucaria, Noland Barrett and Noah Barrett combined for a winning time of 3:07.52 in the 400 freestyle.
After the Cardinals achieved their Triple Crown, Wood discussed his memorable experience as a member of Greenwich’s swimming dynasty and how impressed he was with the squad’s performance at the Open.
“It’s truly an honor to be a captain of such a decorated team with so much history,” Wood said. “Usually, it doesn’t get much better than the LL finals, but today we showed what this team’s all about. I’m so thankful I could be a part of this Greenwich High School legacy.”
“The depth we showed today is something,” Wood continued. “We have to be one of the top teams in Greenwich history. I think we had three people in almost every event. It truly shows that we train hard and all the props go to coach Lowe. What a guy, what a coach. It truly shows how amazing he is.”
Lowe marveled at how decisive the victory at the State Open was for his Cardinals.
“We came in ahead by maybe a couple of hundred points but to win by 300 – Holy Moly,” he said.
