Naugatuck’s Kyle Conrad won the 100-yard freestyle in the Class L championships last Saturday with a time of 47.51 seconds and finished third in the 50 free, coming in less than one second behind the winner. FILE PHOTO

Naugy took fifth in the Class L competition, while the Hawks finished sixth overall in Class S. Both squads had multiple competitors in the State Open last Saturday.

Individually, Kyle Conrad won the 100-yard freestyle in the Class L championships and nearly won the 50 free. Conrad won the 100 in a time of 47.51 seconds—about a half-second ahead of Tyler Deiter of North Haven-North Branford.

Conrad finished in third with a time of 22.05 seconds in the 50, less than one second behind Conard’s Gregory Youngstrom, who won the event. Naugatuck’s James Vaz also participated in both the 50 and 100 and took 13th place in both.

Harald Hersted of Naugy also produced some impressive times in Class L. Hersted took third in the 200 IM (1:59.12) and fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.48).

William Wright and Christopher Branco did well in the long distance events. Wright placed seventh in the 200 free (1:50.37) and 13th in the 500 free (5:03.87), while Branco took eighth in 200 (1:52) and 14th in the 500 (5:04.12).

The Greyhounds also posted several top-seven relay finishes in Class L. Naugy’s best relay finish came in the 400 free relay, as the team of Vaz, Hersted, Wright and Conrad grabbed third in a time of 3:18.13.

Kevin McMullen (who also competed in the 100 free), Vaz, Wright and Conrad placed fourth in the 200 relay in a time of 1:31.26.
In the 200 medley relay, Alex Grasso, Adam Branco, Richard Mitchell and Jacob Branco placed seventh with a time of 1:47.59.

Naugy’s divers also nabbed some key points. Nakeem Robinson (eighth place), Isabelle Moody (10th), Kaitlyn Carter (15th) and Joe Caputo (16th) represented the Greyhounds.

In the Class S meet, Woodland’s Patrick O’Dell finished third in the 100 back (56.32) and sixth in the 100 butterfly (55.29). Individually, Lindsay Boland (sixth, diving), Adam Trumbley (seventh, breaststroke), Eric Dietz (seventh, 50 free) and Andy O’Dell (ninth, 500 free) also had top-10 results for the Hawks.

The Hawks also placed seventh in the 200 medley relay with the team of Patrick O’Dell, Trumbley, Andy O’Dell and Dietz in a time of 1:46.75. Andy O’Dell also swam in the 200 free, while Trumbley (11th) and Dietz (13th) took part in the 100 free.

Erik Beaudoin swam in the 100 butterfly and the 100 back, and joined Matthew Costa, James Tompkins and Andrew Cullen in the 200 free relay—the team finished in 14th overall.

Cullen also swam in the 200 IM and the breaststroke, while Alan Katrenya also participated in the breaststroke. Michael Christiano finished 12th in diving for the Hawks.

In the State Open, Vaz, Hersted, Wright and Conrad placed seventh in the 400 free relay in a time of 3:17.92 and improved on their Class L time. In the 200 free relay, McMullen, Vaz, Wright and Conrad finished with a time of 1:32.61.

Hersted took 11th in the 100 breast (1:01.14) and Conrad swam in the 50 free (22.32) and finished 22nd.

In the State Open, Boland finished 20th overall in diving, while Patrick O’Dell took 22nd in the backstroke with a time of 56.32.

Rachael Battis, of Beacon Falls, qualified for the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association championships this weekend. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

The diving portion of the championships is this weekend, Feb. 12 and 13, at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. The women Owls are looking for their fourth straight championship.

Battis got into diving after a back injury forced her to give up gymnastics, according to a prepared release issued by the college. She competed in gymnastics for four years at Woodland Regional High School, winning the conference championship her final two years, according to the release.

When it comes to diving, Battis said, in the release, having a gymnastics background can be a help and a hindrance. “It definitely helps that you have body awareness, but you have to learn to use the board to get your height,” she said. “In gymnastics it’s all muscle.”

If everything goes well this weekend, Battis could find herself diving in the NCAA championships.

Woodland's Lindsay Boland arcs into the pool to win the diving competition Tuesday.

Naugatuck swim captains, from left, Kyle Conrad, James Vaz, Kevin McMullen, and Jake Branco celebrate a 99-81 win over Woodland on Tuesday. Each captain played a large role in the victory. McMullen won the 100-yard fly, Conrad won the 100-yard freestyle, Branoc took home the 50-yard freestyle, and Vaz helped the Hounds finish first in the 200-yard medley relay. -LARAINE WESCHLER

Naugatuck’s Adam Branco competes in the breast stroke during a swim meet Tuesday versus Woodland. The Greyhounds defeated the Hawks 99-81. -LARAINE WESCHLER

Naugatuck's Dan Buckley swims freestyle at Tuesday's meet.

Naugatuck's Ryan Lewis plunges into the pool during the diving competition Tuesday.

Naugatuck's Isabelle Moody flies through the air during the diving competion Tuesday.

Chris Branco (200 free), Harald Hersted (200 IM and 500 free), Jake Branco (50 free), Kevin McMullen (100 fly), Kyle Conrad (100 free) and James Streifel (100 back) all won events for Naugy. Lindsay Boland (diving) and Patrick O’Dell (100 breast) won individual events for the Hawks.

Naugy coach Jim McKee said the results reflect his team’s ability and continuing improvement.

“We have depth,” McKee said. “We had at least 72 best times in this meet.”

The Hounds set the tone for the meet by capturing the top two spots in the opening event, the 200 medley relay, and won each of the first four events. William Wright, Hersted, Conrad and James Vaz won the 200 medley relay in a time of 1 minute, 43.51 seconds, about 10 seconds ahead of teammates Riker Mitchell, Dan Sigetti, Richard Mitchell and Jake Branco.

Naugy did its damage in the individual freestyle events. The Greyhounds controlled the 50, 100 and 500 individual freestyle events and took three of the top four spots in each race.

In the meet’s fourth race, the 50 free, Jake Branco edged out Woodland’s Adam Trumbley with a time of 24.27 seconds, less than a second ahead of the Hawks’ swimmer. Eric Hanley (25.38 seconds) and Richard Mitchell (26.06) finished third and fourth, respectively, for the Greyhounds.

Naugatuck’s Adam Branco competes in the breast stroke during a swim meet Tuesday versus Woodland. The Greyhounds defeated the Hawks 99-81. -LARAINE WESCHLER

McKee said Naugy’s performance can be connected to the team’s hard work in practice. Many of Naugatuck’s individual times reflect its effort outside of meets.

“I ask them to give a lot in practice,” McKee said. “This meet is one of the paydays of that hard work.”

Despite an impressive performance from Boland in the diving, the Greyhounds still took more overall points in the event. Isabelle Moody, Kaitlin Carter and Joe Caputo took second through fourth, respectively, for the Greyhounds.

Woodland also won the 200 free relay as the team of Andy O’Dell, Patrick O’Dell, Trumbley and Eric Dietz won in a time of 1:37.27. Andy O’Dell, Trumbley, Dietz and Erik Beaudoin won the 400 free relay, the meet’s final event, in a time of 3:41.13.

“We knew Naugatuck had a lot of depth, so I let a lot of people swim different events,” said Woodland coach Tom Currier.

“Everybody had best times and we had some state qualifying times.”

Both the Hawks and Hounds hit the road for dual meets Friday as Woodland visits Haddam-Killingworth while Naugatuck travels to Waterbury to face Holy Cross.