Woodland senior Jen Tavares won the 100-yard backstroke, finished second in the 100 freestyle, and helped two Hawks relay teams to second-place finishes at Saturday's NVL swimming and diving championships. SPECIAL TO CITIZEN'S NEWS

WATERBURY — Woodland tied a school record with a third-place finish while Naugatuck placed fifth at the Naugatuck Valley League swimming and diving championships Saturday at the John Reardon Pool at Kennedy High.

The Hawks (744 points) placed behind league champion Watertown (833) and Torrington (777). The Greyhounds (507) finished in the top half of the league, behind Holy Cross (509) in fifth place.

Woodland senior Katie-Jean Hinckley was one of the day’s stars, winning two events. She captured the 200-yard freestyle in 2 minutes, 0.39 seconds, beating the competition by more than two seconds. She later won the 500 free in 5:22.04, more than 13 seconds better than the field.

Hinckley was also part of two second-place relay teams. She anchored both the 200 free and the 400 free relay teams, which also consisted of Jen Tavares, Chrissy Leeper, and Sydney Corneau. Both squads finished about three seconds off the winning pace set by Watertown.

Tavares had a strong individual day as well, winning the 100 backstroke in 1:00.45 and finishing second in the 100 free in 54.34 seconds.

The Hawks’ third champion was diver Dayna Chucta, who obliterated the competition. Her score of 391.15 is a new school record for 11 dives and was good enough to win by 83.65 points over second-place finisher Bianca Antrum of Naugatuck.

Both teams begin state competition later this week.

Kyle Brennan

Round of applause

The Woodland girls basketball team is off to another fantastic start at a perfect 9-0 heading into an important matchup with fellow Naugatuck Valley League Brass Division contender St. Paul. Heather Framski continues to step up her game and is right near the top of the league scoring chart for the third straight year. She is nearing the 1,000-point mark and could achieve the milestone within a couple of weeks to become the third player in Woodland history to do so. Framski isn’t doing it alone, though, as Lindsay Feducia has been very effective running the offense while Kate Tuckey and Kelsey Deegan have been strong defenders. Shannon Meany, Andrea Piccolo, and Carli Mariotti have all shown the ability to score in the post, making the Hawks a tough team to defend—particularly when they get into their up-and-down game. Could this finally be the year that Woodland hangs a basketball banner?

The Woodland boys basketball team is also doing its part to put the Black and Gold in the conversation among this year’s best basketball schools. The Hawks are 5-1 and lead the NVL Brass. Woodland is on a five-game winning streak after testing Crosby in the opening game of the season. The Rountree brothers have been outstanding for the Hawks, as the combination of Yahmad and Rahmi is averaging over 30 points per game. Woodland is strong aside from the Rountrees, with tough down-low players such as Ian Bures, Ryan Angeloszek, and Sean Deegan along with freshman Tanner Kingsley coming off the bench. The Hawks will be firm favorites in the Brass if they can beat second-place St. Paul Friday in Beacon Falls.

Outstanding athletes from the fall have been honored over the last month, and we haven’t gotten a chance to recognize them yet, so now’s the time to finally do so. Both Naugatuck and Woodland were solid in just about every sport this fall, thanks to the performances of dozens of excellent athletes, many of which earned all-state honors. Naugatuck’s Tiago Martins earned All-New England, All-State, and All-NVL honors once again after another outstanding soccer season. Woodland’s Jack DeBiase was the most decorated football player, earning spots on the New Haven Register, Coaches’, and Walter Camp All-State first teams in addition to All-NVL and All-Valley honors. Aaron Echevarria and Reuban Berger both earned second-team New Haven Register recognition while Echevarria was named to the Coaches’ first team and Berger was named to the Class L team. Naugatuck’s Stephanie Santos and Woodland’s Raven Palmerie earned all-state soccer awards while Dayna Chucta and Katie-Jean Hinckley achieved spots on the Class S all-state swimming team. Dozens more made All-NVL teams, so congratulations to everyone on great seasons.

Chorus of boos

Randy Edsall was either lying or just stupid when he said he was sorry he didn’t get a chance to bid farewell to his UConn players and coaches before he bolted for the University of Maryland. I have no problem at all with Edsall making a move to Maryland, which is probably about the same caliber of a job as UConn’s (give or take). It’s closer to his home and I think both sides welcome a change. But saying he didn’t have an opportunity to tell his players personally that he was going to leave is ridiculous. Edsall didn’t need to go to Maryland right from the Fiesta Bowl, or if he felt the need to do so, he could have told everyone in the locker room after the game. Instead, many of the players found out via text messages and the Internet. Edsall has always been a respected coach, but the way in which he handled the move is questionable at best.

Naugy notes

The Naugatuck boys basketball team and first-year coach Mike Wilson are still searching for their first win of the season after the Hounds fell, 54-45, to Ansonia on Tuesday. Naugy led, 25-22, at halftime but was outscored by 12 in the second half. Brandon Kuczenski has emerged as one of the top scorers in the Naugatuck Valley League, scoring a game-high 20 points in the losing effort. Mick Pernell added nine points while Nolan Kinne and Adam Neveski contributed four points each. The loss dropped Naugy to 0-6 on the season. But, the Hounds might be able to earn their first win in the next week as they face Derby on Friday, Torrington on Tuesday, and Sacred Heart next Friday.

The Naugatuck boys swimming team opened the Naugatuck Valley League season Tuesday by beating rival Seymour, 85-75, in Seymour. The Hounds won two of the three relays and five individual races to pull away from the Wildcats. Winners included the 200 medley relay team of Riker Mitchell, Harald Hersted, Richard Mitchell, and Dan Buckley, Chris Branco in the 200 freestyle, William Wright in the 200 IM, Kyle Conrad in the 100 butterfly, James Vaz in the 100 freestyle Hersted in the 500 freestyle, and the 200 freestyle relay team of Richard Mitchell, Eric Hanley, Jeff O’Brien, and Vaz. The Greyhounds return home Tuesday to host Woodland at 4 p.m.

Lips to CN’s ear

“A lot of guys at the next level will say with rebounding there’s technique, but then there’s just desire. And if you have the desire to go out and get those rebounds, you’re going to be the guy to get those rebounds.”

- TOM HUNT
Woodland boys basketball head coach after the Hawks’ 66-43 blowout of Sacred Heart Tuesday night in Waterbury. Woodland is off to a 5-1 start and is atop the Naugatuck Valley League Brass Division thanks in large part due to its strong rebounding effort by Yahmad Rountree, Ryan Angeloszek, Ian Bures, and others. The Hawks will open a sizeable lead at the top of the Brass standings if it can topple St. Paul Friday night in Beacon Falls.

Tom Currier, the Hawks’ coach, was pleased with individual results in a 95-85 loss to Sacred Heart on Dec. 15. The Hawks have not swum competitively since, but the first meet gave the team a lot to build on.

“I left that meet smiling and impressed,” Currier said.

The Hawks won four events against the Hearts and had eight qualifying times for the states. That’s impressive for a first meet.

Pat O’Dell (100 fly), Eric Beaudoin (100 back), and Adam Trumbley (100 breast) won individual events while Andrew O’Dell, Eric Dietz, Pat O’Dell and Trumbley won the 400 free relay for Woodland.

“Everybody shocked me,” Currier added. “Nobody swam slow.”

Team captains Trumbley, Tony Madigan and Rebecca Bock will lead a Woodland team that may lack depth, but will not be short on quality times.

“We’re going to have a lot of top scorers,” Currier said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what wins out—depth or best times.”

The Hawks return several swimmers and one diver who qualified for the states last season. Seniors Trumbley, Lindsay Boland (diving), Eric Beaudoin and Matthew Costa, along with juniors Pat O’Dell, Dietz, Andrew Cullen all earned state appearances last year.

Trumbley may be one of the best all-around swimmers for the Hawks and has qualified in the states with the IM and breast.

Perhaps the best all-around swimmer the Hawks feature is Pat O’Dell, who qualified for the states in each of his events last year. He set qualifying times in the 200 IM and butterfly against Sacred Heart.

Dietz has qualified in the backstroke and came close to his best time in the 50 free, while Cullen nearly topped his best time in the breaststroke.

Freshman Andrew O’Dell immediately qualified for the states in the 500 against the Hearts, and could be Currier’s next go-to distance swimmer. Currier is looking to find someone to replace Will Gerard, who graduated last spring.

“Andrew could fill those shoes,” Currier said.

The Hawks have three primary divers, led by Boland, who has qualified for the states the last two years. Boland finished second in the diving event against Sacred Heart and looked like she was in midseason form.

“She looked very sharp,” Currier said.

The Hawks are in the midst of a three-week break. Currier said he will use this time to condition his team and prepare for the rest of the season.

Woodland’s next meet is on Jan. 7 against Northwestern

Woodland junior Dayna Chucta earned all-state honors by placing third at the Class S meet last Friday, a week after finishing second at the NVL championship.

PLAINVILLE – “Chucta earns all-state diving honors.” Sounds like a familiar headline.

But two years later, it’s Woodland junior Dayna Chucta, not her older sister Heather, placing third at the Class S diving meet last Friday in Plainville to seal an all-state performance of her own.

Chucta racked up 326.60 points, more than 30 points better than Sacred Heart Academy’s Kaitlyn Beaver, to clinch a third-place finish at the Class S competition. Plainville’s Alyssa Mills won the class championship with 409.25 points, while East Catholic’s Sam Russo finished second with 359.50 points.

The top-three performance was plenty to satisfy Chucta, who didn’t have any doubts she could finish as high as she did.

“I dove consistently the whole meet and kept my degree of difficulty strong at the end,” Chucta said.

The top junior in the competition earned the opportunity to compete at Friday’s State Open in Hamden, where Chucta will be seeded 14^th. She thinks she can up her score and crack the top 10.

“I am hoping for a top-10 finish but there is a lot of tough competition in the state,” Chucta said.

Unfortunately for Chucta, she’ll have to skip Woodland’s homecoming dance to dive at the Open—but she’s excited about the opportunity anyway.

“It’s a bummer I have to miss homecoming for it,” Chucta joked.

The State Open will be the conclusion of a fantastic season for the junior, who placed second at the Naugatuck Valley League championship earlier this month. Chucta was the top-seeded diver heading into the competition but fell short of Holy Cross’ Paige Wilde, who scored 342.90 points, less than 10 points better than Chucta’s score of 334.00.

“I was a little disappointed,” Chucta admitted. “I felt I could have done better, but Paige is such a strong diver and hands-down my biggest competition. But the loss only motivated me. I spent the next week working as hard as ever and it really paid off when it came to states.”

Hard work has always paid dividends for Chucta, who was expected to be one of the league’s top divers this year and didn’t disappoint.

“The beginning of my season was a little slow when I suffered my first loss to Paige Wilde,” Chucta said. “But from then on I gained momentum and really started training harder to get where I needed to be.”

The place where Chucta is now must feel good, as the junior is emerging from the shadow of her older sister, who holds both diving records at Woodland, was a two-time NVL champion, and earned all-state honors her senior year in 2008. Heather is also in her sophomore season diving at the University of Delaware.

Dayna says the sisterly competition with Heather has always been important.

“Heather has always been my biggest motivation,” Dayna said. “We are very competitive. Whenever she gets a new dive, she will tell me and I immediately start working on that dive to be at the same level as her.”

The success of the Chuctas has earned them a place in Woodland athletic history where only a select few have yet achieved—siblings enshrined on the black and gold banners in the gym.

“We have always dreamed about having both of our names on the all-state banner and it’s amazing to finally see that happen,” Dayna said.

Sure, that sounds great for now. But Dayna has the opportunity next season to break Heather’s records, win an NVL title of her own, and earn all-state honors again. Don’t think she hasn’t thought about it, either.

“I called her up first when I got one point away from her record,” Dayna said. “She knows I am coming for her. I have always been in her shadow and now I am finally stepping out into the spotlight.”

Individually, Hinckley won the 200 free and 500 free by wide margins. She won the 200 free in 2 minutes, 2.99 seconds, over four seconds ahead of second-place finisher Amanda Welch of Torrington.

Later in the meet, Hinckley also topped Welch, the event runner-up, by over 17 seconds in the 500 free. Hinckley completed the 500 free in 5:23.07.

“She’s been working very, very hard,” Woodland coach Mike Magas said of Hinckley. “She never seemed to take a day off this season. Even in practice, she swims every lap.”

The Hawks also benefited from Chrissy Leeper, who posted a personal-best times in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM. Leeper placed fourth in the butterfly in 1:07.30 and took fifth in the IM in 2:29.80.

Woodland took three of the top six spots in diving. Dayna Chucta placed second, Kim Thrasher took fifth and Liz Martin was sixth in the dive event for the Hawks.

“That was a key to our finish,” Magas said of the divers. “They’ve been working hard without a doubt.”

Also for Woodland, team captains Amanda Gagne and Catherine Goodwin swam lifetime-best times. Gagne notched her best times in the 200 and 500 free events, while Goodwin did the same in the IM and 100 backstroke.

Gagne and Goodwin surpassed expectations.

I was really excited for them,” Magas said. “They had some goals they wanted to meet, and they not only met them, they surpassed them.”

The Greyhounds, which finished their dual meet season with a 6-2 mark, featured many swimmers with season or personal-best times.

Sarah Konops had the top finish of the night for Naugy. Konops took second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.89, behind Corrina Nickerson of Torrington.

Konops also posted a season-best time in the 50 free and placed seventh overall.

Rebecca Doback recorded lifetime-best times in the 200 and 500 free. In the 200 free, Doback finished fifth overall and directly ahead of teammate Elizabeth Walsh.

In the 500 free, Naugy earned key points thanks to not only the performance of Doback (sixth-place finish), but also of Nicole Javins (fourth), Claudia Brennan (ninth) and Walsh (11^th). Brennan and Walsh earned lifetime-best times in the 500 free, while Javins posted a season-best.

In the 200 free relay, Melissa Kirschbaum, Jocelyn Brantley, Walsh and Amanda Miller earned fifth place overall with a time of 1:54.45. Naugy finished sixth in the 400 free relay with the team of Javins, Walsh, Doback and Konops.

Naugy coach Jim McKee said he was pleased with the performance of his team, which endured three dual meets in an eight-day period leading up to the NVLs.

“So far, we’ve had a very successful season,” McKee said.

Despite a 93-74 loss to Torrington, arguably the Naugatuck Valley League’s best girls swim team, the Greyhounds still produced 12 season-best individual times, won three events and left their head coach with a positive outlook.  While Naugy was a heavy underdog going into the meet, head coach Jim McKee said he was pleased with the results.

“Knowing Torrington’s times going into the meet, the outcome was almost predetermined,” McKee admitted.  “Our team needed to do the work that we did, and we swam really well.”

Sarah Konops won the 50 free, and was part of the winning 200 free relay team that included Melissa Kirschbaum, Jocelyn Brantley and Amanda Miller.  Brantley and Miller, along with Elizabeth Walsh and Nicole Javins won the 400 free relay.

Naugy’s winners were only part of the story.  The continued progression of the team may be the headline.

For instance, in the 200 free event, Walsh and Claudia Brennan took fourth and fifth respectively and earned the Greyhounds points.  Diana Silva, Martina Niebrzydowski, Brittany Allen and Rachel Fox all earned best times in the same race.

Other best times for Naugy included: Brantley (100 free), Niebrzydowski (100 breast), Brittany Allen (200 free relay), Emily Krueger (200 IM), Madison Wilson (100 butterfly, 200 medley relay), Angela Boutote (100 butterfly) and Mariah Somohano (200 medley relay).

“Almost everyone swam near best times,” McKee said, also adding, “The girls swam only 12 best times as I worked them hard in the days before the meet.”

The team’s focus turns to upcoming meets.  The Greyhounds are aiming to finish at .500 or better in dual meets for the first time in several years.

“We have two meets this week and the league championships next week so that is where our focus is,” McKee said.  “Our girls have not had a winning dual meet record in a few years, so we would like to change that this week.”

The Greyhounds were scheduled to host St. Paul on Tuesday, and swim in Waterbury against Holy Cross on Friday.  The meet against the Crusaders will be at Kennedy High School at 7 p.m.

“Our final dual meet is Holy Cross, and we haven’t beaten them in a while either,” McKee noted.  “It is all about the last week and the last meet.  We have to do our best in a few days.  I feel like we will.”

The Greyhounds enter this week after winning back-to-back meets. Naugy overcame Seymour on Oct. 1, and seven days later knocked off Woodland.

Ask Naugatuck head coach Jim McKee, and he’ll tell you it has come down to hard work. Effort has led to positive results.

“I’m giving them as much as they can possibly do in practice,” McKee said of his team, which began the week at 3-1 overall and was scheduled to face Sacred Heart on Tuesday.

The ‘Hounds have responded.

The meet against Woodland came down to the final event—the 400 free relay. The Hawks needed to take first and third to win the meet, but Naugy didn’t let that happen.

Woodland took first, thanks to the speed of Christine Leeper, Anna Boris, Whitney Stow and Sydney Corneau in a time of 4 minutes, 17.44 seconds.

Naugy took second and third places, and the meet. The relay team of Madison Wilson, Elizabeth Walsh, Claudia Brennan and Nicole Javins took second for Naugatuck in a time of 4:18.92. Barbara Martins, Melissa Kirschbaum, Amanda Miller and Rebecca Doback placed third for Naugy in 4:21.82, nearly 10 seconds ahead of Woodland’s next best finish.

Wilson, Walsh, Brennan, Martins, Doback and Kirschbaum all recorded best season times in their respective splits in the final event. This has been the Greyhounds’ rallying cry—constant improvement.

“It was one of those meets you have to learn how to win,” said McKee, whose team has six seniors. “You win those meets in your last race, not your first, and that takes a lot of effort.”

While Naugy ended the meet on a high note, it started it out the same way.  The 200 medley relay team of Miller, Doback, Sarah Konops and Jocelyn Brantley each posted season-best split times in the relay and finished in a time of 2:08.39.

In the next race, the 200 free, Walsh and Martins finished second and third respectively, and produced two of the 34 best-time performances for the Greyhounds. Even though Woodland’s Katie-Jean Hinckley won the event, Martins and Walsh gave Naugy key points in a meet that went down to the wire.

A week earlier, Naugy featured 37 season-best individual times. It led to an 85-78 victory.

Naugatuck got off to a fast start by taking second and third in 200 medley relay and grabbing the top three spots of the following 200 free. Doback (2:17.21), Walsh (2:20.67) and Miller (2:24.74) won the top three spots and each swam season-best times.

The Greyhounds closed out the meet in the 500 free and the 200 free relay. Javins took second, Brennan finished third and Rachel Goggin was fourth to grab nine points.

In the 200 free relay, Naugy won the top two spots. Miller, Kirschbaum, Walsh and Brantley finished in 1:57.36 for first place and eight points. Wilson, Morgan Fonseca, Martins and Diana Silva finished second in 2:09.08 and won four points.

Through four NVL meets, Naugy has three wins and a close loss to Watertown. McKee said it’s because of his team’s work in practice.

“If you’re going to swim four times in one meet you have to swim through it,” McKee said. “These meets confirm that they can train hard and swim hard in the meet.”

Despite the loss to the Indians on Sept. 25, Naugatuck swimmers posted 61 best times and showed their coaches that their hard work in practice is paying off.

“To get a number like that, you have to have a lot of kids doing multiple best times,” Naugy head coach Jim McKee said.  “That confirms the work we’re doing in practice, and to me that’s everything.”

The 94-88 loss to Watertown proved to a barometer of sorts for Naugatuck, which entered the season with six senior swimmers and many others still learning the ins and outs of the varsity level. In recent years, Naugy has struggled against teams like Watertown, who is 3-0 to start the season and considered one of the top teams in the NVL this season.

Last week, Naugatuck made the meet more than interesting.

“There were a bunch of races that could have made the outcome different,” McKee said of Watertown meet.

Nicole Javins and Sarah Konops, both senior captains, each won multiple events against the Indians for Naugatuck, which stands at 1-1 overall entering this Friday’s home meet against Seymour. Javins took the 200 free (2:11.65), 500 free (6:00.13) and was a part of the first-place 200 free relay (team time of 1:52.26) — all best times.

Javins, one of the Greyhounds’ most versatile swimmers, helps the team in many different ways.

“Nicole can swim where I need her,” McKee said.

Konops won the 100 breast (1:21.23), was a part of the 200 free relay and finished second in the 200 IM (2:35.10) by less than a second against Watertown.

“Sarah has developed into a real standout swimmer,” McKee said.

Claudia Brennan, who swam best times in the 200 free, 500 free and the 400 free relay, also serves as a senior team captain and shows a tireless work ethic in practice, McKee said.  Veronica Young, Jocelyn Brantly and Diana Silva, all seniors, give the team valuable options in different races with their experience.

Melissa Kirschbaum and Amanda Miller were the other half of the 200 free relay for the Hounds.  Miller displayed impressive times for the Greyhounds against Watertown.

Miller joined with Kirschbaum, Rebecca Doback and Elizabeth Walsh to win the 400 free relay, and placed second in the 100 free and the 200 medley relay. Perhaps the best illustration of the team’s improvement is the work of Miller, who joined the Greyhounds after playing soccer last year for Naugy.

Miller posted her best time in the 100 free in a time of 1:01.99 and improved by almost 4 seconds from her time against Kennedy a week before. Thanks to that dramatic improvement, Miller beat out two Watertown swimmers who finished in third and fourth places with times of 1:02.05 and 1:02.08 respectively.

“Amanda battled to finish second in that race,” McKee said of Miller. “She may wind up being one of the best swimmers on the team by the end of the season.”

The Greyhounds have a chance to demonstrate more progress when they host Seymour on Friday night.  Naugy has not beaten the Wildcats since the 2005-06 season.

Head Coach Mike Magas had faith in three sophomores and a junior to win the 400-yard free relay, the meet’s final race, for a come-from-behind victory over Holy Cross. The team of junior Katie Hinckley and three sophomores, Sydney Corneau, Rachel Gerard and Chrissy Leeper, posted a time of 4:17.30 to lead the Hawks to a 95-90 victory over the Crusaders last Friday.

The coach came away impressed.

“They were nervous,” Magas said of Hinckley, Corneau, Gerard and Leeper. “But they went out and performed admirably.”

The final race capped an event filled with standout performances for the Hawks, who bounced back after a loss to Southington in their season-opening meet. Hinckley won the 200 free (2:06.32) and the 500 free (5:33.11) while Corneau took the 100 free (1:01.6).

Leeper took second in the 200 IM (2:32.67) and the 100 fly (1:10.77), while Carolyn Luddy placed runner-up in the 100 breast (1:26.95).

Magas said the match up with Holy Cross allowed him to put his younger swimmers to the test. And they passed.

“I went with my gut feeling,” said Magas, who held off using some of his younger swimmers earlier in the meet. “I knew we were only going to be separated by a few points going into that final race.”

In Woodland’s meet against Southington last week, the Hawks were overmatched by depth. Southington featured 44 swimmers on its roster and returned all of its key performers.

Conversely, Woodland entered the Southington meet having lost five seniors to graduation last year, all of them four-year swimmers.

Magas said he has counted on Amanda Gagne and Catherine Goodwin, the team’s senior co-captains, along with fellow seniors Angela Vallillo and Chloe Flanagan, to lead by example. While they share their experiences with the younger swimmers, it’s clear that the four seniors can’t be counted on to win meets by themselves.

“In the past, the younger swimmers looked to the older ones to win races and meets,” Magas said. “We don’t have that luxury this year.  We needed to let the younger swimmers know they have the ability to win meets.”

Even in the opening meet against Southington, Hinckley won the 200 and 500 free races, and Leeper won the 200 IM and the 100 fly. Corneau lost the 50 free by .7 seconds and also placed second in the 100 free.

These early performances could be a showcase of things to come for the Hawks, who are about to face a difficult stretch.  Over the next week, the Hawks will face Torrington (Sept. 24), West Haven (Sept. 29) and Watertown (Oct. 1).

“The toughest part of our schedule is coming up,” said Magas, who then put a positive spin on the challenges to come: “This will only provide benefits for us in the future.”

Gawronski has been a member of the Cheshire YMCA Sea Dogs swim program since she was seven, and last year garnered two third-place medals in the Connecticut championship event.

In this year’s championship, the Beacon Falls swimmer racked up four individual bronze medals to go along with the three silvers and one bronze she helped earn as part of the relay squad, and her third-place overall finish in the distance.

“Emma has made tremendous progress,” said Sea Dogs coach Lloyd Goldstein.

“I have been coaching for 23 years, and she is one of the most hard-working athletes I’ve had. She has a great attitude and is very coachable. She is now reaching the pinnacle of her age group, and I feel she is ready for the next level.”

She will reach that next level by the way of Cheshire Academy in the fall. Although Gawronski went to elementary school with many who will enter Woodland High School in September, the young Beacon Falls swimmer has her sights set on the big picture.

“She has seen the numbers put up on the wall of the Woodland pool, and I’m sure she would like to break some of those marks,” said Jim Gawronski, Emma’s father and a former University of Connecticut swimmer.

“But Emma sees the big picture,” he continued. “My wife Daron is the nurse at Cheshire Academy, and when we toured the school Emma really felt that was the place for her to be. What made [it] a perfect fit was that she will be able to continue training with the Sea Dog program during the school season. That’s something that is not allowed by the CIAC in the [Naugatuck Valley League]. Emma was adamant about continuing her training during the school year.”

That training includes practices five days a week for 11 months, with August being the only break in the schedule.

Emma captured third place in four individual events at the championship meet with a time of 2 minutes, 17.07 seconds in the 200 freestyle, a 4:42.97 in the 400 freestyle, a 9:51.53 in the 800 freestyle and an 18:37.09 in the 1500 freestyle. She also swam to a sixth-place finish in the 400 IM with a time of 5:33.45. Gawronski finished the meet third in the overall distance, with a point total of 79 and another bronze medal.

“The competition is really close,” Emma Gawronski said. “It’s really anyone’s race. You need to come out focused and give it everything you have. I do all the distance races and also put in a lot of practice with the relay teams. Our relays did really well and it’s from all the practice we put into it.”

Emma was part of three relay teams that placed second and earnedsilver medals. The 4-by-400 freestyle team finished second in 4:18.97; the 4-by-800 freestyle finished second in 9:20.42; and the 4-by-400 medley team came in second in 4:51.00 with teammates Jenna Cannata, Sara Barlok, and Madeline Snow along with Denise Costello, Lindsay Smalec and Helen Park sharing the honors.

Gawronski also teamed up with Cannata, Snow and Hannah Alyward to take third in the 4×200 freestyle in a time of 2:01.55. For her outstanding effort, Gawronski qualified for the YMCA National Championship next summer in Atlanta, Ga.

“I feel I’m swimming at the top of my range right now,” Emma said. “Hopefully I can take this success on to the high school level with the goal of someday swimming in college.”

Emma’s younger sister, 10 year-old Dia, is also a member of the Sea Dogs program and qualified for nine events, but didn’t place quite as high as her older sister. Emma also likes to train in triathlons and cross country; she placed 15th among women at the recent Pat Griskus Triathlon in her first attempt.