Naugy swims to 16th at states

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NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck girls swim team competed at the Class L swim championships Nov. 18 at Wesleyan University in Middletown.

Three relay teams qualified for the finals and grabbed 64 points for the ‘Hounds. Naugy finished in 16th place out of 19 teams, while Darien ran away with the meet with 863 points.

In the 200 medley relay, seniors Cara Rotatori, Alexandra Silva and Faith Tuscano, along with junior Olivia Filanowski, finished 17th overall with a time of 2:06.30 and scored 18 points.

Filanowski joined Silva in the 200 free relay with junior Addison Best and freshman Julianna Scully to take 16th. The team finished in a time of 1:58.87.

Tuscano, Filanowski, Rotatori and Best placed 15th in the 400 free relay. The team improved their seed time by nearly nine seconds, finished in a time of 4:05.63 and landed 24 points.

Naugy entered the season with a deeper, larger roster than last season and the difference showed throughout the year. Captains Meghan Lauer, Rotatori, Brianna Searles, Silva and Tuscano gave the ‘Hounds leadership to develop younger, less experienced swimmers.

For example, Naugy received a boost in the diving event. Katie Brown and Brin Battista gave the Greyhounds a one-two punch in an event that last season was non-existent for the team. Earlier in the season, Brown posted one of the 10 best scores in Naugy history.

Midway through the year, Naugy toppled Torrington and gained a signature win with 37 best times on Oct. 16. Best and Rotatori both won two events, while Tuscano and Silva also won events.

The Torrington meet also highlighted the emergence of Scully, Amanda Rinaldi, Faith Rawding, Sarah Rawding, Briana Couch and Katie Meyer who gained key finishes to give Naugy the edge in points.

Naugy finished sixth overall at the NVLs and had several top-five finishes. Among the notable performances, Best placed second in the 500 free and fifth in the 200 free.

Rotatori was fourth in the 100 backstroke and Silva was sixth in the breaststroke. Brown took eighth in the diving event.

Brown will join other younger athletes like Francesca Spino and Megan Meghan Messier to give Naugy a solid returning class for next season.

Naugatuck head coach Jim McKee could not be reached for comment.