Naugy swimmer competes at nationals

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Naugatuck High swimmer Brian Goggin competed at the YMCA Long Course National Championships in Greensboro, N.C. July 31 through Aug. 4. –FILE PHOTO

NAUGATUCK — Over the past two seasons, Naugatuck High swimmer Brian Goggin has been gaining a reputation in the NVL as a fierce competitor. As Goggin heads into his senior year, the Naugy speedster took it up a notch this summer by competing at the YMCA Long Course National Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

Goggin wasn’t the only NVL swimmer that made the trip to North Carolina with the Sea Dogs, a team that is run through the Cheshire YMCA and coached by Sean Farrell.

Holy Cross swimmers Jack Tucker and Lucas Griscavage, Naugatuck resident and Sacred Heart swimmer Dan Walsh, and Spencer Moran from Oxford also swim for the Sea Dogs and qualified for the nationals.

“It’s funny, during the NVL season we won’t even talk to one another we are such rivals,” Goggin said. “But now here we are teammates and our slogan was ‘Valley Boys Forever.’”

Farrell has an impressive coaching resume. He was an assistant coach at Arizona State University from 1995-98, worked with 10 Olympians, and earned All-American honors in swimming at Southern Connecticut State University where he served as an assistant coach from 1993-95.

“I joined the Sea Dogs last year and they bring about 30 kids to the nationals who qualify,” Goggin said. “They hold two nationals, one in the spring and one in the summer. When I qualified for the summer nationals I posted a standard which will allow me to compete in the short course next spring as well as the long course next summer.”

Goggin has put up some impressive numbers in the NVL, including winning the 50 freestyle and taking second in the 100 freestyle at last year’s league championships.

“Dan Walsh has been to the nationals five times now, and for the rest of us it was our first time,” Goggin said. “All in all I thought I did pretty well competing against the best swimmers across the country.”

The Sea Dogs competed at nationals from July 31 through Aug. 4. Goggin finished 38th in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.25 among over 100 participants. On the second day of the competition, he dropped his time in the 100 butterfly to 59 seconds but fell to 55th place.

“I was hoping to break into the top 40 but everyone dropped considerable time the next day,” Goggin said. “The competition was just crazy. It was a great experience.”

He also posted a 28.92 in the 50 butterfly that put him in 61st place and a 25.74 in the 50 freestyle that had him 99th out of 120 swimmers.

“I’m very fortunate to have two coaches like Jim McKee and Sean Farrell. They are amazing coaches,” Goggin said. “I’m looking forward to my senior year after finishing runner-up (as a team) in the NVL the last two years.

“Sammy Ayash, Zach Alves and Elliot Dupont along with myself are the captains this year and we have a good core of guys coming back. I think we can really give Holy Cross a run for it.”