NAUGATUCK — The NVL swimming and diving season is going down to the wire — and the Naugatuck Greyhounds are right in the thick of it.
Naugy, like most other teams has dealt with snow days and missed practice time, but that hasn’t stopped the Greyhounds from improving and picking up wins.
The Greyhounds finished the season 10-5-1. The tie came at Torrington on Feb. 11.
“That was a big one,” Naugy head coach Jim McKee said. “There were a lot of close touches and our guys really responded.”
The result was important for a few reasons. First, Torrington is one of the top teams in the league and has already beaten Sacred Heart — another top team.
In addition, Naugy had lost to Torrington during the last two seasons, and to hold off defeat on the road was a big confidence boost. It also showed that Naugy’s depth continues to mature.
“We have a tremendous amount of depth, but don’t have a star that’s going to win every event he’s in,” McKee said. “Everyone has to do well.”
And that’s just what happened at Torrington — everyone contributed with numerous second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishes to earn valuable points.
Michael Cocchiola (50 free) and Evan Bombery (500 free) represented the only two first-place finishes for Naugy. Torrington won nine of the 11 events, but Naugy’s depth kept them in the meet.
Peter Morrissey, Martin Lippai and Even Vaz finished second, third and fourth respectively to gain nine points in the 200 IM. Nicholas Ryan, Colby Storm and Robert Spino finished second, third and fifth in the 100 butterfly.
In the 100 free, Omari Solomon, Cocchiola and Brian Goggin took second, third and fourth.
Naugy followed the Torrington meet with wins over Crosby and Masuk.
The Greyhounds stayed hot with a 96-88 win over Watertown Tuesday in their final regular season meet. Naugatuck took first in six events, including Bombery (200 free and 500 free), Cocchiola (50 free), Ryan (100 fly) and Nicholas Fox (100 breaststroke).
McKee said this week coaches are required to confirm their swimmers for the NVL championship meet, which is scheduled for March 6 at Kennedy High School in Waterbury. Kennedy will also host the NVL trials on March 3, and the diving event the following day.
“The league is still wide open,” McKee said.
