By Michael Letendre 

This past winter campaign, it was impossible to ignore what the Bristol Swimming and Diving Coop accomplished in the pool as the program had several primetime performers.   

And one of the leaders of the team was senior Mike Palaj, an All-State boys swimming standout. 

He was tremendous over several events and as the season wore on, Palaj was heading for a big postseason finish. 

In fact, the entire squad had a powerful impact once the regular season was complete.

The Bristol contingent was undefeated over the first part of its schedule, smashing teams like Avon (96-89), Edwin O. Smith (96-90) and Plainville (95-53) along the way.

That solid regular season carried over into the postseason.

The CCC South meet took place on March 4 and the Bristol outfit nabbed a second-place finish in Meriden. 

Bristol was the runner-up at the event, just swimming past a very good group from Middletown.

There were 27 personal bests for Bristol, about half-a-dozen first place tallies, three new records established by the team and more than a couple CCC meet records fell by the wayside.

And Palaj was front and center at the league swimming showdown. 

He set a team and meet record in the 200 IM, won the 500 free – setting another team record – and was part of the 400 free relay, establishing both league and team records.

From there, Palaj hit the pool in the Class LL Championships on March 16 from Cornerstone in West Hartford, and it was more than the same for the senior leader.

He won the 50-yard freestyle (21 seconds) and then in the 100-butterfly, he took another victory – ending the race in 50.29 seconds.

And to conclude the season at the State Open event, Palaj was the champion in the 50 free, squaring away a time of 21.13 seconds.

But he wasn’t finished as he did well in the 100-butterfly, placing third overall with a stellar time of 50.06 seconds.

When his season finally came to an end, Palaj established a half-dozen new team records – including five on an individual front.

What was there left for Palaj to do at the scholastic level?

Not really and after graduation this summer, he already has his collegiate path set.

He’s heading to Iona and will swim for the program in New Rochelle, New York.