By Michael Letendre
MIDDLETOWN – The boys swimming coop from Bristol performed well at the recent Class LL championship meet on Thursday in Middletown.
The combination of swimmers at Bristol Central, Bristol Eastern and St. Paul Catholic high schools ended up in 12th place overall – notching 185 points, one spot behind eleventh place Enfield (186 points).
Bristol placed in nine of the 12 events as several athletes made good finishes in the pool at the annual title tilt.
Bristol freshman Aidan Palaj made impressive finishes up and down the line up as he performed extremely well in the 500-yard freestyle.
Palaj took home sixth place with a time of 4:44.02, the best placing by any athlete from Bristol that day.
In the 400-yard freestyle, the grouping of Palaj, Ryleigh Dionne, Tommy Massotti and Davis Kroll came in eighth place with a finish of 3:27.21. And the team of Kroll, Dionne, Massotti and Palaj nabbed 10th place in the 200-yard medley relay (1:47.46).
Palaj wasn’t finished as he tagged the wall in 10th place during the 200-yard freestyle.
He chimed in with an ending of 1:45.39 while Kroll earned 11th place in the 100-yard backstroke (56.91 seconds).
Then the crew from Bristol made a couple of 13th place finishes in both the 50-yard freestyle and 200 yard freestyle relay.
In the 50, Kroll ended his race in 22.92 seconds while the grouping of Ibrahim Hakan Nizam, Miles Jennings, Christopher Mika, and Cristian Cortina finished the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.23.
Massotti (100-yard butterfly) ended his event in 17th place (57.75 seconds) and then in the 200-yard individual medley, Dionne placed 23rd overall in 2:15.49.
The battle for first place at the meet wasn’t in much doubt as Greenwich easily won the Class championship behind a 924-point showing.
The runner-up finish was up in the air as Ridgefield (496 points) just squeaked by Glastonbury (495).
Southington (431) took home fourth place, Hamden (397.5) earned fifth while the coop from Fairfield (371.5) finished in sixth.
Here are the full results from the title meet in Middletown:
Bristol Boys Swimming – Class LL Championship
Thursday, March 16
from Middletown
Overall Finish
Team Standings
Place School Points
1 Greenwich 924
2 Ridgefield 496
3 Glastonbury 495
4 Southington 431
5 Hamden 397.5
6 Fairfield Coop 371.5
7 Staples 351
8 Norwalk-McMahon 345
9 Westhill-Stamford 290
10 Platt-Maloney 228
11 Enfield 186
12 Bristol Coop 185
13 Trumbull 105
14 Norwich Free A. 66
15 East Hartford 59
16 West Haven 48
17 Danbury 24
18 Manchester-RHAM 14
Individual Finishes – Bristol Coop Finishes
200-yard medley relay
Davis Kroll, Ryleigh Dionne, Tommy Massotti and Aidan Palaj – 10th place (1:47.46).
200-yard freestyle
Aidan Palaj – 10th place (1:45.39)
200-yard individual medley
Ryleigh Dionne – 23rd place (2:15.49)
50-yard Freestyle
Davis Kroll – 13th place (22.92 seconds)
100-yard butterfly
Tommy Massotti – 17th place (57.75 seconds)
500-yard freestyle
Aidan Palaj – 6th place (4:44.02)
200-yard freestyle relay
Ibrahim Hakan Nizam, Miles Jennings, Christopher Mika, Cristian Cortina – 13th place (1:42.23)
100-yard backstroke
Davis Kroll – 11th place (56.91 seconds)
400-yard freestyle
Aiden Palaj, Ryleigh Dionne, Tommy Massotti, Davis Kroll – 8th place (3:27.21)
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