By Rich DePreta

NEW HAVEN — It was a battle to the finish, but history won out once again for the Cardinals.

The Greenwich High School boys swim program won its sixth consecutive State Open Championship Saturday at Yale University.

Greenwich had defeated Fairfield Prep by 190 points in the Class LL championship earlier this week.

Saturday was a different story as Greenwich (427.5 points) led the Jesuits (425) by 2.5 points going into the last of 12 events.

However, the Cardinals won the 400 Yard freestyle relay in 3:09.60 thanks to MacKenzie Baxter, Segundo Rienhardt, Stephan Todorovic and Charles Clark. Prep competed in the second of the four heats to place 11th in the event.

Greenwich finished the afternoon with 487.5 points to hold off Fairfield Prep (457). Staples (408) was third followed by Ridgefield (373), Pomperaug (302.5), Darien (281) and New Canaan (264).

For Greenwich, it was its eighth State Open plaque in the last 10 years and 35 Open titles overall since 1971.

Greenwich won Saturday without a first place finish in an individual event.

“For a long while we were hanging on for dear life,” said Greenwich’s coach Terry Lowe, who took his annual jump in the Yale pool. “I thought our margin would be single digits late. But every kid swam their best. They understood that every place and every point in every heat was important. This is a novice group without a lot of experience. They expended a lot of energy in winning the FCIAC and Class LL championships. Winning the final relay today was a great exclamation point.”

Fairfield Prep, which defeated Greenwich, 4-2, in the Division I hockey final Saturday, received an amazing effort from its group.

“It was a fantastic day,” Fairfield Prep coach Rick Hutchinson said. “I didn’t think we’d be that close, (but) Greenwich certainly earned this title.”

Prep senior Oliver Rus swam a leg on a winning relay that also featured Liam Colleran, Stanislav Yarmoussik and Will Duffy. He also won the 50 yard free in 20.53. He swam anchor on the winning 200 free relay. And he captured the 100 yard breaststroke by .01 in 55.18.

Junior Liam Colleran won the 100 Yard backstroke and swam relay legs for Prep.

Alfred North Hansen of ND-West Haven was more than five seconds back at 1:40.28 of Ridgefield’s Kieran Smith in the 200 free as runner-up. He was also second to Smith in the 500 Free.