Prep continues its winning ways
Fairfield Prep has swam past most of its opponents for six decades and Rick Hutchinson has experienced a wealth of the many winning moments.
A swimmer for coach Bruce Jaffee’s teams in the 1980’s, Hutchinson served as an assistant coach under Jaffee for eight seasons, before taking over the helm on the squad he competed on in high school.
Now in his seventh season as coach of the Jesuits, Hutchinson has helped the program maintain its excellence.
“It has been a privilege to be a part of this program,” said Hutchinson, who is in his seventh season as Fairfield Prep’s coach. “I give a lion’s share of the credit to Bruce Jaffee, who created an atmosphere of self-sacrifice. It was a privilege to have the reigns handed over to me and I have been doing my best to uphold our traditions, as well as update it and modernize it a little bit.”
A 1987 Fairfield Prep graduate, Hutchinson has seen a lot of standout athletes hone their skills in the program over the years and this winter, he has several who are making their mark.
Senior Liam Colleran, the defending State Open champion in the 100-yard backstroke (50.90 seconds), is in the midst of another successful season. Colleran is also the Jesuits’ leading performer in the 50-yard freestyle — an event he placed fourth in at last season’s State Open.
“Liam is the ultimate sprinter who loves to race,” Hutchinson said. “Having a go-to guy like that in the 50 and backstroke in every meets so important. He is also a good butterflyer and is just rock-solid for us.”
Richard Nolan, a versatile junior, is coming off season in which he placed seventh at the State Open in the 200 individual medley (1:55.44).
“He can do a little bit of everything and plays a lot of different roles,” Hutchinson said of Nolan. “He always has smile on his face and he has a knack for having big swims in key moments. Whenever we needed that big swim to pull out a meet he has done the job.”
Senior Brody Biebel, who placed among the top 15 at the State Open in the 200 freestyle (1:45.65) has also displayed his talent in the sprint events, while junior Anthony Daccache has been stellar in the distance and breaststroke events.
Junior Jack Rogers has produced solid results in the sprint events for Prep over its first three meets, while freshman Thomas Kehor has paced the divers.
“Our divers who have returned have improved a lot and Thomas has performed really well,” Hutchinson said. “The divers showing a lot of confidence and have been a pleasant surprise.”
Fairfield Prep, which has captured the SCC championship 14 straight seasons and placed second at both the State Open and Class LL meets last winter, had a 2-1 record, heading into Thursday’s meet against Branford/Guilford.
Their loss came against non-conference foe Pingry School from New Jersey.
“There’s nothing wrong with testing yourself against one of the top teams in New Jersey and we have some challenging meets coming up,” Hutchinson said.
One of those challenging meets takes place Jan. 19 against host Greenwich — one of Prep’s biggest rivals.
“Our meet against Greenwich is always one that we have marked on our calendar,” Hutchinson said. “It is a great measuring stick for us and we are looking forward to it.”