Ridgefield wins first State Open title; Staples’ Olasewere sets two records
NEW HAVEN — Ridgefield completed a postseason trifecta with its first State Open girls swimming and diving championship Sunday at Yale’s Kiphuth Pool.
The Tigers, who also won the FCIAC and Class LL titles this fall, had individual wins from sophomore Lily Archibald and Riley McGerald, a state record time in the 200 freestyle relay, and a fourth victory in the 400 freestyle relay.
Ridgefield amassed 478 points to take the top spot, with Darien, the Class L champ and FCIAC runnerup, second with 388.5. Cheshire (342), Glastonbury (320) and Staples (303) rounded out the top five.
Staples’ sophomore Annam Olasewere delivered another record-breaking performance, setting a pair of State Open marks in freestyles.
She won the 200 freestyle in 1:48.20, breaking the old mark of 1:48.53, set by Daniel Hand’s Kristen Frost in 2005.
Olasewere then swam 50.07 to win the 100 freestyle, breaking her own Open record of 50.21 set last season.
For Ridgefield, Archibald, Madeline Muncy, Bridget Kelly and Keira Giles, all sophomores, won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:35.48, breaking their own state record of 1:35.62, which they set at the Class LL meet.
Archibald’s time of 54.57 seconds won the 100 butterfly, and McGerald won the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.76.
Archibald, Kelly, freshman Ava Ward and Giles put the exclamation point on the championship with a win in 3:28.56 in the 400 freestyle relay.
Cheshire junior Julia Barto was a double champion, winning the 200 individual medley in 2:03.05 and the 100 backstroke in 56.57 to lead the SCC champion Rams.
Bacon Academy freshman Riley Anderson won the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.07; and Hall senior Meghan Tiernan won the 500 freestyle in 4:58.17.
Darien’s team of senior Margaret Erickson, junior Miller Ward, and seniors Emily Kalvaitis and Natalia Ferranto won the 200 medley relay in 1:47.04.
GIRLS SWIMMING CIAC STATE OPEN
at Kiphuth Pool, Yale Team Scores: 1. Ridgefield 478; 2. Darien 388.5; 3. Cheshire 342; 4. Glastonbury 320;
5. Staples 303; 6. Greenwich 281; 7. Seymour 222.5; 8. Amity 213; 9. Ludlowe 177;
10. Wilton 176; 11. Westhill-Stam. 166; 12. Hall 158; 13. New Canaan 153; 14. Weston 143; 15. Wethersfield 133; 16. Southington 126; 17. Fitch/Ston/NL 120; 18. Conard 110;
19. Pomperaug 105; 20. Guilford 99; 21. Newtown 93; 22. St. Joseph 91; 23. BethelImmaculate 81; 24. Bacon Academy 78; 25. Woodland Reg. 76; 26. North Haven 57; 26. Trumbull 57; 28. Lauralton Hall 56.5; 29. Joel Barlow 56; 30. Lyman Hall 51; 31. Farmington 48; 32. Brookfield 43; 33. MaloneyPlatt 41; 34. Masuk 34; 35. East Hartford 31;
36. New Milford 29; 37. Rockville 27; 38. Daniel Hand 24; 39. Middletown 21; 40. E.Haven-Cross-Hillhouse 19; 41. NorwalkMcMahon 13; 42. Warde 11.5; 43. Ansonia 9;
44. Foran 7; 45. Oxford 5; 46. Manchester 3. Individual results 200-yard medley relay: 1. Darien (Margaret Erickson, Miller Ward, Emily Kalvaitis, Natalia Ferranto), 1:47.04; 2. Cheshire (Natalia Gajecki, Julia Barto, Julianna Tyler, Avery Potyrala), 1:47.57; 3. Amity (Elizabeth Bodie, Marea Li, Amanda Ford, Grace Mahon), 1:48.44; 4. Greenwich (Anabelle Guarnera, Sydney Jee, Melissa Geiger, Daisy Decker), 1:49.34; 5. Seymour (Sophia Velleco, Alyssa Toman, Kylie McKirryher, Katrine Oleary), 1:50.34; 6. Ridgefield (Mazie Pelusio, Riley McGerald, Elissa Egerton, Madeline Muncy), 1:50.84; 200-yard freestyle:
1. Annam Olasewere, Staples, 1:48.20* State Open record; 2. Avery Kudlac, Glastonbury, 1:49.01; 3. Bridget Kelly, Ridgefield, 1:52.34; 4. Ava Ward, Ridgefield, 1:52.62; 5. Sophia Velleco, Seymour, 1:53.26; 6. Avery Potyrala, Cheshire, 1:54.49; 200-yard individual medley: 1. Julia Barto, Cheshire, 2:03.05; 2. Miller Ward, Darien, 2:03.62; 3. Meghan Tiernan, Hall, 2:03.75; 4. Julianna Tyler, Cheshire, 2:07.80; 5. Olivia Herbert, Bethel-Immaculate, 2:08.88; 6. Marea Li, Amity, 2:08.99; 50-yard freestyle: 1. Riley Anderson, Bacon Academy, 23.07; 2. Riley Kudlac, Glastonbury, 23.50; 3. Ayaan Olasewere, Staples, 23.89; 4. Natalia Ferranto, Darien, 23.92; 5. Kathleen Murray, Ludlowe, 24.07; 6. Audrey Gil, Joel Barlow, 24.23; 100-yard butterfly: 1. Lily Archibald, Ridgefield, 54.57; 2. Avery Kudlac, Glastonbury, 55.08; 3. Miller Ward, Darien, 55.61; 4. Julianna Tyler, Cheshire, 57.09; 5. Grace Mahon, Amity, 57.60; 6. Kylie McKirryher, Seymour, 57.61; 100-yard freestyle: 1. Annam Olasewere, Staples, 50.07* State Open record; 2. Riley Kudlac, Glastonbury, 51.01;
3. Ayaan Olasewere, Staples, 52.82; 4. Audrey Gil, Joel Barlow, 52.85; 5. Mia Hatzis, Brookfield, 53.00; 6. Avery Potyrala, Cheshire, 53.37; 500-yard freestyle: 1. Meghan Tiernan, Hall, 4:58.17; 2. Virginia Hastings, Wilton, 5:03.21; 3. Bridget Kelly, Ridgefield, 5:04.04; 4. Sophia Velleco, Seymour, 5:05.40; 5. Kathleen Murray, Ludlowe, 5:07.77; 6. Margaret Erickson, Darien, 5:07.87; 200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Ridgefield (Lily Archibald, Madeline Muncy, Bridget Kelly, Keira Giles), 1:35.48* State record; 2. Staples (Annam Olasewere, Carly Waldman, Libby Turner, Ayaan Olasewere), 1:36.59; 3. Glastonbury (Avery Kudlac, Isabelle Christensen, Annika Paluska, Riley Kudlac), 1:36.67; 4. Darien (Liisa Jalakas, Lily Voigt, Lily Bradbury, Natalia Ferranto), 1:37.96; 5. Ludlowe (Ella Gussen, Kathleen Murray, Tatum Murray, Lily Malone), 1:38.48; 6. Wethersfield (Milena Brodowicz, Sabrina Schuster, Olivia Krout, Jilian Pitchell), 1:39.04; 100-yard backstroke: 1. Julia Barto, Cheshire, 56.57; 2. Lily Archibald, Ridgefield, 57.22; 3. Elise Richardson, Lyman Hall, 58.75; 4. Natalia Gajecki, Cheshire, 58.84; 5. Emelia Bailey, Weston, 59.00;
6. Delaney Reck, Fitch/Ston/NL, 59.51; 100-yard breaststroke: 1. Riley McGerald, Ridgefield, 1:05.76; 2. Jocelyn Niemczyk, Rockville, 1:06.53; 3. Marea Li, Amity, 1:06.58; 4. Abigayle Bleil, New Canaan, 1:06.91; 5. Sydney Jee, Greenwich, 1:07.08;
6. Ella Nadeau, Southington, 1:07.59; 400yard freestyle relay: 1. Ridgefield (Lily Archibald, Bridget Kelly, Ava Ward, Keira Giles), 3:28.56; 2. Glastonbury (Riley Kudlac, Brooke Sowka, Annika Paluska, Avery Kudlac), 3:31.91; 3. Cheshire (Julianna Tyler, Natalia Gajecki, Avery Potyrala, Julia Barto), 3:33.44; 4. Staples (Ayaan Olasewere, Danielle Schwartz, Libby Turner, Annam Olasewere), 3:33.62; 5. Darien (Lily Bradbury, Margaret Erickson, Emily Kalvaitis, Miller Ward), 3:34.13; 6. Greenwich (Wesley Wales, Daisy Decker, Melissa Geiger, Anabelle Guarnera), 3:37.88.