The Staples boys High School Swim & Dive team had a very good week with convincing wins over Darien and Fairfield Ludlow/Warde teams.  Staples bested Darien 106-80 at the Staples pool on Wednesday, then went on the road to Fairfield, Friday, and came home victorious, 102-83.

Peter Meehan - junior, double winner vs Fairfield Ludlow/Warde, with two personal best times in 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.  Riley Twiss - junior sensation won 4 individual events, and 4 relay victories in the 2 meets against Darien and Fairfield this week.  Riley Twiss - junior sensation won 4 individual events, and 4 relay victories in the 2 meets against Darien and Fairfield this week.  Sophomore Andrew Berkowitz - double winner in 50 Free and 100 Free against Fairfield on this Friday.  Junior diver Derek Amlicke led the dive squad this week with 1st place vs. Darien and 3rd vs. Fairfield.

Juniors Riley Twiss and Joshua Tanksley led the way against Darien with 4 total victories each.  Twiss had individual wins in the 200 IM, where his time earned him 2nd place all time on the Staples record board, and in the 100 backstroke.  Tanksley won the 200 and 400 freestyles,  then teamed with Twiss, Richard Cambell, and Andrew Berkowitz for a victory in the 200 freestyle relay, and again with Twiss, Berkowitz, and tri-captain Jacob Lee to seal the team win with a 1st in the 400 freestyle relay.  Lee had a key individual win as well with a strong performance in the 100 butterfly, and Berkowtiz pitched in with second place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle.    Captain Brendan McGinley showed amazing versatility taking a 2nd place in the 100 butterfly, and 4th in the 200 freestyle;  McGinley's butterfly performance was particularly noteworthy because it was a 3 second drop from the time he swam the previous Friday vs. Ridgefield, and by far a lifetime best for him.  Junior diver Derek Amlicke had one of his best performances of the year with a victory in the 1 meter diving, narrowly eclipsing Darien's Matthew Magnotta, who has been a top ten finisher in the state championships multiple times.

Against Fairfield, junior Peter Meehand led the way with individual wins in the 200 Meter Individual Medley, and the 100 Meter Breaststroke.  His times in both events were personal bests, but even more startling was how much faster his Friday swims against Fairfield were vs. his swims against Darien on Wednesday.  Meehan's IM was 9 seconds faster!, and his breaststroke was 3 seconds better.  Overall Staples won 11 out of the 13 events contested, missing the full sweep by taking a 2nd in the 200 Medley Relay by a scant .13 seconds, and 3rd and 4th in the diving.  Other double winners included Riley Twiss in the 100 fly and 100 backstroke, Andrew Berkowitz in the 50 and 100 freestyles, and Josh Tanksley in the 200 and 400 freestyles.    Captain Jacob Lee pitched in with 2nd place in the 100 free, and 3rd in the 200 IM, and Captain Brendan McGinley had strong 3rd place swims in the 200 free, and the 100 breaststroke.

Commenting on this weeks results Coach Todd Gordon said: "We couldn't be happier with the outcomes this week against two solid opponents.  Coming off missed school and practices because of the snow, and two weeks of midterms necessarily distracting the swimmers, it wasn't clear how we would perform, but the whole team came through with some very impressive swims.  High School swimming is truly a team event - winning all the individual events isn't enough to win a meet.  2nds, 3rds, 4ths, and even 5th places can matter in the total result, and it was great to see so many swimmers stepping up to score points for us. Besides the top performers who won their events,  Michael Belpedio, Matt Lott, Richard Campbell, Brennan Herold, and Max Tanksley each scored points in several events that swung the Darien meet in our favor, and clinched the win at Fairfield for us."

Staples gets a much needed break next week but returns to competition the following week.

Photos by J.C. Martin for WestportLocal.com     Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery