The FCIAC has had such the successful tradition of annually having many of the best swimmers, divers, and girls swimming and diving teams in the state.
That tradition certainly held true in this past 2024 season.
For the second time in the past three seasons, Ridgefield had a Triple Crown year of winning the FCIAC championship and then two state titles. Greenwich defended its Class LL state championship, and three FCIAC athletes defended their individual championships at the State Open to highlight another season of great success for the conference.
The past four seasons have featured either Ridgefield and longtime perennial power Greenwich going back and forth in winning postseason championship meets and dethroning each other in doing so. Ridgefield and Greenwich both have had two Triple Crown seasons in that four-year span from 2021-24.
After Greenwich won the FCIAC championship three years ago the Cardinals followed that up by winning the 2021 Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class LL Girls Swimming and Diving Championships and the CIAC State Open.
Two years ago, Ridgefield dethroned the Cardinals in those three meets to win that same Triple Crown. Last year it was Greenwich’s turn to dethrone Ridgefield in those championship meets, and Ridgefield’s Tigers were runner-up in all three of them.
This year coach Paul Marchese’s Tigers would not defend their Class LL state championship because they competed in the Class L meet. After winning this year’s FCIAC championship, the Tigers copped their Class L state championship on Nov. 13 a day after Greenwich won its second straight Class LL state title. And then the Tigers dethroned Greenwich to win their second State Open in school history on Nov. 17.
Greenwich led a group of five FCIAC teams which placed among the top seven in the team scoring at the Class LL state championships. Greenwich racked up 1,012 points. Glastonbury (522.5 points) placed second and was followed by FCIAC teams Norwalk/Brien McMahon (416) and Staples (410.5). Fairfield Ludlowe (352) placed sixth and Trumbull (292) was seventh.
Ridgefield, New Canaan, and four-time defending champion Darien placed 1-3 at the Class L state championships. Ridgefield won with 852 points, runner-up New Canaan had 569, Darien had 535, and Wilton (286.5) placed eighth. Ridgefield scored 587 points to win the State Open, finishing 36 points ahead of runner-up Greenwich (551) at Yale University’s Robert Kiphuth Memorial Exhibition Pool. Cheshire placed third with 327 points. Four FCIAC teams were among the top five as New Canaan (262 points) placed fourth and Darien (233) was fifth.
Ridgefield senior Lily Archibald and Ava Ward, Archibald’s junior teammate, and New Canaan’s excellent junior diver Emma Kelly were the three FCIAC athletes who won their second straight State Open championship in their respective individual events.
Archibald and Ward each won two individual events and were both on a pair of winning relay teams, including being teammates on the 400 freestyle relay quartet which set the new state record, while leading Ridgefield to the CIAC State Open championship.
Archibald became the fastest 100-yard butterfly swimmer in state history with her time of 53.37 when she broke her own record of 53.87 by exactly a half second. Archibald had set that record four days earlier at the Class L state championships. Archibald then won 100 backstroke in 55.14. Archibald was previously the butterfly and backstroke champion at the FCIAC and Class LL championship meets. Ward swept the two longest freestyle races at all three championship meets, getting her fastest times of 1:49.37 in the 200 free at the State Open and a 4:58.89 in the 500 free at the Class L meet.
Ridgefield’s Riley McGerald won the 100 breaststroke (1:05.43), placed third in the 200 individual medley, and she teamed up with Mairead Luhman, Archibald and Bridget Kelly to win the 200 medley relay (1:44.6). Kelly placed third in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 free at the State Open. Kelly won the 100 free (51.07) and McGerald placed second in the 100 breaststroke at the Class L state championships.
When Ward anchored the victorious 200 free relay which included Ellen Griffin, Keira Giles and Madeline Muncy at the State Open, Ridgefield’s time of 1:35.51 was just a scant 0.03 of a second off the current state record of 1:35.48 set two years ago by Ridgefield’s all-sophomores quartet of Archibald, Muncy, Kelly and Giles. This year Kelly, Giles, Archibald and Ward ended the meet in fine style when they set the new state record of 3:25.01 in the 400 freestyle relay, going 1.29 seconds faster than the old record (3:25.30) set by that very same foursome two years ago in the 2022 Class LL state championship meet.
Emma Kelly has maintained a recent run of New Canaan having excellent divers. Last year she won the State Open by 65.75 points with her score of 484.65 points and this year she scored 526.3 points to finish 39.7 points ahead of Newington’s Myranda Parker (486.6). The state record is still the 534.75 points scored by Rachel Burston of Westhill/Stamford at the 2015 State Open.
Sena Bozkurt placed second in the 100 fly (54.16) and third in the 100 backstroke (56.31), and Wesley Wales was runner-up in the 200 free (1:50.82) and fourth in the 100 free while helping lead Greenwich to second place at the State Open.
Those two previously racked up big points to help lead coach Brendan Heller’s Cardinals to their convincing victory at the Class LL state championship meet. Bozkurt won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, and Wales won the 200 free and placed second in the 100 free (51.66).
Kristen Jacks scored 400 points and her teammate Olivia DeVito was just behind her with 399.1 points to help the Cardinals place 1-2 in diving at the Class LL meet. Also contributing to Greenwich’s Class LL crown: Ellison Charette won the 500 freestyle (5:02.87) after placing second in the 200 free (1:54.27), Melissa Geiger was runner-up in both the 100 fly (58.33) and 500 free (5:05.35), Kensington Worden placed second in the 50 free (24.2) and third in the 100 free (53.0), while Emma Stehmann (1:08.27) and Isabel Guzman (1:08.30) placed second and third, respectively in the 100 breaststroke.
Greenwich scored 180 points by sweeping all three relay events. The foursome of Julia Kozma, Guzman, Bozkurt, and Sara Jee won the 200 medley relay (1:49.72). Wales, Worden, Charette and Lily Norton teamed up to win the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.88). The Cardinals surpassed 1,000 team points in the final event when they won the 400 free relay (3:33.97) with the quartet of Charette, Annalie Whitridge, Ainsley Sahrbeck, and Wales.
Ella Gussen of Fairfield Ludlowe won the 200-yard individual medley (2:05.75) at the Class LL state championships and was runner-up at the State Open in the 200 IM.
Darien freshman Charlotte VanDerzee won the 50 freestyle (23.73) and was runner-up in the 100 free (51.11) at the State Class L championships and then she placed third at the State Open in both the 50 freestyle (23.47) and 100 free.
Emma Giafardino, a freshman for the Norwalk/McMahon cooperative program, won the 100 breaststroke (1:05.42) and was runner-up in the 200 IM (2:08.51) at the Class LL meet and then she placed third at the State Open in the 100 breaststroke.
Fairfield Warde’s Adrianna Spelman was fourth in the 100 backstroke (56.62) at the State Open after she placed third in the backstroke at the Class L meet.
Pomperaug won the Class M state championship with 748 points and St. Joseph placed sixth with 279 points as the only FCIAC team. Maegan Grisanti won the 100 butterfly (58.65) and placed second in the 200 free (1:55.49), and Emmy Beach was runner-up in the 500 free (5:16.05) to lead St. Joseph.
NOTES: Lily Archibald was selected the Swimmer of the Year to lead the 2024 GameTimeCT All-State Girls Swimming and Diving First Team which consisted of 12 athletes statewide, including eight FCIAC athletes. The other seven all-state first-teamers from the FCIAC were Archibald’s Ridgefield teammates Bridget Kelly, Riley McGerald and Ava Ward; Greenwich’s Sena Bozkurt and Wesley Wales; New Canaan diver Emma Kelly and Darien’s Charlotte VanDerzee.
New Canaan’s Leni So and the Greenwich trio of Ellison Charette, Melissa Geiger and Kristen Jacks made the GameTimeCT All-State Girls Swimming and Diving Second Team. Emma Giafardino of Norwalk/McMahon, Ridgefield’s Keira Giles, St. Joseph’s Maegan Grisanti, and Greenwich’s Julia Kozma were All-State Honorable Mention.