Greenwich High boys swimming team continues reign of supremacy at CIAC Class LL Championships, winning the team title for the 12th consecutive season

By David Fierro on March 13, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

**Photo by Elizabeth DeHaven:** Members of Greenwich High School’s varsity swimming team gather with head coach Terry Lowe, back row, left and Jimmy Ramaley, front row, right, after winning the team title at the 2026 CIAC Class LL Championships in West Hartford. The Cardinals have won the Class LL title 12 straight seasons.

After winning the team title at the FCIAC Championships in ultra-convincing fashion, a victory giving it 55 conference titles in 56 seasons, Greenwich High School’s varsity swimming team was intent on continuing another success streak at a championship meet in the same dominant fashion – the Class LL finals.

Mission accomplished.

Winning nine events and producing numerous top-five finishes, the Cardinals cruised to their 12th consecutive CIAC Class LL team championship and 40th overall, amassing a squad score of 1,010 points at Cornerstone Aquatics Center in West Hartford. Glastonbury finished a distant second in the team standings (666 points), while New Fairfield/Danbury placed third (356) and Southington finished fourth (352 points).

Fittingly, senior captains Charlie Koven and Colin Bucaria bolstered the Cardinals’ latest conquest at the Class LL competition, winning two individual events apiece. Koven won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.97, giving GHS 30 additional points in the team standings. Junior teammate Hunter Bodey placed second in the 200-yard freestyle at the Class LL finals (1:44.36), senior Jack Smith was fifth (1:46.03) and freshman TJ Nelson (1:47.62) finished sixth.

**Photo by Elizabeth DeHaven:** From left to right: Greenwich boys swimming captains Wim McCarthy, Charlie Koven and Colin Bucaria after the Cardinals won the team championship at the CIAC Class LL Championships in West Hartford.

Koven also captured the gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 47.17 seconds. Tyler Sowka of Glastonbury was the runner-up in 48.03, while Cardinals senior William Hanna took fifth (48.59) and teammate CJ Johnson, a sophomore, placed sixth (48.97).

Bucaria won the 200-yard individual medley Class LL title with a time of 1:54.34). Matt Bergner, a sophomore also from Greenwich, earned the silver medal in 1:58.08, while teammate Connor McMahon, a junior, finished fourth (2:01.05).

The 100 breaststroke competition saw Bucaria finish first in 57.92 seconds. Freshman Gus Schuhmacher gave Greenwich a fifth-place finish in the breaststroke (1:00.52). McMahon took sixth in 1:00.69 and GHS senior James Martines had an eighth-place finish in 1:03.55.

The Class LL finals began in usual sensational fashion for the champion Cardinals, who won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:36.45. Hunter Bodey, Schuhmacher, senior captain Wim McCarthy and Johnson combined to swim a championship time of 1:36.45. Glastonbury was the runner-up in 1:38.48.

**Photo by Elizabeth DeHaven**: Greenwich High’s varsity boys swimming athletes on the podium after flourishing in the 500-yard freestyle event at the CIAC Class LL Championships. Jack Smith, center, won the race for the Cardinals.

Sparking the Cardinals at the CIAC Class LL Diving Championships on March 4th at Middletown High School was Niko Kassaris. A sophomore, Kassaris garnered the Class LL gold medal in the diving finals, totaling a score of 467.70 points over 11 rounds of diving on the 1-meter board.

Sophomore Matthew McFarlane of the Cardinals placed third at the Class LL diving championships with a score of 432.25 points. The Cardinals’ diving duo provided 55 additional points to the squad’s championship total.

Smith was the 500-yard freestyle Class LL champion, winning the race in a time of 4:44.10. Nelson posted a second-place finish for Greenwich, clocking in at 4:46.41. Freshman Henry DeHaven gave Greenwich a third-place finish in the 500 race, touching the wall in 4:49.12 and Bergner was fourth (4:50.83). In total, Greenwich racked up whopping 108 points in the 500-yard freestyle event.

The 200-yard freestyle relay Class LL finals saw Koven, freshman Hudson Maciejewski, Bergner and Johnson team up for a championship time of 1:27.62, totaling 60 significant points. Placing an extremely close second in the 200 freestyle relay was Glastonbury (1:27.95).

**Photo courtesy of Elizabeth DeHaven**: Charlie Koven, a senior, in action at the CIAC Class LL Championships for Greenwich.

Bodey was the runner-up in the 100 backstroke for the Cardinals, registering a time of 52.73, while Hanna (53.25), McCarthy (53.86) and freshman Calder Kelly (54.46) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively for the Cardinals.

CJ Johnson earned a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, recording a time of 21.75 seconds for the Cardinals and McCarthy placed a blink of an eye behind him in third at 21.94. Freshman Hudson Maciejewski, a freshman, was sixth (22.56) and senior Giorgio Michailides took eighth (23.22) for the Cards.

**Photo courtesy of Elizabeth DeHaven:** Colin Bucaria of the Cardinals won the 100-breaststroke at the Class LL finals.

Junior Dane Paulson paced Greenwich in the 100 butterfly, placing eighth in 55.72. The race was won by Norwalk/McMahon junior Christian Sanchez (50.51). Greenwich put the finishing touch on its latest CIAC Class LL championship by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay. Bodey, McCarthy, Bucaria and Koven combined for a gold-medal winning time of 3:11.60.

The Class LL finals wasn’t only a state championship meet, it was also a qualifier for tomorrow’s CIAC State Open Championships, which is held at Yale University’s historic pool at 1 p.m. Greenwich will look to continue its championship legacy at Yale, for it has won the State Open championship 11 straight seasons and 39 times overall. Qualifying numerous athletes for the State Open, the Cardinals are no doubt primed to excel at the season-ending championship competition.