It was an excellent ending to an exceptional season for Greenwich High School’s boys swimming team, which capped another Triple Crown campaign by winning the final meet of the season at Yale University’s historic Kiphuth Pool – the competition bringing the best of the absolute best together each winter – the prestigious State Open Championships.

Continuing their extraordinary history, the Cardinals were once again, the best of the best at the State Open Swimming Championships, putting the finishing touch on another truly memorable season.

Displaying its superior depth, Greenwich won the team title at the State Open Championships for the 12th straight season and 40th time overall in its glorious history, amassing 685 team points before a big, enthusiastic crowd at Yale University. One of Greenwich’s rivals, Fairfield Prep, placed second in the team standings (364 points), while Pomperaug (358), Ridgefield (291) and Brookfield (274) were 3rd-5th, respectively. The Cardinals didn’t have to win numerous events to capture the State Open title, – they won two races – they did so by qualifying a lot of athletes for each event and earning a wealth of podium finishes.

Legendary coach Terry Lowe, who has guided Greenwich to all of its FCIAC, Class LL and State Open championships dating back to the 1970s, discussed the uniqueness of his current squad.

“No team has made this kind of progress in the past,” Lowe said, following the 2026 State Open at Yale. “The progress this team made is incredible. We were not a loaded team, we had a real blue-collar team that had to fight, fight, fight the whole season. They worked harder and harder to improve. I don’t think any team I’ve had has come this far from the beginning of the season as this team has.”

That is, indeed, saying something, considering the amount of GHS teams Lowe has coached over the decades.

“Going into the season, coach told us it was going to be a challenge to get here,” said Greenwich senior Charlie Koven, one of the Cardinals’ captains. :We worked harder than any other team I’ve been on.”

The victory at the State Open, followed team wins at the CIAC Class LL Championships and the FCIAC Championships for Greenwich, which also has 12 consecutive Class LL titles – 40 overall – and 55 FCIAC crowns to its ledger

“It’s such a good feeling,” Greenwich senior Wim McCarthy said. “Everyone came here, everyone worked so hard, did their best, people moved up so much – it’s a great feeling to get the win.”

Greenwich’s two victories at the State Open competition came in the 100-yard breaststroke and 400-yard freestyle relay. Senior captain Colin Bucaria concluded his impressive Cardinals career by capturing the gold medal in the 100-yard breaststroke, registering a time of 58.02 seconds. David Korzeniowski, a Bolton senior, finished an extremely close second in 58.26.

“I went into it, I knew I was the No. 1 seed,” Bucaria said of his 100 breaststroke victory. “I knew it was going to be super close. I’ve been racing those guys forever. I knew I had the confidence to do it, I was physically there. It was just the mental battle before the race and throughout the race, I just kept pushing and it felt amazing.”

“He (Bucaria) has worked his tail off four years,” Lowe said after proudly watching Bucaria earn the State Open first-place medal in the 100 breaststroke.

The State Open concluded with Greenwich winning the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:08.63, dropping nearly three seconds off its top-seeded time of 3:11.60. Hunter Bodey, McCarthy, Bucaria and Koven combined for the championship, 3:08.63 finish. Fairfield Prep was second in the 400 freestyle relay (3:09.97).

“The 400 freestyle relay, Fairfield Prep is a really good team,” Koven noted. “We knew it was going to be tough but that’s kind of our pride and joy. We were saying that behind the block, this is our pride and joy. We were hyping everyone up and we knew that that was our race to win and we got it done.”

Said McCarthy: “The 400 freestyle relay, that’s what our mind was locked in on from the beginning. We wanted to win that so bad. Everyone had such a great performance, going lifetime bests and we got the win. It was definitely emotional. I’m sad that it’s over. I just wanted to go out with a bang and be proud and I think we got that job done.”

Lowe watched with excitement as his athletes ended the State Open with a sensational gold medal performance in the 400 freestyle relay.

“To put an exclamation point on it like that – that 400 free relay was terrific,” he said. “We wanted that one pretty bad.”

Bucaria earned the State Open silver medal in the 200-yard individual medal, posting a time of 1:54.29. In one of the meet’s closest races, David Korzeniowski of Bolton won 200 IM State Open title (1:54.01). Cardinals sophomore Matt Bergner took sixth in the 200 IM (1:58.05).

“Everyone did amazing,” said Bucaria, who will continue his swimming career at Fordham University next season. “In this type of meet, the more you qualify, the better the points total for your team. I’m so proud of the team. I’m really going to miss it. But four years, I’ve had so much fun. “

The State Open began for Greenwich with a strong second-place showing in the 200 medley relay. Bodey, junior, Bucaria, McCarthy and sophomore CJ Johnson combined for a time of 1:35.73, less than two tenths of a second behind champion Wilton (1:35.59).

Koven sparked GHS with an impressive third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, swimming his best time of 46.77 seconds. Benjamin Pope (E.O. Smith/Tolland) garnered the State Open gold medal in the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 45.20 seconds. Cardinals senior William Hanna had a 10th-place finish in the 100 freestyle (48.53). Koven was all smiles after producing a terrific performance in the freestyle.

“That was awesome,” Koven said. “After the 200 freestyle, I didn’t do too well and it’s kind of hard to have one bad swim and get back into it for another, but I was really satisfied with the 100 free. I got back into the right mindset and it was a great swim. I knew at LLs there was more left in the tank and I had a pretty significant drop, which is exciting.”

One of the events that saw the Cardinals exhibit their depth at the State Open was the 500-yard freestyle. Greenwich totaled a whopping 94 points to its team total in the race, recording five, top-10 finishes.

Senior Jack Smith finished third in the 500-yard freestyle for the Cardinals with a time of 4:44.62. Hall junior Jack Ackerman won the State Open title in the 500 (4:36.17). TJ Nelson, a Greenwich freshman, took fourth in the 500 freestyle (4:44.68) Bergner was seventh (4:49.30) and teammate Henry DeHaven, a sophomore, placed eighth (4:50.09).

“The 500, it’s always been one of my favorite events,” Smith said. “I could see my opponents and chase them down at the very end of the swim

Sophomore Niko Kassaris gave Greenwich a good start heading into the State Open Swimming Championships, performing exceptionally well at the Open Diving Championships on March 12th at Middletown High School. Kassaris finished second on the 1-meter diving board, amassing 517.95 points. Darien senior Jake Simon was the State Open diving champion (552.50 points) and Cardinals sophomore Matthew McFarlane took fourth (451.30).

The Cardinals were also second in the State Open’s 200-yard freestyle relay race. Freshman Hudson Maciejewski, Hanna, Johnson and Koven teamed up for a silver medal winning time of 1:26.77. Fairfield Prep was the winner in 1:25.87.

McCarthy was fifth in the 50-yard freestyle, sprinting to a time of 21.57 seconds. Pope of E.O. Smith/Tolland was the champion (20.63), followed by Fairfield Prep’s Jack Cunningham (20.72). In the 100-yard backstroke at the State Open, Bodey finished fifth (53.03), McCarthy placed seventh (53.55) and Hanna took ninth (53.91) for Greenwich.

“The 50 freestyle, I wasn’t expecting to get on the podium, getting fifth was a good surprise,” said McCarthy, who fondly looked back on his successful career as a Cardinals swimmer.

“It was definitely emotional,” McCarthy said of the State Open competition. “I’m sad that it’s over. I just wanted to go out with a bang and be proud and I think we got that job done.”

In the 200 freestyle, Koven paced GHS with a seventh-place finish (1:43.75) and Bodey was ninth (1:44.60). Cole Strickland of Middletown was the Open champion in the 200 freestyle (1:39.40).

Following their latest conquest at the State Open Championships, Cardinals athletes jumped into Yale’s Kiphuth Pool in unison with Lowe and the coaching staff for one final, celebratory dip in the pool.

“It’s awesome, every year you go into it knowing what the team is like, knowing these past years the team was winning and winning – you just feel extra motivated to keep up the tradition and keep up the dynasty we have,” Smith said.

Koven shared his thoughts on the experience of competing under coach Lowe’s guidance and being a member of Greenwich’s storied swim squad.

“Swimming for coach Lowe really is an honor,” he said. “He’s a great person all-around. He can motivate you, make you work hard. His accomplishments speaks for itself. He’s one of the most amazing coaches I’ve ever had and definitely the most amazing coaches in the state. Being a captain for this team is really special. This is one of the best groups I’ve ever had.”