The Middletown boys swimming team continued its impressive run as a program this season. The Blue Dragons finished 11-4 in the regular season and were the CCC South champions, finishing with a perfect division record. In the midst of preparing for the conference and then state championship meets, Middletown head coach Trevor Charles spoke with the Eye about what makes his squad a force to be reckoned with in the postseason meets.
Middletown Eye: Your team went 11-4 during the regular season and finished undefeated and in first place in the CCC South with a 5-0 record. How much of a success would you declare this past regular season to have been?
Trevor Charles: I’m pretty pleased with how the regular season went. Our effort was very strong every time out and the meets we lost were close.
ME: Are there any meets you would single out as your team’s standout efforts? Even if they may have been loses?
TC: The Farmington meet was our best. They are a very strong team and we lost in the very last rely at their place. Our performances that day were fantastic.
ME: You went undefeated in the CCC South and won the division handily. Can you identify any one reason why you were so ahead of your competition in the division?
TC: The swimming teams in the CCC South are a little weaker than the ones in the rest of the conference. We just had more depth than our competition.
ME: What area would you say your team is the strongest in?
TC: We are very solid in the IM events and all our relays are strong.
ME: And what area would you say the squad is the weakest in?
TC: Our team doesn’t have anyone who’s particularly strong in the freestyle sprinting events.
ME: You have two outstanding divers in sophomores Adam Gauthier and Michael Kinney. How high do you believe the two of them could finish in the CCC Diving Championship on March 1st?
TC: I see them finishing in second and third place. They have had some great performances in our final few meets.
ME: Which swimmers were standouts for the team this season?
TC: There were a group of swimmers-Ethan Cooke, Matt Dagenais, Simon Arias and Ronny Vaughan-who were incredibly consistent. They brought home some serious points for us.
ME: You are an obvious favorite in the CCC South championships that are happening March 3rd. How many points do you expect to win by, and which events do you expect the team to win?
TC: We should win very comfortably. Right now with how the standings are laid out for the championships we should theoretically win by 175 points. And I feel like we should easily win every relay.
ME: You said to me that half of your swimmers have already qualified for the Class L trials and you expect more to qualify this weekend. Considering you should send a fairly large group to the class finals, how high do you believe the team can finish, and in what events should your highest finishes be in?
TC: I hope to have 12 or 13 swimmers qualify and for the team to finish in the top five overall. Our 200 free and 400 free relays should both be near the top.
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