The Conard boys swimming and diving team hosted Middletown at Cornerstone Aquatics Center in West Hartford on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.

Conard vs. Middletown boys swimming and diving. Jan. 8, 2025. Photo credit: Rosie Alonzo

Submitted

Conard boys swimming and diving opened their dual meet season on Wednesday afternoon with a 95-84 win over Middletown High School.

The meet started with the Red Wolves taking first in the 200 Yard Medley Relay behind the efforts of Nathan Lowney, Zach Goslee, Andrew Phan, and Matt Krol. Teammates James DeLibero, Yohannes Robson, Colby Dainiak, and Matthew Robinson secured third to give the Red Wolves a 10-4 lead.

Luke Scheinfeldt faced a tough challenge from Middletown’s Cole Strickland in the 200 Freestyle, but Scheinfeldt was able to secure first in the event while teammates Connor Faga and Ethan Hunt finished third and fourth, doubling the Red Wolves’ points. In the 200 Individual Medley, Phan and Krol cruised to a 1-2 finish, giving the Red Wolves a 31-15 lead, while Lowney took the top spot in the 50 Freestyle and teammates Dainiak and Goslee took third and fourth to give the Red Wolves a 42-20 lead at the break for diving.

James Auciello. Conard vs. Middletown boys swimming and diving. Jan. 8, 2025. Photo credit: Rosie Alonzo

Diving featured a rematch between Conard’s James Auciello and Middletown’s Nathan Ivans, who both competed at the State Open last season, with Ivans topping Auciello by 25 points in the March competition. Both divers put on a spectacular show for the crowd on Wednesday, but Auciello made a statement with his improved dive list that featured significantly higher difficulty dives, earning him a score of 267.45, finishing nearly 60 points ahead of Ivans.

Conard went on to place first and second in both the 100 Butterfly and 100 Freestyle behind Phan and Dainiak, and Lowney and Hunt, respectively, pushing the Red Wolves to a 33-point lead over the Blue Dragons.

Scheinfeldt and Strickland faced off again in the 500 Freestyle that saw the two swimmers locked in a tight race for the entire 500 yards. Strickland gave the Blue Dragons their first and only first place finish of the day by out-touching Scheinfeldt by one one-hundredth of a second.

Conard wrapped up the meet by winning each of the last four events with Hunt, Dainiak, Faga, and Scheinfeldt in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, Krol in Backstroke, Goslee in Breaststroke, and Scheinfeldt, Lowney, Phan, and Faga in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.

Conard vs. Middletown boys swimming and diving. Jan. 8, 2025. Photo credit: Rosie Alonzo

In addition to winning the meet, the following individuals qualified for the state tournament:

• Luke Scheinfeldt: 100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle
• Andrew Phan: 200 IM, 100 Butterfly
• Matt Krol: 200 IM
• James Auciello: Diving
• Connor Faga: 500 Freestyle

Conard travels to Wethersfield on Tuesday where they will face a tough meet against the reigning CCC North Champions.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.