In season’s past, boys’ swimmers from Guilford trained with and competed alongside their colleagues from Branford, but couldn’t score points during regular season meets because they weren’t on the team. This year, however, Branford and Guilford pooled their resources by becoming a co-op squad and the campaign went swimmingly for everyone.

Ten of the team’s athletes live in Branford with five hailing from Guilford and together they posted a 5-4 regular season record, then took fourth at the SCC Championship. Last week, Branford-Guilford (Bfd-Gfd) completed its season at the Class LL and State Open championships and came away with seventh and 14th place, respectively.

Ray Beaulac, a Branford swimming alum who was in his third year as head coach, felt pleased to see athletes from different schools work in tandem to achieve their common goals this year.

“They’ve been training together for years and so it was about time that Guilford could score points for the boys they trained with every day. It was a great team-bonding experience that really brought out the best in everyone from both schools,” said Coach Beaulac, who was assisted by Steve Sawyer. “Without a doubt, [the chemistry formed the last few years] carried over and we got some new guys on the team who added to that collective chemistry. When you get a larger number of guys working together and fighting for each other, it sets the tone for everyone to do their best. It made for an excellent season.”

Bfd-Gfd’s regular season featured a 97-86 victory versus Hand, but Beaulac was also impressed with how his club performed in losses to perennial heavyweights Amity and Cheshire. Then at the SCC Championship, the Hornets received victories from Guilford junior Corey Gambardella in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle. This set the stage for the Class LL meet and Bfd-Gfd placed seventh while competing against Connecticut’s top squads.

“We were honestly shocked,” Beaulac said. “We had nine guys total in the meet and no divers. With it being our first year in LL, we weren’t sure what to expect and the fact that we were ranked seventh was incredible for the guys. We were exceptionally pleased about taking seventh with those few numbers. It was a real treat.”

Bfd-Gfd’s best showing came from Gambardella, who finished second in the 100-yard butterfly and was third for the 200 freestyle. Gambardella swam a personal-best time of 49.78 seconds in the butterfly and was only behind Greenwich senior John Montesi, who broke his own Class LL record with a 48.41. Gambardella came back to set another personal best with his third-place finish in the 200 free by going 1:41.99. Then at the State Open, Gambardella was again second in the butterfly with his 49.03, which would have broken Montesi’s record for that meet, but Montesi reset his own top mark once more by going 48.32 to take first. Gambardella also placed fourth in the 200 free at 1:40.63.

“I think it’s easy to look at Corey and see his talent and times and just say, ‘Wow, what a phenomenal swimmer,’ but what really stood out to me was his dedication to the guys around him and his maturity. His ability to lead, even at a younger age, really impressed me. He pushed himself to do his best and made those around him better,” said Coach Beaulac. “His performance was excellent. He still has a few seconds that he wants to shave off, but that’s Corey in a nutshell. He has the ability to do incredible things, but he constantly strives to do better each time. He’s not willing to settle for times that most kids would be thrilled with. He’s consistently pushing the envelope.”

Gambardella was also part of two relays that turned in solid showings. Bfd-Gfd’s 200 freestyle of Guilford senior Cole Horton, Branford senior Thomas Shao, Guilford senior Eric Weidman, and Gambardella finished fifth with a mark of 1:31.17 and that same quartet later placed sixth in the 400 freestyle at 3:18.25. At the Open, they were 10th for the 200 (1:30.38) and 13th in the 400 (1:30.38).

Horton, Weidman, and Shao captained the Hornets with Branford senior Kevin Jin this season. Weidman set two personal bests at states by placing eighth in the 500 freestyle (4:52.66) and ninth in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:00.01, which is the fastest mark in program history. He then took 21st (4:53.75) in the 500 free and 20th in the breaststroke (1:02.07) at the Open. Jin placed 11th in the 100 butterfly with a personal-best t54.63 at the Class LL meet.

“Eric is a tough kid; tough as nails. During practices, he’s the first one to catch you if you slack off and the last one out of the whole group to slack off. He probably has one of the hardest work ethics I’ve ever seen and really sets high personal goals,” Beaulac said. “Kevin is a great kid to be around. He’s funny and, when we’re having a tough practice, he’s the one to lighten the mood. He also steps up in the biggest meets and I couldn’t have been more proud to see him set personal bests in [the butterfly and 200 IM] this year. He has an unbelievable work ethic and dedication to the sport. “

Meanwhile, Horton took 12th in the 50 freestyle (50.14) with Shao in 24th (51.84) and Shao also found 18th place for the 200 freestyle at 1:52.28 in Class LL. Horton was additionally 21st in the 50 freestyle in 23.15.

“As a captain, Cole was a strong leader and a vocal leader and probably also one of the best student-athletes I’ve had the privilege of coaching. He’s a straight-A student and a straight-A swimmer—an unbelievable kid to be around,” Beaulac said. “All season long, Thomas was our go-to guy in anchoring relays against the toughest competition. He has nerves of steel and never hesitated to give it his all in any race. I was impressed with him this season.”

Additionally at the Class LL meet, Bfd-Gfd’s 200 medley relay of Branford junior Alek Karosas, Guilford sophomore David Alstott, Jin, and Branford junior Aleandro Hanaj finished 10th with a season-best 1:42.88 and then they were 18th at the Open (1:42.93); Alstott swam to two personal bests by placing 15th in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.12) and 22nd in the 200 IM (2:04.57), Karosas was 20th for the 50 free in 23.13, and junior Kyle Boucher finished 19th in the 100 breaststroke with a personal-best 1:02.11.

“David came out of the blue. We were working on a second event compared to his main event, the breaststroke, and he did so well by the end of the year. He dropped a ton the last few weeks. Alek works tremendously hard and always seems to come out on top. This year, he did it with flying colors and I’m extremely proud of how he did at states and the SCC meet, in particular,” said Beaulac. “Kyle was the unsung hero of the meet. He didn’t start swimming until freshman year and last year he was a 1:07 and struggling to get under 1:10. The last two weeks, he dropped from a 1:07 to a 1:04 and then 1:02, which is our seventh all-time fastest breaststroke. And he still has a year to go.”

Bfd-Gfd featured few other athletes on its roster this season in swimmer/diver Aidan O’Callahan, a senior from Guilford; along with Branford students in senior Omar Syed, junior swimmer/diver Paul Rosenberg, junior Dylan Williams, and freshmen Ryan Williams and Adballa Syed.