Masuk Free Press

Masuk High School’s boys swim team faced off against New Fairfield this past Tuesday in a meet filled with both impressive swims and stiff competition. The event highlighted some key performances from Masuk’s top swimmers.

Masuk started strong in the 200 Yard Medley Relay, with the team of sophomore Mason Eanotti, junior Carter Adragna, junior Jack McHugh, and senior Brendan Kirberger claiming first place with a time of 1:52.08. Masuk also took third and fourth with teams posting solid times of 2:04.40 and 2:25.98.

Freshman Jacob Zajac picked up a win in the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 2:17.04. Kagtada finished third in the same event with 2:31.74. In the 200 Yard IM, Masuk again claimed the top spots. Kirberger led the way with a time of 2:04.70, followed by sophomore Akshaj Yerragudi (2:22.82) and sophomore Will Hardy (2:23.57) in third and fourth.

“We’re really good at our individual events and our relays, and our teamwork is really nice,” said sophomore Ayan Kagtada. “There’s not much that we have to improve on now because we’ve worked so hard, especially during this past season.” This hard work was evident with the 50 Yard Freestyle where Adragna won with 22.51, while senior Logan Julian placed third (26.08) and senior Brody Pierson finished fourth (27.15).

“They have a lot of good kids on the team, probably about five,” said Kirberger. “But if we perform well, surpass expectations, I think we’re going to win this meet.” While Masuk came out with an early lead of 41-17 in the first few events, they began to struggle with New Fairfield coming out on top in the 100 Yard Butterfly. But, Masuk managed to secure second and third. Eanotti finished with a time of 58.75 and McHugh clocked in at 1:00.10. The 100 Yard Freestyle saw similar results, with New Fairfield again taking first, while Masuk filled the second through fourth spots: Julian with 1:04.36, Pierson with 1:07.39, and junior Aidan Cammarano with 1:10.16.

In the 500 Yard Freestyle, Kirberger placed first with 4:54.73, finishing well ahead of New Fairfield’s second-place swimmer. Yerragudi came in third (5:35.26) and Zajac finished fourth (6:19.16).

The 200 Yard Freestyle Relay saw Masuk take first, with Cammarano, Kagtada, Pierson, and Zajac finishing in 2:02.45. But with Mert Baykus—who has been a standout swimmer for Masuk the past seasons—out of the pool, the team lacked a critical member. Baykus is definitely one to watch for future meets, and his absence left a noticeable gap in the team’s performance.

“I’m going to have to shout out Mert Baykus,” said McHugh. “He’s a standout swimmer this year. He’s shown a lot of improvement throughout the two years he’s been here.”

The 100 Yard Backstroke saw Masuk secure first, with freshman Matthew Buzinaro finishing in 1:10.53. Senior Will Maslar took third with 1:35.76, while freshman Jude Mathien added a fifth-place finish (1:55.24).

The 100 Yard Breaststroke was another strong event for Masuk, with Adragna and Eanotti taking first and second, respectively. Adragna finished in 1:06.21, while Eanotti posted a time of 1:10.20. Cammarano rounded out the top finishes with a fourth-place finish (1:19.81).

The final event of the night, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, saw Masuk secure the win with a time of 3:38.93, thanks to the team of Kirberger, McHugh, Eanotti, and Adragna. The second relay team of Hardy, Julian, Yerragudi, and Zajac finished in third place (4:07.46).

The final score was 86-69 in Masuk’s favor. While the Panthers were able to claim the victory, there’s still a lot of work ahead for the team as they look to future meets, especially against SWC powerhouse, Pomperaug.

“We’re going to get smoked,” said Kirberger. “They have way too many swimmers, and I don’t even think it’s possible for us to win. But at the end of the day, we just got to go out there and swim our hardest, and maybe we’ll pull off a miracle.”

Looking ahead, Masuk is focused on improving their performances and preparing for future meets. Their next home meet is scheduled for Tuesday, January 28th, against Joel Barlow at 4:00 PM.