NEW HAVEN -- Though Saturday marked the Greenwich High School boys swim team's 30th State Open championship, winning the season-ending meet just never gets old for Cardinals veteran coach Terry Lowe.

"This feels like No. 1 for me," Lowe said. "This is the first one to me, because each year is different. One at time -- I live in the present, not the past."

For some of the competitors on a relatively young Cardinals team, it was the first time they took a celebratory dip in Yale University's Kiputh Pool with their coach following the meet, and they did so with gusto.

Displaying its superior depth throughout, Greenwich won the CIAC State Open title for the third time in five years and the 30th time in the meet's 42 years, amassing an astounding team score of 609.5 -- the most points its ever totaled en route to winning the championship.

"It was a great team effort," Lowe said. "For us to raise our standards in this meet is a credit to our kids, because this meet is very competitive and keeps getting faster and faster each year."

Fairfield Prep, last year's State Open champion, was the runner-up (426.5), followed by Pomperaug (298), Brookfield (292) and Wilton (264.5).

"We have a very large junior and sophomore class, so we will be back strong next year and will be competitive with the top teams," Fairfield Prep coach Rick Hutchinson said. "I'm very excited about the future of our program."

Junior Alex Lewis won the 100-yard backstroke in a State Open record time of 50.17 seconds and placed second in the 100 butterfly (51.25) for Greenwich, while teammate Ed Moss, a sophomore, touched the wall first in the 50 freestyle (21.21).

"It's such a privilege and honor to be one of the captains of this team and see the amount of work and dedication we put in pay off," Lewis said. "To win this championship is uplifting and a relief."

Fairfield Prep received a first-place finish from junior Bjorn Davis in the 100-yard freestyle. Davis was also the runner-up behind Moss in the 50 freestyle (:21.23).

"The first half of the meet I was feeling pretty bad, but I swam the 100 free well and was happy with my performance," said Davis, who placed third in the event at last year's Open.

Davis' day got better, as he was part of the Jesuits' 200 freestyle relay team that finished in a first-place tie with Greenwich in a state and State Open meet record time of 1:24.81. The race was indeed, the talk of the meet.

"I was talking to Coach Lowe (Greenwich coach) before and he said in his 46 years of coaching he had never seen that before, so it was a good feeling to finish in a first-place tie with them," Davis said.

Davis, who usually anchors the event, led off on Saturday.

"Coach wanted us to get the lead first and then hold on, so I was the lead off guy," Davis said. "Capping the day with my three best friends and breaking a record made it a great day."

"That was the highlight of the meet, I'll never forget that," Hutchinson said. "It was a special moment."

Junior Nicholas Wargo and sophomore Bryce Keblish had fourth-place finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, respectively for Fairfield Prep.

Senior Andrew Higgins claimed the State Open title in the 100 breaststroke for New Canaan, which finished sixth in the team standings (190). Higgins clocked in at :58.93, followed by teammate Edward Thunem, who finished a hair behind him in :58.94.

"As a whole, our team was going slow at the beginning of the meet, so coach told us to suck it up and step up," Higgins said. "I went out there with a chip on my shoulder and was determined to win the event. It was awesome having Ed swim next to me. He's a great guy to swim next to."

Brookfield was paced by the duo of senior Luciano De Souza and junior Daniel Krentsa. Krentsa posted a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle (21.52), while De Souza was fourth (21.70). In the 100 freestyle, Krentsa touched the wall second behind Davis (47.25), while De Souza took third (47.36).

"I just wanted to go out fast in each race and keep up with the pack," Krentsa said. "I thought our team really stepped up today and did as well as we could."

"To finish third and fourth at the State Open -- I've got to be happy with that," De Souza said. "Our team did great at his meet last year, so it's nice to see us go out and repeat our performance. We should be proud of how we're competing in this meet."

Staples junior Jonathan Blansfield finished 13th in the 500 freestyle last season, but made a huge jump up to the top spot. Leading from the fourth lap on, Blansfield won the event in 4:32.78. Wilton's Stephen Holmquist placed second (:4:37.20), followed by Greenwich's Thomas Dillinger (4:37.94).

"I had a lot of doubts coming into this meet, I knew I needed to be at my best," Blansfield said. "I knew I needed to go out fast and stay ahead of the group. This is the best feeling."

Greenwich couldn't have asked for a much better way to start the meet, winning the 200 medley relay in an All-American automatic time of 1:34.76. Lewis, Iain Edmundson, Julian Fraser and Moss led the Cards to victory in the event.

"Coach said winning that first event would make a big psychological difference," Lewis said. "It got the ball rolling for us."

The Cardinals also ended the meet in style, winning the 400 freestyle relay as the foursome of Ben Wurst, Matthew Fraser, Lewis and Dillinger touched the wall first in 3:07.96. Fairfield Prep placed second in both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay.

Michael Hopkins finished seventh in the 200 individual medley, while teammate Oscar Ike placed 14th for Westhill/Stamford, which finished 16th in the meet.

"This was my first year on the team as a sophomore and I really enjoyed it," Ike said. "Being a part of a team was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to coming back and improving next year."

Berlin senior Dan Klotz won the 100 butterfly in a state and State Open record of :49.34 and took first in the 200 freestyle (1:40.31).; 203-625-4423


State Open Swimming Championshps

At Yale University, New Haven

Team Scores: 1. Greenwich 609.5; 2. Fairfield Prep 426.5; 3. Pomperaug 298; 4. Brookfield 292; 5. Wilton 264.5; 6. New Canaan 190; 7. Glastonbury 180; 8. Amity Regional 167; 9. Middletown 157; 10. Staples 152; 11. Wethersfield 142; 12. South Windsor 140.5; 13. Fairfield Co-op 125.5; 14. Farmington 111; 15. Windham/RHAM 99; 16. Westhill/Stamf. 97; 17. Sacred Heart 94; 18. Darien 90; 19. Manchester 89.5; 20. East Lyme 83.5; 21. Norwalk 82; 22. Xavier 78; 23. Weston 77; 24. New Fairfield 66.5; 25. Hall 64; 26. Newtown 58; 27. Berlin 56; 28. Ridgefield 53; 29. Fitch 49; 30. Lyman Hall 48; 31. Platt/Maloney 45; 32. Bristol Coop 44; 32. Conard 44; 34. Torrington 43; 34. H-K 43; 34. Sheehan 43; 37. Rockville 37; 38. Branford 36; 39. Suffield 33; 40. Avon 24; 41. Shelton 18; 41. Trumbull 18; 43. Rocky Hill 16; 44. Simsbury 8; 45. East Hartford 5; 46. New Milford 3; 47. Hand-Madison 1; 47. Valley Regional 1; 47. Woodland 1.

200-yard medley relay: 1. Greenwich (Alexander Lewis, Iain Edmundson, Julian Fraser, Edward Moss), 1:34.76; 2. Fairfield Prep, 1:36.11; 3. Brookfield, 1:36.68; 4. Pomperaug, 1:38.87; 5. Glastonbury, 1:39.51; 6. Fairfield Co-op, 1:39.90.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Dan Klotz, Berlin, 1:40.31; 2. Thomas Dillinger, Greenwich, 1:41.68; 3. Christian Berg, Fitch, 1:42.02; 4. Nicholas Wargo, Fairfield Prep, 1:43.06; 5. Jonathan Blansfield, Staples, 1:43.98; 6. Kyle Neri, Lyman Hall, 1:44.06.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Matt Dagenais, Middletown, 1:53.74; 2. Alan Pite, Amity Regional, 1:53.75; 3. Patrick Savidge, South Windsor, 1:53.79; 4. Iain Edmundson, Greenwich, 1:55.77; 5. Tyler Prescott, Platt/Maloney, 1:56.29; 6. Edward Stolarski, Fairfield Prep, 1:56.77. 50-yard freestyle: 1. Edward Moss, Greenwich, 21.21; 2. Bjorn Davis,Fairfield Prep, 21.23; 3. Daniel Krentsa, Brookfield, 21.52; 4. Luciano De Souza, Brookfield, 21.70; 5. Tim Hardman, Greenwich, 21.71; 6. Nathan Zabarsky, Pomperaug, 21.77.

100-yard Butterfly: 1. Dan Klotz, Berlin, 49.34; 2. Alexander Lewis, Greenwich, 51.25; 3. James Davey, Pomperaug, 51.32; 4. Bryce Keblish, Fairfield Prep, 51.78; 5. Thomas Kealy, Wilton, 51.88; 6. John Montesi, Greenwich, 51.94.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Bjorn Davis, Fairfield Prep, 46.27; 2. Daniel Krentsa, Brookfield, 47.25; 3. Luciano De Souza, Brookfield, 47.36; 4. Kyle Neri, Lyman Hall, 47.44; 5. Neal Tyson, H-K, 47.50; 6. Edward Moss, Greenwich, 47.67. \

500-yard freestyle: 1. Jonathan Blansfield, Staples, 4:32.78; 2. Stephen Holmquist, Wilton, 4:37.20; 3. Thomas Dillinger, Greenwich, 4:37.94; 4. Jacob DiBella, Hall, 4:39.69; 5. Seamus Deakin, Brookfield, 4:41.84; 6. Dylan Swanepoel, Amity Regional, 4:41.97.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Fairfield Prep (Bjorn Davis, Brandon Cole, Nicholas Wargo, Bryce Keblish), 1:24.81; 1. Greenwich, 1:24.81; 3.Pomperaug, 1:27.29; 4. Farmington, 1:28.41; 5. Bristol Coop, 1:29.36; 6. Middletown, 1:29.41.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Alexander Lewis, Greenwich, 50.17; 2. Christian Berg, Fitch, 50.44; 3. John Montesi, Greenwich, 52.05; 4. Tyler Prescott, Platt/Maloney, 52.72; 5. Christopher Bariss, Glastonbury, 52.73; 6. Raymond Snyder IV, Sacred Heart, 53.15.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Andrew Higgins, New Canaan, 58.93; 2. Edward Thunem, New Canaan, 58.94; 3. Jonathan Frank, Rockville, 59.03; 4. Patrick Savidge, South Windsor, 59.04; 4. Iain Edmundson, Greenwich, 59.04; 6. Jordan Berger, Weston, 59.52.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Greenwich (Ben Wurst, Matthew Fraser,Alexander Lewis, Thomas Dillinger), 3:07.96; 2. Fairfield Prep, 3:10.55; 3.Brookfield, 3:11.32; 4. Pomperaug, 3:13.09; 5. Amity Regional, 3:14.40; 6.

Wilton, 3:14.74.