Staples excels at Opens

The Staples boys swimming team got standout performances from junior Zach Slater and freshman Nathaniel Boley at State Open on Saturday at Yale University. Slater came up big in diving while Boley had command performances in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke to lead Staples to 32nd place in the 56-team field with 46.5 points, beating 33rd-place Middletown (42) but falling short to 31st-place Manchester (51). Pomperaug (489) won State Open.

"I was very happy to have a good performance at the biggest meet of the year and having my teammates there back me up," Boley said.

"Everyone that was there did well," Wreckers Coach Jeff Schare said. "Zach did well and was consistent."

Proof of how well Staples did was it finished ahead of Class S champion Weston (32), who placed 35th. In beating Weston, the Wreckers finished ahead of a team they lost to in the dual meet season.

"I was really happy with what we did at Open," Staples senior captain Mac Mombello said. "Everyone was happy with what Zach did. Nathaniel is one of our best swimmers and has a lot of potential."

Going in, Slater was seeded 18th in diving and after eight dives, he was in 16th place but nailed his last three dives to place 10th with 383 points to earn All-American consideration.

"It feels really good because it means I'm one of the best divers in the country and it's a great feat for me," Slater said. "I was so concentrated and I had so much fun. It also helped that I'm a morning person and the event was in the morning and not many people were awake yet."

Performing three difficult dives to close out, starting with a two and a half, followed by a front one and a half full twist before closing out with an inward double, enabled him to move up the leader board. Nailing all three challenging dives also helped.

"Saving my most difficult dives for last, helped," Slater said. "I was very optimistic on how they'd go before I did them."

Boley finished tied for 14th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.41) and qualified for YMCA Nationals with his time. He was also .4 seconds short of the school record.

"This whole year, I tried to make my national cut," Boley said. "I've been looking forward to it since the beginning of the season. I was nervous and I wasn't sure what would happen. I knew I had to try my best."

In the 100-yard backstroke, Boley took 16th place (55.16). He did the backstroke shortly after swimming in the 200-yard freestyle relay race.

"I had a good start and I knew the person I was next to," Boley said. "I knew two to three people in the heat and I focused on my start and turns."

Boley could end his career as Staples' best all-time swimmer. He already eclipsed Jeffrey Helt's time in the backstroke and is .006 second short of overtaking Stefan Tziolis in the 100-back. Helt and Tziolis were senior captains on the 2008-09 team and are swimming in college.

The Wrecker freshman wonder-kid has already beat two-time Staples captain and current University of Wisconsin swimmer Chris Wiederecht's time in the 200-free.

"Nathaniel is a standout as a freshman and not just at Staples but throughout the state," Schare said. "If he stays healthy, he can be one of the best swimmers around."

Boley, Mombello and juniors Scott Feder and Cory Bacon carried the 200-yard freestyle relay team to 20th place (1:31.90).

"We all pushed each other and gave Staples a chance to place," Bacon said. "I love to anchor because I can wrap up the race. We were neck and neck with the relay next to us and it pushed me go hard and amped me up to go faster."

Mombello said, "We all had best times. The relay did great, Nathaniel had a great leadoff split. It was a great race and we did well."

The Wreckers hope their surprising performance will help them in the future.

"It's a young team and we hope to build on it," Schare said.