By Harry Finnegan ’24
RAMSEY, NJ – With the end of Winter Sports comes the end of another great season of Don Bosco Prep Swimming. Led by first-time Head Coach Christine Fili, with student Captains Andrew Shalago (Senior), Ryan LoCicero (Junior), and Leo Park (Senior) as inspirations, our Ironmen achieved a commanding 6-2 record, as well as a 2nd place finish at the League Championships.
FIRST TIMES
Each year, the Ironmen select certain Seniors to lead the team as Captains. This year, however, things were different when Ryan LoCicero, a Junior with plenty of Swimming and Cross-Country accomplishments under his belt, was named a Captain as well.
“It’s a blessing to be the first Junior Captain,” said LoCicero, adding: “We had a great season and accomplished the goals we set out to do.”
Another new influence came from first-time Head Coach Christine Fili, former Assistant Coach from the 2021-2022 season. She made it her goal from the beginning of the season to bring the team together into one cohesive family. Certainly, from the success of our Ironmen, she succeeded.
THE HIGHS
When pressed about the best moment of the season, Coach Fili responded by referencing “the time when [the team] beat Ridgewood.” It’s not hard to see why.
Year after year, Ridgewood is a commanding team to overcome. To even a viewer uneducated in the swim team world, this is obvious from Ridgewood’s ultimately higher placing in the Bergen County Meet of Champions.
However, in our one solo meet against the Maroons, it was our Ironmen who prevailed. It was a close meet, only 86-84, the team’s closest of the season, but through the signature perseverance of our Ironmen, our team pulled it off in the final race of the meet.
The team’s next meet against Old Tappan was also close, but is less notable for the score than for how that score was achieved. Going into the final race, Don Bosco was behind by just a bit. The Ironmen needed to not just win the 400 freestyle relay, but also have the B relay finish within the top three.
Again, it was close, but the A relay pulled out a first-place finish and the B relay secured third place, locking the overall win for the Ironmen.
This event shows a picture of what enabled the Don Bosco swimmers to have such a successful season this year. The team had both the big names that could win the races at big moments, and the smaller names that could support when needed. With these two things combined, there were few teams our Ironmen couldn’t beat.
BIG MEETS
The two concluding meets of the swim team’s season this year were the Bergen County Meet of Champions and the Big North League Meet. Both meets were rather productive for our Ironmen.
The County Meet ended with Don Bosco in eighth place among the boys, up from tenth place last year. The team yielded two relays that placed within the top six: a fourth place in the 200 medley relay and a sixth place in the 400 free relay. The only solo placement was Sophomore Tristan Moore, who achieved fifth place with a time of 4:56.44.
At the League Meet, the Ironmen fared much better. The team placed second overall, behind Bergen Catholic, who had beaten us earlier in the year, and ahead of Paramus Catholic, whom we had beaten earlier in the year.
At this meet, the All-Division Team distinctions were handed out. Many members of our team received at least one, in either a solo or relay event. Of particular note is Junior Ryder Balay, who received First Team All-Division. The list of Ironman League distinctions, as compiled by Coach Fili, is provided below:
FUTURE
Every season of every sport is followed by another season the next year, and the 2023-2024 season is no exception for the Don Bosco Prep Swimming team. “Our goal is to continue to have a good season,” says Coach Fili. Then, she wryly adds, “hopefully with a better record.”
Still, the Ironmen have to be proud of their pursuits of swimming greatness. Each meet is its own journey of self-discovery and a chance to prove that one cannot be defeated easily and early. Our Ironmen must always show true Don Bosco perseverance. From the results, the words of LoCicero proved evidently true: the Ironmen accomplished the goals they set out to do in excellent fashion.
Just keep swimming, boys, and remember that next season is just around the corner. Next winter is surely coming soon.