Monument, Taconic Get Back in the Swim of Things
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Monument Mountain swim team cheered wildly when its boys 400-meter relay quartet touched to complete a season-opening dual meet win over Taconic at the YMCA on Friday.
That was to be expected.
But the day’s loudest cheers may have come midway through the meet, and they were not for the fastest swimmer of the meet or even the fastest swimmer of her own event.
“Our team energy is that we never leave a man or woman behind,” Monument coach Jill Svirida said. “It doesn’t matter what team they’re on. Even if it’s someone else, who we don’t know, we cheer every swimmer on.”
This year, that sentiment means even more.
“Our team’s definitely different,” Svirida said. “Our team looks a lot different than it has in the past. Are we going to be at the top of Western Mass? No, I don’t have the numbers at that level right now, but that doesn’t matter.
“But these kids, who are new, these kids who have never swum before like that young lady, Hannah Roller, who swam the 500 for us today, this was her first swim meet for us ever today. And she got in and swam that 500 like a champ. Everybody buys into each other’s success, and that’s why the kids were so excited to watch her finish. So excited to see Gavin Santos finish his 500. So excited to see these kids on the other team finish – because we’re all buying into each other here, and that’s part of our team culture.”
Taconic coach Marisa Plant agreed.
“It was great to watch, just seeing how each team supported each other, not just themselves,” Plant said. “It was really great to see that camaraderie.”
Unlike some teams in the Berkshire County League, which had some “virtual meets” last winter, neither Taconic nor Monument Mountain have had a chance to do very much at all in the way of competition since February 2020.
The Spartans could not find even a pool to hold a “practice only” season. Taconic trained but had only one meet. It actually was in person against rival Pittsfield, but it was anything but business as usual.
“The kids, I think, enjoyed it, but it was very odd,” Plant said. “The swimmers were down in the Lighthouse [at the Boys and Girls Club], and we had runners going down bringing just the next race’s swimmers up to the meet. There was no cheering allowed, nothing. They weren’t allowed on the pool deck unless they were swimming or they were the next swimmer.
“Hearing the cheering today was almost like, ‘Oh my God, somewhat, we’re back to normal.’ “
And even though Svirida would note that this is not the Monument Mountain juggernaut of old, it did show some normalcy by coming out on the winning side in both the boys and girls competitions.
Maddy Fife was a double winner on the girls side, taking first in the 200-meter freestyle in 2 minutes, 32.72 seconds, and the 500 free in 5:25.63.
Taconic’s girls went 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke as Mia Zuccalo (1:22.28) outraced teammate Kaitlyn Milette to the wall. And Taconic finished the meet with a 400 relay win by Rachel Rathbun, Mia Bencivenga, Kaitlyn Milette and Mia Zuccalo.
Quinn Dillon, Jacob Gray and Sam Cybulski each won a pair of events for the Monument Mountain boys.
Gray took first in the 200 free (2:28.51) and the 100 butterfly (1:15.28). Cybulski won the 100 free (1:00.77) and the 100 backstroke (1:10.71). Dillon won the 200 IM in 2:33.14 and the 500 free in 4:58.56.
Taconic’s lone win came from Steve Zuccalo, who took the 50 free in 28 seconds.
Svirida said some of Monument Mountain’s swimmers were able to get some “off season” training with the Snapper Swim Club at Simon’s Rock in the summer and fall. But she understands that not all families were comfortable putting their children in indoor activities then and may not be comfortable doing so now.
“Everything right now is so personal,” she said. “Everyone has to do what they’re comfortable with. We had kids on the roster [for this winter] who decided at the last minute it was too big a risk for them. And I cannot fault anyone for that. As a parent myself, I could never fault anyone for feeling they needed to do something that wasn’t the norm to protect their kids.”
Looking down the road, she could not say whether the Spartans’ post-season competitors are in the same boat, but Svirida suspects that the Pioneer Valley powers might be in a better position to start the year.
“I’m sure some teams are [facing the same situation],” she said. “I don’t think it’s as much a collective experience because a lot of the teams out there have pools in the school, and they were able to do a lot more last year. They were able to keep that carry over that we missed out on. And there also are a lot more club teams out there that were swimming through pretty much the whole pandemic after that initial period of time when no one was doing much of anything.”
In the end, those questions will get sorted out at the Western Mass meet in February. On Friday, the focus was on fun and personal achievement.
“What I tell my team is always our mindset is: It’s never about the wins and losses,” Svirida said. “It’s always about what we individually do and collectively are successful at.”
And hard work for both teams is already paying dividends.
“We had some really good swims today,” Plant said. “We did have Mia Zuccalo qualify for States in the breaststroke, so there are still some fast swims going on.
“But absolutely, it’s like, ‘Finally, back to some kind of normalcy,’ especially for those kids who have been swimming for years. As you can see, we have almost half the team of kids who are brand new to competitive swimming. They’re working hard, and they’re like, ‘This is a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.’ “
GIRLS
Monument Mountain 88, Taconic 70
Medley relay: 1. Monument Mountain (Thorp, Holmes, Chassi, Fife), 2:24.50; 2. Taconic, 2:34.70.
200 free: 1. Maddy Fife, MM, 2:32.72; 2. Alissa Schettini, Tac, 2:33.47; 3. Rachel Rathbun, Tac, 3:27.25.
200 IM: 1. Zoe Holmes, MM; 2. Mia Zuccalo, Tac, 2:43.92; Mia Bencivenga, Tac, 2:49.21.
50 free: 1. Helen Thorp, MM, 33.59; 2. Autumn Lewis, Tac, 37.79; Emily Roller, MM, 46.04.
100 fly: 1. Zoe Holmes, MM, 1:11.94; 2. Alissa Schentti, Tac, 1:19.16; 3. Annabell Holmes, MM, 1:36.55.
100 free: 1. Carolina Chassi, MM; 2. Autumn Lewis, Tac, 1:33.34; 3. Rachel Rathbun, Tac, 1:34.74.
500 free: 1. Maddie Fife, MM, 5:25.63; 2. Hannah Roller, 8:23.17.
200 free relay: 1. Monument Mountain (Thorp, Beacco, A. Holmes, Chassi), 2:17.72; 2. Taconic, 2:29.35; 3. Taconic, 3:33.55.
100 back: 1. Mia Bencivenga, Tac, 1:20.41; 2. Helen Thorp, MM, 1:21.62; 3. Carlin Beacco, MM; 1:47.67.
100 breaststroke: 1. Mia Zuccalo, Tac, 1:22.28; 2 Kaitlyn Milette, Tac, 1:45.74; 3. Annabel Holmes, MM, 1:46.12.
400 free relay: 1. Taconic (Rathbun, Bencivenga, Milette, Zuccalo), 5:16.12; 2. Monument Mountain, 5:25.43; 3. Taconic, 7:11.86.
BOYS
Monument Mountain 99, Taconic 48
Medley relay: 1. Monument Mountain (Cybulski, Thorp, Gray, Annand), 2:09.10; 2. Taconic, 2:17.90.
200 free: 1. Jacob Gray, MM, 2:28.51; 2. Ben Bradway, Tac, 2:51.59; 3. Gavin Santos, 3:46.99.
200 IM: 1. Quinn Dillon, MM, 2:33.14; 2. Colin Thorp, MM, 2:34.37; 3. Scott Langlois, Tac, 2:51.35.
50 free: Steve Zuccalo, Tac, 28:00. 2. Zach Annand, MM, 29.22; 3. Guage Statley, Tac, 30.89.
100 fly: 1. Jacob Gray, MM, 1:15.28; 2. Zach Annand, MM, 1:30.49.
100 free: 1. Sam Cybulski, MM, 1:00.77; 2. Stevie Zuccalo, Tac, 1:04.45; 3. Anthony Trapani, Tac, 1:16.28.
500 free: 1. Quinn Dillon, MM, 4:58.56; 2. Colby Sweet, MM, 5:51.70; 3. Gavin Santos, MM, 8:22.44.
200 free relay: 1. Monument Mountain (Thorp, Manshalky, Santos, Cybulski); 2. Taconic (Statley, Trapani, Krantz, Langlois), 2:16.49.
100 back: 1. Sam Cybulski, MM, 1:10.71; 2. Guage Statley, Tac, 1:48.50; 3. Colby Sweet, MM, 1:25.03.
100 breast: 1. Colin Thorp, MM, 1:24.47; 2. Scott Langlois, Tac, 1:24.91; 3. Ben Bradway, Tac, 1:30.46.
400 free relay: 1: Monument Mountain (Gray, Sweet, Annand, Dillon), 4:31.81; 2. Taconic, 5:32.51.