The boys’ swim team finished their season strong at CCS, with sophomore Tommaso Morini Bianzino getting a state consideration cut in the 200 freestyle and with two relays — consisting of Morini Bianzino and seniors Daniel Bessonov, Nicholas Bray, Nicholas Burry and Andrew Gao — qualifying for CCS finals.

Following his swim in the 200 freestyle finals, Morini Bianzino finished 10th overall at CCS with a time of 1:42.31, which was a 2.3 second drop from his best time during the regular high school season.

The 200 freestyle relay with Bessonov, Bray, Burry and Morini Bianzino also had a successful finals swim and qualified for states.

For Bray, this last season was special because he finally got the CCS cut in the 50 free that he had been chasing for the last four years.

“Last year I was 0.07 seconds away from getting the cut. This year, they dropped the time 0.2 seconds, and I thought there was no way I would get it,” Bray said. “But in my last swim of the year, which was also supposed to be my last individual swim of high school, I swam a race way faster than usual and made the CCS cut,” Bray said.

For Bray, the amazing teammates along the way who have helped him through hard practices and tiring meets are what he will miss most after leaving high school.

“Racing as a team for what we thought was the last time and qualifying for finals was the highlight of the season. When we heard we qualified for states, we were really proud,” Bray said.

Coach Kristen Thomson noted the boys’ connection on the relay as a key reason for their success, saying they may or may not have been emotional after their last relay on the team.

“This group of seniors does things without regret,” Thomson said, “and if there’s a chance they can make a best time or make a cut, they are going to give their all for the team because why the heck not.”

Although the boys qualified, they were unable to compete at states because the meet conflicted with AP testing.