By Larry Moko
Swimmers from Bishop Ryan Catholic Secondary School have resurfaced stronger than ever after a two-year shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BR's Celtics won the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic swimming championship the year prior to the forced layoff and, upon resumption, they've captured the team title for each of the past three seasons.
The latest first-place finish came Tuesday at the McMaster University Pool.
BR ended up with 1,047 points, followed by the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals (821), Bishop Tonnos Titans (660), St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves (654), St. Mary Crusaders (528), Cathedral Gaels (488) and St. Thomas More Knights (455).
The city meet served to qualify both club and high school competitors for next Thursday's Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference final at McMaster. The top three placings in each event advance along with those who achieved GHAC qualifying times.
"We finished first due to the hard work and determination of the swimmers," Bishop Ryan head coach Kelly Janssens said.
The Celtics were led by Domenic Gazzola who, due to the effects of a shoulder injury which may require surgery, has switched to freestyle events rather than the butterfly. He has been an OFSAA participant the last two years.
Gazzola won two 15-and-over freestyle individual events this year -- the 200m and 100m. In addition, he was a member of BR's first-place finishers in the 200m medley relay and 200m freestyle relay.
"Domenic is an amazing athlete," Celtics co-coach Mike Hall said. "He's very versatile. He's pushing through even though he's dealing with a couple of injuries. He's doing what he can.
"He's done a wonderful job of bringing the team together and leading it."
In other action, an impressive group of young swimmers from Cathedral made their mark.
"We've got quite a few swimmers that placed in the top three," Gaels coach Lori Raftis said. "We have a lot of juniors compared to last year when our seniors graduated. So we're basically starting from scratch. That's a good thing, though, because they're all eager to learn. It's a good core (32 members) of kids."
Cathedral's Joshua Agapay, 14, is a first-year competitor who won the boys' 50m backstroke.
"I enjoy the adrenalin rush that you get from it," he said. "It's been a great experience. The coaches are good and I've improved a lot."
Said Raftis: "Joshua is doing great. He's beating his personal best every time. He's pushing himself harder and harder, asking for pointers and what he can do at home."
Agapay's older sister, Janine, was also part of Cathedral's senior girls' 200m medley relay team that came first.
Over with the Bishop Tonnos contingent, coach Anne Howell was pleased by the Titans showing where 17 qualified for regionals.
"We are in third place overall as a school in our board and that's huge," Howell said. "Our school went years without a swim team until I started one up last year. We had a small group then but now it's grown to 22 athletes (eight club swimmers, 14 high school)."
Howell said aside from the performance of BT's GHAC qualifiers, her biggest thrill was watching the development of her high school entrants.
"Some of these kids when they first came in could barely swim a lap," she said. "Now, they are competing, actually placing and moving on to GHAC. It's been really nice to see the team come together."
The OFSAA championships are scheduled for March 4-5 at Toronto's Pan Am Sports Complex.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
