On January 16th, 2026, the Torrington High School Boys’ Swim Team won their Tri-meet against Kennedy and Wilby High School at the YMCA, securing their first and second wins of the season.
Kicking off, seniors Nick Borja (Backstroke) and Matt Tsai (Breastroke), along with sophomores Jack Riley (Fly) and Michael Ahlman (Freestyle) won the 200 medley relay, breaking their personal records and starting the meet strong.
This pattern of victories would continue with THS sweeping the freestyle individual events and the 400 relay. Junior Jake Jaskelewicz won the 500 free, a highlight for classmate Michael Ahlman, who said it was “the most exciting event to watch.”
Senior Matt Tsai agreed. “At the last 25 yards of Jake’s 500, we all did a crazy loud Raiders chant. Seeing Jake get faster to the chants just makes the scene even more hyped.”
Alongside this win, some impressive moments included senior Abe Radwan’s win in the 50 freestyle, senior and captain Nick Borja placing second in his first-ever attempt at the 100m butterfly, and senior Matt Tsai’s win in the 100m breaststroke.
While the boys dominated the Tri-meet, Jaskelewicz emphasizes the need to “stay humble.”
“We have the talent to put on a show, it just takes time and refinement to make it worth watching.” Borja continued this by mentioning, “The season has been going pretty well, but there’s plenty of progress left.”
Ahlman echoed this: “We have grown a lot as a team, and I see much improvement in our future.”
Winning is tough when the team is so small. There are ten swimmers on the team, but only seven who score for Torrington. In swim meets, individuals are limited to four total events (including relays); with 11 total races and three entries allowed per race, winning is often a numbers game.
It is also about momentum, giving this win added significance. Ahlman said, “[This] win gives us momentum and motivation to keep up our hard work and prove that our numbers don’t define how determined we are as a team.”
Despite the small number of swimmers, the swim team continues to fight against the odds. According to coach Brian Arnold, “We’ll take every W we can get.” He credits the team’s bond for the success they are having.
“The team is bonding well and supporting each other at practices and meets, which goes a long way in developing the right chemistry heading into the championship portion of our season.”
As the season progresses and the boys celebrate their win, they continue to swim their way to success, becoming great swimmers. This goes to show that our swimmers shouldn’t be underestimated. As Tsai puts it, “Although we’re small in numbers, we’re big in spirit.”
