KO Swim Team Places 2nd in New Englands; Matt Luther ’14 Named MVP

The Girls’ and Boys’ teams from Kingswood Oxford each placed second in the New England Prep School Swimming and Diving Championship (Div. 2) on March 1, and Matt Luther ’14 of West Hartford was named MVP of the boys’ meet.

This is the first time a male swimmer from KO has been named MVP, and the second year in a row that KO has won this honor; Callie Miles ’14 of Hartford was named co-MVP of the girls’ meet in 2013.

KO swimmers brought home four golds, five silvers, and five bronze medals from the New England Prep School Swimming Association (NEPSSA) competition, which was held at Westminster School.

Luther won two of the four golds, setting school, pool, and Div. 2 records in the process:  He swam the 100 Backstroke in 53.33 and the 100 Butterfly in 51.51. Miles also broke a school and Div. 2 record with a time of 59.23 in the 100 Backstroke.

The other first-place finish came from the girls’ 200 medley relay -- Olivia Shea ’16 of West Hartford, Amanda Civitello ’17 of Wethersfield, Sam Pinkes ’14 of West Hartford, and Miles – with a time of 1:55.64.

KO’s other top swimmers included second-place finishers:

• 400 Girls’ Freestyle (Lauren Cooper ’15, Shea, Pinkes, Miles), 3:45.79 (school record)
• 400 Boys’ Freestyle (Andrew Zimmerman ’16, Jack Barry ’17, Jack Wolff ‘16, Luther), 3:26.36
• 50 Freestyle -- Sam Pinkes, 25.36
• 100 Freestyle -- Callie Miles, 54.63
• 500 Freestyle -- Jack Barry, 5:11.24

The following swimmers placed third in their events:

• 200 Freestyle -- Lauren Cooper, 2:00.93
• 500 Freestyle -- Lauren Cooper, 5:26.63
• 200 Freestyle -- Jack Barry, 1:55.36
• 200 Individual Medley -- Andrew Zimmerman, 2:12.95
• 500 Freestyle -- Jack Reich, 5:13.24