The Class of 2020 swimmers opened their Christian Brothers Academy swimming careers with a heartbreaking state championship loss to St. Augustine in February 2017.
Those same swimmers ended their careers with a triumphant state championship victory over St. Augustine three years later.
The Colts captured their third straight Non-Public A State Championship on Sunday afternoon at The College of New Jersey, defeating the Hermits 95-75.
"I could not be happier for our seniors," head coach Vito Chiaravalloti said. "After experiencing that loss in the state final their freshman year, they’ve been on a mission to never let that happen again."
Ben Dupree capped off his senior season with a win in the 100 breaststroke, as well as helping win the 200 medley relay with juniors Kevin Truscio, Matthew D'Elia and Walter Mehl.
Truscio added two individual wins as well, taking the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. Dupree added a second place finish in the 200 individual medley, while fellow senior Liam Morris finished third in the 100 breaststroke.
“This is the best feeling," Dupree told NJ.com after the meet. “We learned what it felt like to lose freshman year, and you always want to go out on top senior year."
While CBA may have only won four events, the Colts used their depth to neutralize the impact of any event that the Hermits won, earning more points than St. Augustine in seven of the 11 races.
Christian Brothers turned in two 2-3-4 finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
The state final win is the second straight over St. Augustine, as the Colts made sure to make 2017's loss a distant memory. CBA has now won 10 of the last 11 Non-Public A championships dating back to 2010.
"What a fitting way to end our 30th anniversary season," Chiaravalloti said. "Those seniors have set a great example of what CBA swimming is all about to the underclassmen and I’m so proud of them."