By Michael Letendre

The Bristol boys swimming & diving co-op had an outstanding season in the pool this past winter.

And that meant more than a couple postseason awards were in store for the Bristol Central/Bristol Eastern/St. Paul Catholic contingent.

“[I’m] very excited to announce that the Bristol Coop has four All-State Boys Athletes during this very interesting season,” announced head coach Adrienne Bentley.

Those 2021 C.H.S.C.A. All-State boys swimming honorees are Gabriel Bartolome, Drew Fries, Colton Litwinczyk and Mikel Palaj.

Three of the athletes are seniors along with Palaj who is a junior and will be returning to the pool at the Dennis Malone Aquatic Center next season.

Bartolome earned All-State for his efforts in the 200 Medley relay and the 200 Individual Medley. 

Fries, a Bristol Eastern boys basketball letter winner during the 2019-20 campaign, took home the All-State award in the 200 Medley Relay. 

Litwinczyk was chosen for his work in the 200 Medley Relay while Palaj was a big-time performer in three different events (200 Medley Relay, 100 butterfly and 500 Freestyle).

That’s a testament to the work, time, and effort those boys have put into the program over the years, under the tutelage of Bentley.

And the times these athletes finished with in the pool weren’t just noteworthy but of record setting proportions as well.

In the 200 Medley Relay, the combination of Bartolome (bk), Litwinczyk (br), Palaj (fly) and Fries (fr) ended up placing 11th in the state with a time of 1:39.48.

That impressive finish helped establish a new team record.

But Bartolome also put himself in the Bristol record book by placing 13th and setting a new team standard in the 200 Individual Medley with a finish of 1:57.56

Palaj placed eighth in the 100 butterfly and his time of 51.36 seconds established another Bristol team record.

And finally, Palaj earned 14th place in 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.26 to help complete a busy season of fun in the pool for the frogmen from Bristol.  

Speaking of Litwinczyk, the Bristol swimming coop senior captain recently announced he will attend Bryant University and swim for the Bulldogs.

Bryant is a NCAA Division I institution and will be getting a fantastic athlete that’s going to help elevate the Bulldogs’ program in the pool, inside the classroom and on campus as well.