Brendan Kirberger, Jack McHugh and Carter Adragna grew up swimming for the Shelton Rapids together, and their friend, Mason Eannotti, swam on the younger teams. Their bond continued at Masuk High School, where they combined to break all but three Panthers’ swimming records, with most coming in meets this year.
All four earned All-State honors for Class M from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.
Juniors, Adragna and McHugh, and Eannotti, who is a sophomore, will be back next season, but this was Kirberger’s last one.
“It was very meaningful to have this last season,” he said during an interview at the Masuk pool Tuesday afternoon. “I think it was our best season. It’s probably the happiest it could have ended for me.”
Kirberger had rehabbed from a tibia and fibula injury over the summer before the start of the 2025 season.
He had previously broken Masuk’s record in the 200 individual medley in 2024 with a time of 1:59.37. Then during the season that recently ended, he set school records in the 100 free (47.01), 200 free (1.42.31) and 500 free (4.34.51).
Adragna set the record for the 100 breast stroke (1.00.99) and Eannotti broke the school record for the 100 backstroke with a time of 54.72.
Prior to breaking the record, Eannotti said he had swam against Kirberger for the Rapids and recorded a time of 55.65. “Right there it switched my mindset,” he said of setting his sights on the record.
“I watched video from States to see how I could improve,” Eannotti said. “I was a little slower on the backend, so I concentrated on that and it pushed me over.”
When he broke the Masuk record, Eannotti was neck-and-neck with teammate Jack McHugh.
“He came out of nowhere,” Adragna said of Eannotti. “I’m just really proud of him.”
Eannotti stepped up after an unexpected lineup change at the beginning of the season. Masuk Coach Jenna Manion expressed her belief it instilled more confidence in the young swimmer, who improved throughout the season.
McHugh, Kirberger, Adragna and Eannotti also combined to break two relay records: the 200 medley (1.38.74) and the 400 free (3.15.98).
Throughout the season these four swimmers beat their personal bests numerous times.
Standouts at the State Open
The Panthers set a team record for the highest Masuk finish in the State Open. In a field of 52 high school teams throughout Connecticut, the Panthers finished the meet in ninth place.
Kirberger stood at the podium twice, for a third place finish in the 500 free and a fourth place finish in the 200 individual medley.
Connecticut’s top 24 swimmers for Class M in each event compete at the Open, and the top six finishers at the meet stand at the podium after.
Kirberger was Class M State Champion in both the 200 free and 500 free in 2024 and 2025. The first Masuk swimmer to be a back-to-back State Champion and the first for multiple individual events in the same year.
He is also the first Masuk swimmer to be All-State in three events in the same year — the 200 free, 500 free and medley relay, and the first Masuk boys swimmer to be all state in all four years.
This was the first time in Masuk’s history that it sent four individual qualifiers to the Open. The Panthers finished 8th in both the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, which is the best relay finish at opens for Masuk
“Toward the end of the season, we shortened our yardage,” McHugh said. “It’s called tapering down. It usually leads to a drop in times.”
Tapering is a deliberate reduction in training volume and intensity in the weeks leading up to a major competition, allowing the body to rest and recover, ultimately leading to peak performance.
“When we started tapering, they started getting it,” Manion said of her swimmers. “They saw the difference. They saw results seconds on seconds.”
“I would say it’s a mindset,” Adragna said of achieving personal bests. “Toward the end of the season you go all or nothing.”
“Especially for me as a senior,” Kirberger said. “Every race meant more. It was my last chance to swim.”
“Swimming is 80-percent mental. You push and motivate them,” Manion said of coaching. “They do tend to doubt themselves and their abilities.”
Growing up together
Kirberger will attend Colby College in Maine next fall, where he will swim in the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
“Everyone is at such a high level in college,” he said. “Every meet matters more. It’s just a lot more competition. It will be exciting. It’s a little more emotional to work your way up again. I think I will definitely be able to improve on my swimming in college.”
Adragna and Kirberger have been swimming together for 11 years, so Adragna said he will miss his teammate next season.
“I’ve always been swimming beside Brendan,” Adragna said. “We were always competitive. He wanted to be way better than me and I wanted to beat him.”
Eannotti swam for the Shelton Rapids since he was age six or seven. Being a younger swimmer, he said he knew Kirberger, McHugh and Adragna, but usually did not train with them. That changed when he joined the Masuk Panthers as a freshman last year.
“It was pretty fun,” Eannotti recalled. “We had a good chemistry for the relay. We hyped ourselves up. Even last year, the old captains were really welcoming to the younger swimmers.”
Manion, who first coached her players on the Shelton Rapids, said it has been a pipeline for Masuk.
“The better teams always have a good club team behind them,” she said. “Swimming is a small community and not a lot of people know about it. It’s a hard sport to commit to. It takes a special person to commit to swimming. You can go anywhere and throw a baseball. You can’t always jump in a pool.”
Manion said it can also be hard to find swim coaches, because of all of the hours that go into it.
In fact, the Masuk boys team did not have a coach before this season. Kirberger and McHugh recruited Manion to fill the vacancy.
“I’m very happy I said yes,” she recalled. Of her players’ outstanding individual and relay performances, Manion added, “it was amazing to watch.”
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