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WARREN — Over the past three years, Warren Woods Tower boys swim and dive has been one of the more dominant teams in the Macomb Area Conference.
Winning the dual meet and league meet titles in the MAC-Bronze in 2021, Warren Woods Tower has gone on to claim both titles for two straight seasons in the MAC-Gold, but this year had something a little extra attached to it.
For the first time in school history, the team went undefeated in the regular season, earning a perfect 10-0 record.
Warren Woods Tower coach John Portalski said it wasn’t on the team’s mind until they started to catch fire early in the year.
“When we came down to it, honestly, we didn’t think much of it at first,” Portalski said. “Once we saw our schedule and the meets ahead, we started using it as motivation.”
Carrying the momentum of their regular season success into the MAC-Gold league meet on Feb. 25 at Warren Woods Tower High School, the team dominated in convincing fashion, winning the MAC-Gold league meet by 143.5 points.
The team was led by its senior leaders and underclassmen talent, which just so happens to be a family affair.
Senior captain Jose Rios led the way with first-place finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly while his cousin, sophomore Luis Garbaldi, placed first in the 50 and 100 freestyle.
Rios played a pivotal role as the team’s No. 1 swimmer, but also was a key leader for the young squad.
“Him as a captain and kind of showing the way of things and the kids watching him at each meet, it went a long way,” Portalski said.
To top it all off, Rios and Garbaldi teamed up with senior Albyn Rios, Jose and Garbaldi’s cousin, and freshman Axel Rios, Albyn’s brother, to win first in the 400 freestyle relay by over 19 seconds. Jose’s brother, Andrew Rios, a 2022 Warren Woods Tower graduate, was the school’s swim and dive MVP the past two seasons.
Warren Woods Tower teammates cheered on the family relay as they held a Mexican flag at the end of the pool, and were ecstatic when the group won. It was the perfect ending to an incredible swim career for Jose and Albyn Rios.
“The crazy part of that relay was that I was the slowest out of the four of us,” Albyn Rios said. “With all my family and our family, it was just amazing. I was basically in tears; we had the Mexican flag up there, too. It was crazy.”
Other notable Warren Woods Tower performances were sophomore standout Brandon Bowman, who earned first in the 100 breaststroke, and junior Ryan Montgomery, who teamed up with Bowman, Axel, and Albyn to earn first in the 200 freestyle relay.
Bowman also took first in the 200 medley relay with the help of Jose, Garbaldi and senior Robert Mayer.
Junior Lleyton Byrnes added a second- and third-place finish in the meet while his brother, sophomore Seamus Byrnes, added a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle.
Every Warren Woods Tower swimmer had a role in the success, and Portalski said that’s what made his team special.
“The team strength, and it’s been a big focus the last few years I’ve been coaching, the big focus of making sure everyone has a part in the team,” Portalski said. “It’s not small by any means, but we only had 15 kids and a turnover of 10.”
Warren Woods Tower is set to have another difficult turnover this season with Jose, Albyn and Mayer all set to graduate, but the team returns a healthy amount of talent in the sophomore and junior class.
The Byrnes brothers will both be back in 2024 alongside Bowman, and Axel and Garbaldi will continue to represent the swimming family tree.
Portalski said Axel, who played a key role in the 200 and 400 freestyle relay at the league meet, will be a reliable swimmer for years to come.
“I’m excited for the next three years because he’s right there with his brother and his cousins,” Portalski said.
Lleyton Byrnes, who will find himself in a senior leadership role next year alongside Montgomery, said he’s ready to take on the veteran responsibilities.
As a sophomore watching Andrew Rios on the team, Byrnes said Rios played a key role in his growth, and said he’ll look to pass that on to his teammates next season.
“He (Andrew) was so inspiring to everyone,” Byrnes said. “He never made anyone feel bad or down for anyone being slow, and he was the fastest anyone has ever seen.”
