impressive performance

I just witnessed one of the most amazing, if not the most, performances by a high school athlete I've seen in my relatively short time covering sports professionally... and it was at a swim meet.
Pomperaug swimmer Travis McNamara set not only a Class L meet record, but a pool record in the 500 freestyle with a 4:29.74. Now if that time doesn't mean anything to you, consider this. The event was held at a college pool, which frequently hosts conference and New England championships.
The previous record at the Freeman Center (Wesleyan), which has been open for approximately a decade I believe, was nearly a full second slower than McNamara's mark. The Wesleyan team record was almost six seconds behind.
"You enjoy seeing such high level swimming," Farmington coach Scott Ferrigno said of the meet as a whole.
No kidding. Watching McNamara swim, with the seven next best swimmers in Class L trying to catch him, was like watching rowboats try to catch up to a motor boat. From the start of the race he was so smooth cutting through the water, and after one lap had already distanced himself by nearly a body length.
After 12 laps I turned to former Southington Athletic Director and CIAC member Bob Lehr and commented on how I was looking at the pool records on the wall to see how close McNamara might come. I speculated he might be within ten or 15 seconds.
As he raced through the final lap, everybody in the building was watching the clock. Now, as a member of the media, I am not supposed to cheer during events. But when he touched the wall I couldn't help but stand up and clap for him.
"With the level of swimming we have in Connecticut, it’s great," Ferrigno said. "Because, I know they have New England and college swim meets here, so it shows how strong Connecticut swimming is."
Truly impressive.