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SECTION IV BOYS SWIMMING: KEEFER COLLECTS 4 GOLD MEDALS TO LEAD WAVERLY TO CLASS C CHAMPIONSHIP (24 PHOTOS) (2019-02-16)

MIKE ATANASOFF ADVANCES TO STATE MEET

BY TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
WATKINS GLEN - Collin Keefer captured four gold medals to lead Waverly to the team title at the Section IV Class C Boys Swimming and Diving Championships here Saturday.

The sophomore won the 200-yard individual medley and the 500 freestyle, and was also part of the winning 200 and 400 free relays.

"Collin Keefer swam an unbelievable meet," Waverly head coach Dave Mastrantuono said. "He was the only swimmer in the meet with four gold medals. He won the IM, 500, 200 relay and 400 relay, so that was really good for Collin Keefer."

Kaden Wheeler and Max VanDyke were double winners for the Wolverine. Wheeler won the 100 backstroke and swam on a triumphant relay while VanDyke picked up his wins in the relay. Mike Atanasoff tacked on a victory in the 100 free and Gage Streeter captured the diving competition.

Mastrantuono called the meet a good overall performance for his team, but noted the Wolverines had to overcome a slow start to the day.

"We struggled early on based on our seeds, but we were loaded the second half better than the first four events," he said. "We thought we would have a strong medley relay and we got beat, so we had to regroup a little bit after those first couple events, especially after having lost the medley, and really come back strong the second half of the meet."

Team runner-up Southern Cayuga nipped Waverly by less than a second in the 200-yard medley relay to take the early points lead, 40-34.

Next, the Chiefs outscored Waverly in the 200 freestyle races to extend their lead to 75-65 over both the Wolverines and Susquehanna Valley.

Despite Keefer's win the the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:20.94, SC still held the advantage, 110-103, while Sus Valley faded back to 82.

The Chiefs continued to lead, 147-144, following Joe Angotti's state-qualifying win in the 50 free. He clocked 21.97 seconds to edge Mike Atanasoff, who posted a time of 22.65 seconds (he qualified for states earlier in the year with a 22.13).

The Wolverines would go on top with Gage Streeter's win in diving. That performance and Jerrell Sackett's sixth-place showing pushed Waverly to the front, 177-147. Sus Valley pulled within 10 of Southern Cayuga, which didn't have any divers. Streeter won by more than 130 points, scoring 449.6. Sackett tallied 213.15.

Angotti won the 100 butterfly with a state qualifying 53.46-second swim, but Kaden Wheeler (57.21) and Ryan Bennett (1:02.82) finished 2-3, and Nick Janzen was 10th (1:13.63), allowing Waverly to maintain a 217-183 lead.

Mike Atanasoff won the 100 free with a time of 49.35 seconds, VanDyke placed third (55.36), Trenton Wright took fifth (56.82) and Matt Atanasoff was 12th (1:03.58), giving the Wolverines 55 points to increase their advantage over SC to 272-205.

Then came Keefer's second victory of the day. He swam the 500 free in 5:30.2 to best the Chiefs' JD Rejman by a hair over two seconds. Oscar Williams was seventh (6:06.72) and Liam Wright took ninth (6:23.14), giving Waverly a 313-243 lead.

Waverly would widen the gap over Southern Cayuga as the foursome of Matt Atanasoff, VanDyke, Keefer and Bennett won the 200 free relay, posting a time of 1:36.73. The Chiefs suffered a disqualification, allowing the Wolverines to increase their lead to 353-243.

Wheeler paddled his way to a win in the 100 backstroke, registering a time of 59.28 seconds. Sackett came in 12th (1:10.58) and Waverly would push its point total to 378 while SC added 27 for a 270 total.

In the 100 breaststroke, Wright placed third (1:13.96), Max Pan took sixth (1:17.66) and Dillon Madigan was 12th (1:23.72), increasing the Wolverines' lead to 412-297.

VanDyke, Keefer, Wright and Wheeler teamed up to close out the meet with a victory in the 400 free relay, recording a time of 3:42.63. That win gave Waverly 452 team points while Southern Cayuga finished with 329 and Sus Valley was third with 308.

Mike Atanasoff will represent Waverly at the state championships.

"He qualified earlier in the year, so he's not in shape for this meet, so hopefully in two weeks at the state meet Mike is going to step up and have some good times at that meet," Mastrantuono said. "This was not his focus meet, having already qualified for the state meet. He's going to have some good swims at the state meet for sure."

The state championships will be held at the Nassau County Aquatic Center on Long Island March 1-2.

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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Collin Keefer. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.


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