IAC BOYS SWIMMING: WAVERLY'S ATANASOFF ENJOYS RECORD-SETTING DAY; NAMED MVP AT WOLVERINE INVITATIONAL (19 PHOTOS) (2019-12-28)
Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY "” Waverly senior Mike Atanasoff enjoyed a pair of record-breaking performances, won three gold medals and one silver medal, and was named the MVP here Saturday at the 7th annual Wolverine Invitational.
Atanasoff won the 50-yard freestyle in a meet-record time of 21.29 seconds, which also broke the longest-standing IAC record of 21.46 seconds set by O-M's Tom Iorio in 1985. The time is also a new school and pool record.
Atanasoff also won the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 47.26 seconds - breaking his own IAC, school, pool and meet records.
Then, in the closing 400-yard freestyle relay, Atanasoff led off the winning relay in 46.97 to reset the IAC, school, and pool records.
With today's performances, Atanasoff holds the fastest time in New York State in the 50 free, and the third-fastest in the 100 free.
Atanasoff also teamed with seniors Josh Lee and Brandon Clark, and junior Ryan Bennett to finish second in the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:32.62 - nearly 7 1/2 seconds faster than their seed time, and just two seconds off the state cut.
Sophomore Kaden Wheeler also had a successful afternoon, winning two gold medals, one silver medal, and a fourth-place medal.
Wheeler won the 100-meter butterfly in a personal-best time of 54.14 seconds - narrowly missing the state cut time of 53.95 seconds.
Wheeler finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in a personal-best time of 57.06 seconds, which is No. 4 in Waverly's all-time top 25.
Atanasoff and Wheeler teamed with Bennett and junior Collin Keefer to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:24.09 "” more than 23 seconds faster than their seed time of 3:47.42.
Wheeler teamed with Lee, Brandon Clark, and junior Max Pan to finish fourth in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:53.74.
Bennett finished third in both of Atanasoff's record-breaking freestyle sprints.
Bennett was third in a personal-best time of 22.88 seconds in the 50 free, while Lee was fifth in a personal-best time of 24.56 seconds, and Brandon Clark was eighth in a personal-best time of 25:42 seconds.
Bennett was third in the 100 free in a personal-best time of 51.43 seconds, while Brandon Clark was was 10th in a personal-best time of 56.33 seconds, and Pan was 16th in a personal-best time of 59.97 seconds.
Bennett's swims in the 50 and 100 free both ranked in the top 10 all-time in Waverly's Top 25.
Junior Dillon Madigan was ninth in the 100-yard butterfly in a personal-best time of 1:07.64, and senior Nick Janzen was 13th in 1:21.79.
Lee was eighth in 1:09.18 in the 100-yard backstroke, and freshman Jerrell Sackett was 12th in a personal-best time of 1:09.73.
Senior Gage Streeter finished third in the 1-meter diving competition with 274.0 points, and Sackett was 14th with 213.25 points.
Keefer finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle in a personal-best time of 5:36.71, while freshman Oscar Williams was sixth in a personal-best time of 5:43.25, and 8th-grader Liam Wright was 10th in a personal-best time of 5:54.12.
Keefer also finished seventh in the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:24.52, and Wright was 11th in a personal-best time of 2:38.18.
Williams finished ninth in the 200-yard freestyle in a personal-best time of 2:04.62, while 8th-grader Ryan Clark was 13th in a personal-best time of 2:09.07 - more than 11 1/2 seconds faster than his seed time, Madigan was 14th in 2:13.84, and senior Nick Janzen was 15th in 2:16.08.
Ryan Clark finished 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke in a personal-best time of 1:18.17, and Pan was 13th in 1:18.53.
Corning won the team title with 409 points, edging out runner-up Horseheads, which tallied 404 points. Maine-Endwell was third with 394 points, while Waverly finished fourth with 375 points, and Union-Endicott was fifth with 162 points.
Waverly returns to action Jan. 7 at Watkins Glen.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Mike Atanasoff (left) and Kaden Wheeler. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
