STAC GIRLS SWIMMING: RECORDS FALL, STATE TIMES HIT; WAVERLY PLACES THIRD AT WOLVERINE INVITE (4 PHOTOS) (2024-09-07)
Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Waverly turned in an impressive performance in its initial swim of the season, placing third at the Wolverine invite, while breaking records, and qualifying several swimmer for the New York State championships.
The invite included eight teams from across Section IV, including perennial powerhouses Corning, Maine-Endwell, and Chenango Valley. Corning won the team title with 375 points, while M-E was second with 360.5, Waverly tallied 353 points, and Chenango Valley was fourth at 262.
In the meet-opening 200-yard medley relay, the foursome of juniors Mira Kittle and Olivia Cheresnowsky, 8th-grader Natalie Steck, and sophomore Lauryn Welles placed first in a time of 1:51.27, which is a meet, pool, and school record, as well as the program’s first state cut time in the event.
The Lady Wolverines sent their first relay in school history to States last year in the 200 freestyle relay, and their first 200 relay of the new year did not disappoint. The team of Cheresnowsky, 8th-grader Meg Atanasoff, Welles, and Kittle teamed for a meet, pool, and school record time of 1:39.39. This time also qualifies them for States, and would have placed fifth last year’s competition.
Kittle also continue her dominance, in the 100-yard butterfly, winning the event with a school record and state cut time of 58.57 seconds.
The freestyle events saw more success, with 8th-grader Audrey Kellogg picking up a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 58.18 seconds, while 8th-grader Ayla Wheeler placed fifth in 1:01.36.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Waverly’s sprinters dominated with Atanasoff (25.40 seconds), Cheresnowsky (25.57), and Welles (25.59) sweeping the top three spots.
The Wolverines closed out the meet with a dominating win in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with Cheresnowsky, Atanasoff, Kellogg, and Kittle clocking in at 3:47.78, missing the school record by two-tenths of a second.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, Steck placed second with a personal-best 1:15.77, followed closely by Welles in third (1:16.31).
Senior Elizabeth Robinson delivered a strong third-place finish with a personal best 2:15.18 in the 200-yard freestyle, while teammate Vada Harmon earned 11th with a 2:38.05. Sophie Williams placed 13th with a 2:40.84.
Robinson continued her strong showing with a fourth place in the 500 free in a time of 6:20.94, followed by Vada Harmon in ninth at 7:16.73 and Sophie Williams added with a solid 11th place finish (7:34.45).
In the 200-yard IM, 8th-grader Brynna Twedt placed 10th, clocking a personal-best time of 2:48.91.
Wheeler and Twedt also delivered personal best swims in the 100-yard backstroke, placing 10th (1:15.69) and ninth (1:15.52), respectively.
Waverly returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Greene in its first dual of the season.
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PHOTOS PROVIDED.
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