WAVERLY SWIMMERS WILL COMPETE IN SIX EVENTS AT STATE MEET
Valley Sports Report
ENDWELL — Senior Mira Kittle and sophomore Lauryn Welles punched their tickets to the New York State Girls Swimming Championships in four events, and freshman Megan Atanasoff qualified in three events here Saturday afternoon to lead Waverly to a second-place finish at the Section IV, Class B Championships.
In all, including the three relays, Waverly will send seven girls to States.
"A second-place finish is impressive considering we're competing with a roster less than half the size of powerhouse Maine-Endwell," said Waverly coach Amy Steck.
"Our talent was evident as the team captured six victories across the 12 events," she added.
The Wolverines also had five second-place finishes on the day, and swept the top four spots in the 50-yard freestyle.
Maine-Endwell won the Class B title with 502 points, while Waverly tallied 373 points, Oneonta was third with 301 points, and Chenango Valley was fourth with 225 points.
Kittle and Atanasoff teamed with senior Olivia Cheresnowsky and freshman Natalie Steck to win the meet-opening 200-yard medley relay in a state standard time of 1:48.77, which is also a new Maine-Endwell pool record, and a Class B Meet record.
Waverly's 200 medley relay is currently second in the state rankings.
Kittle and Atanasoff also teamed with Welles, and freshman Audrey Kellogg to win the meet-closing 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:45.72.
Kittle won the 50-yard freestyle with a state-cut time of 23.63, and Welles finished second with a state-cut time of 24.59 seconds. Welles becomes the sixth swimmer in program history to hit the qualifying time in an individual event.
Atanasoff, who hit the state cut earlier this season and will swim the 50 free at States, was third in a time of 24.91 seconds, and Cheresnowsky finished fifth in 25.21 seconds.
Kittle also won the 100-yard backstroke, breaking her own school record with a time of 56.72 seconds. She is currently second in the state rankings.
Cheresnowsky finished second in the backstroke in a time of 1:00.82, while freshman Brynna Twedt was fifth in 1:08.27, and freshman Ayla Wheeler was ninth in 1:13.64.
Welles won the 100-yard freestyle and hit the state cut with a time of 53.89 seconds, while Kellogg was second with a personal-best time of 55.51 seconds, Twedt finished seventh in 59.68 second, and Wheeler was ninth in 1:02.41.
Welles teamed with Kellogg, Twedt and Wheeler to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:43.34.
Atanasoff placed second in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:03.28, and senior Liz Robinson was fourth in 1:06.06.
Steck finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:11.41.
Robinson placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:12.68.
Seventh-grader Harper Varano finished 11th in the 200-yard IM in a time of 3:27.48.
Senior Sophie Williams finished 15th in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 7:01.04, and sophomore Isabella Miner was 16th placein 7:13.32.
The New York State Girls Swimming & Diving Championships will be held Nov. 21-22 at the Webster Aquatic Center.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Mira Kittle. IN TOP PHOTO: Section IV's state qualifiers, from left: Waverly's Brynna Twedt, Audrey Kellogg, Lauryn Welles, Mira Kittle, Liv Cheresnowsky, Natalie Steck, and Megan Atanasoff and Owego diver Ayla Young. ... PHOTOS PROVIDED.
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