It took an entire season for West Genesee boys swimmer Ryan Hagadorn to get under the one-minute mark on his way to earning the Section III and overall championship in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Now Hagadorn sought for more improvement as he ventured to Nassau County Aquatic Center on Long Island to compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.
Entering the state meet, Hagadorn, at 59.88 seconds, was the 24th-fastest qualifier in a field of 41. He didn’t quite match that time during the state meet, but went 1:00.07 in the preliminary round and 1:00.23 in the finals to finish 17th. The winner, Shoreham-Wading River’s Jason Louser, posted 55.74 seconds in the finals.
Peter Bowman entered the diving competition with the 23rd-best score out of 34 divers with 477.80 points. Looking to advance to the finals, Bowman could not do so, but with 215.30 points and a 29th-place effort, he finished ahead of Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA’s Ryan Evans, who was 32nd with 166.95 points. West Islip’s Patrick Carter needed 580.05 points over two rounds to finish first.
Hagadorn also joined Evan Tuthill, Nate Gdula and Matt Shorts in the 200 freestyle relay, where WG qualified exactly on the time of 1:30.12. That time was improved upon as WG went 1:30.03 in Friday’s qualifying round, but it hit 1:30.12 again a day later to take 22nd place. To win, Half Hollow Hills posted 1:25.27.
Meanwhile, in the 200 medley relay, Brian Salmons joined Hagadorn, Gdula and Tuthill as the Wildcats looked to improve upon a season-best 1:40.63. The Wildcats went 1:41.30 in the opening round and took 32nd place, unable to advance. St. Anthony’s won in a state-record 1:33.32.
On his own, Gdula swam in the 50 freestyle, where he finished 32nd in 21.97 seconds. Watertown’s Maclean Crossley won that event Saturday in 20.38 seconds after breaking his own Section III record with 20.30 seconds in Friday’s qualifying round. Crossley also finished fifth in the 100 freestyle and, with his Watertown teammates, fifth in the 200 freestyle relay.
