WEEDSPORT – Less than two weeks before the Section III championships take place the West Genesee boys swim team engaged in an exciting meet at Weedsport, a side which features several swimmers from Skaneateles.
The Wildcats won the team portion, 92-85, but it was Skaneateles swimmer Gavin Van Kersbergen who had the top performance of any individual, part of four different winning efforts.
Van Kersbergen nearly matched his season-best time in the 100-yard butterfly winning that race in 52.23 seconds nearly six seconds ahead of the 58.20 of Cal Johnson as WG’s Brady Smith was third.
Later in the meet, Van Kersbergen would take the 100 backstroke in 53.99 seconds, well clear of the second-place 1:02.22 from the Wildcats’ Sean Putnam. Also Van Kersbergen helped Weedsport claim the 200 medley relay in 1:49.88 and the 400 freestyle relay in a clocking of 3:35.14.
In between all these events, the Wildcats were able to build a winning margin with Putnam winning the 100 freestyle in 53.52 seconds and Jacob Skardinski taking the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.27 going 1-2-3 with Lucas Spencer and Evan Cregg.
Jackson Austin won the diving competition with 137.90 points as Dominci Talucci finished second, while WG was able to get first place in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:43.82.
In the 200 freestyle Gavin Flanagan’s 1:57.51 was just behind Liam Byrons (1:55.93) and Owen Kane finished third. Flanagan added a second in the 500 freestyle in 5:21.97 behind Byrons’ 5:13.87.
Smith got to second in the 200 individual medley in 2:31.99, an event Johnson won in 2:21.10. Skardinski needed 25.95 seconds for the runner-up spot to Jacob Gordon (25.10) in the 50 freestyle, with Ian Grosser fourth in 27.12.
Swimming in the ‘One Last Chance’ meet at Nottingham a night earlier, WG saw Owen Johnson take second place in the 50 freestyle in 27.12 seconds just behind the 27.03 of Cicero-North Syracuse’s Wesley Coyle.