SYRACUSE – Again establishing himself as one of the top high school swimmers in Central New York, Skaneateles senior Gavin Van Kersbergen was part of four victories in Wednesday’s Section III Class C championships at Nottingham High School.
In the 100-yard backstroke where Van Kersbergen is fastest in the section this winter, he finished in 52.23 seconds, nearly a full second faster than the 53.16 he got at the Yeti Invitational earlier this season and more than seven seconds clear of anyone else on the Class C side.
It was just as lopsided in the 100 butterfly where Van Kersbergen finished in 51.67 seconds, moving up from the 52.19 he got at that same Yeti Invitational and second in the section only to the 50.47 from Liverpool’s Jack Cavallerano.
To start the meet Van Kersbergen paired with Liam Byrons, Calder Johnson and Jacob Gordon to take the 200 medley relay in 1:43.07 to Lowville’s 1:47.77. And in the 200 freestyle relay it was that same quartet winning in a season-best 1:31.69.
All of this helped the combined Skaneateles/Weedsport entry finish fourth in the Class C team competition with 292 points, with Lowville’s 457.5 points earning the victory.
Earlier that day, West Genesee finished seventh in the sectional Class A meet earning 160 points, well off the winning total of 416 from Fayetteville-Manlius.
Still, the Wildcats’ Sean Putnam nearly won the 100-yard backstroke, his time of 56.60 seconds more than two seconds ahead of his previous best of 59.11 this season and trailing only the 55.53 of Liverpool’s James Hayden.
Similarly, in the 500 freestyle WG’s Gavin Flanagan delivered a second-place finish as his 5:00.07 was more than eight seconds quicker than the 5:08.47 he earned in an earlier meet against Liverpool. Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA’s Misha Kabunov won in 4:50.21.
Flanagan made his way to fourth place in the 200 freestyle going 1:51.21, with Putnam sixth in the 100 freestyle in 51.28 seconds. WG finished sixth in the 200 medley relay in 1:47.13 and seventh in the 200 freestyle relay going 1:41.78, but did its best in the 400 freestyle relay with a fifth-place clocking of 3:34.88.
All went to Friday’s sectional state qualifier where Van Kersbergen would win once and nearly a second time.
No one caught Van Kersbergen in the 100 backstroke where he set a new season mark with 51.36 seconds and was more than four seconds clear of the 56.03 from Putman, who had the best finish of any Class A swimmer.
A 100 butterfly classic pitted Van Kersbergen against Liverpool’s Jack Cavallerano, and though Van Kersbergen improved his time to 50.85 seconds Cavallerano still prevailed in 50.60.
Flanagan went 1:51.72 to earn fifth place in the 200 freestyle and got sixth in the 500 freestyle in 5:06.54, while Putnam’s 51.04 in the 100 freestyle put him just outside the top 10. The Wildcats were seventh in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:33.74.
