Macauley Kolonko Looking to Go Fast, Gain Experience at States

You’ve heard about the Weedsport swim team in general all year long, but you’ve heard and seen one name specifically. Macaulay Kolonko, the standout freshman of the Weedsport Varsity Swim Team. With the team placing third at sectionals, a total of eight people earned a trip to the State Qualifiers (or known as “State Quals”) meet at SUNY Cortland on Valentine’s Day. Kolonko came out successful, winning the 500 Yard Freestyle with a time of 4:55.68 to earn his golden ticket to head to Ithaca College, this Thursday through Saturday, to compete against the best swimmers from all around the state.

“It was surprising. Very surprising. Especially knowing I was beating kids that go to much bigger schools and are older than me,” said Kolonko about State Quals, “It was a great feeling though.”  He raced numerous friends in that race as well, including Jake Whiting and Tyler Mason from Auburn, and Dan Mullen from Mexico. Kolonko said he wished he could’ve made the time cut, and not just won State Quals.

“Macauley started the swim season early by making the decision to train over the spring and summer,” said WHS varsity head coach, Ed Beck. “Mac started the season in midseason form, and only improved throughout the year.”  Macaulay has put in numerous hours in and out of the pool, to get ready for the pressure he might face at the State Meet.

There are also numerous swimmers from Section Three that will be representing us at the meet. There are 18 swimmers in all, including three divers. One swimmer that will be close with Macauley is former Weedsport student, Cory Knapp, who now swims for JD/CBA. Kolonko is seeded 42nd for the 500.

“I’m optimistic about states,” said Kolonko. “It’s hard to swim fast after a peak performance at sectionals and state quals.” This will be his first, but definitely not his last, time at the State Meet.

Overall, the Weedsport Swim team had a fantastic season. With a bunch of personal bests, and a third place finish at Sectionals, they finished right where they wanted. Some highlights included Kolonko winning the 500 Yard Freestyle, junior John Christopher winning the diving portion of the meet, and senior captain Nate Harding winning the 100 Yard Butterfly.

“My favorite part of every season is sectionals. We had a great meet with big drops in time. We had three Section III Class C champions, John Christopher, Nate Harding, and Kolonko,” said Beck, reflecting on the season. “Macauley later moved on to be the overall 500 champion, and is the only freshman to win an event in the section.”