Aron Varga breaks two schools records at Centennial Invitational

By Fred Kroner

Junior Aron Varga broke two school records on Saturday (Jan. 7), helping the Mahomet-Seymour boys’ swimming team to an eighth-place finish in the 15-school Centennial Invitational in Champaign.

Varga lowered his own time in the 200-yard individual medley, chopping 1.57 seconds off the previous mark with a 2:04.44 clocking. He was third in the event.

Varga was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, with a school record time of 1:03.26. He took down a record that was established in 2017 by Joshua Eckberg (1:03.89).

The Bulldogs had five other performances among the top eight.

Owen Kearns was fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (58.08 seconds) and eighth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:55.08).

Emmett Kearns took sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:32.03).

Two M-S relays, featuring the same swimmers, also fared well. The 200-yard medley relay unit of Aaron Smith, Varga, Owen Kearns and Emmett Kearns placed seventh with a combined time of 1:48.38.

The foursome teamed up for a time of 1:37.18 in the 200-yard freestyle relay and captured eighth place.

In the team chase, Waubonsie Valley won the title with 473 points. Runner-up Champaign Central totaled 351 points. M-S’ point total was 124 points.

“I know we’re sounding like a broken record, but the improvement we are seeing is phenomenal,” M-S coach Erich O’Donnell said. “I am excited to see what we can do through this month.”

Two Bulldogs broke school records on Thursday (Jan. 5) in a triangular meet at Illinois State University.

Varga won the 200-yard freestyle race in 1 minute, 54.36 seconds, shattering a mark set on Dec. 17, 2022 by teammate Owen Kearns (1:54.99).

Kearns re-broke his own 500-yard freestyle standard, clocking a 5:06.45 time in an event where he placed second. His previous record was 5:20.60.

The two school records were two of more than a dozen personal-best times that were achieved in the meet.

Pekin captured team honors with 140 points. M-S (83 points) placed second, edging host Normal University High (81). The Bulldogs were returning to action after a 19-day layoff from competition.

M-S’ other individual winner was Emmett Kearns in the 100-yard butterfly (1:03.74).

The Bulldogs had a second-place performance from its 200-yard medley relay foursome of Smith, Varga, Owen Kearns and Emmett Kearns.

“The team continues to show great strides,” O’Donnell said. “It has been fun to watch. I’m very proud of what they have accomplished.”

M-S (4-2) returns to action on Thursday (Jan. 12) at Stanford Olympia in a meet that also includes Lincoln.