Weekend round-up

After a brief holiday lull, high school swimmers were back in action this past weekend in full force. A recap of the major invites and meets:

-- Marquette won its own invitational at the very fast Waukesha South High School pool, just ending Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial, 229-221. Verona finished third with 192, just edging out fourth-place Madison West by one point. Marquette, perhaps a contender for the Division 1 state title next month, got wins from its 200 medley relay, strong performances from its other two relays, and some solid depth for the win. Notable for Marquette is that it won without top sprinter Andrew Berger, who the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported sat out the meet nursing a sore shoulder. The other noteworthy development coming out the invite was the strong showing by Greenfield/Greendale's trio of Mike Lucchesi, Jack Lennertz, and Matt Jungers. Lucchesi won both freestyle sprints (21.90 50 free; 47.42 100 free), Lennertz the 100 fly (51.84) , and Jungers -- in something of a surprise -- the 200 IM (1:59.60) and 100 back (53.76). The three also helped G/G win the 400 free relay (3:21.94). The G/G co-op will be worth following down the stretch; any team that can win six of the 12 events at a meet with as much depth as the Marquette Invitational bears watching.

-- Cedarburg won its own Bulldog Invite, edging Shorewood 415-388. Carl Newenhouse led the way for Cedarburg with wins in the 200 IM (2:03.31) and 100 free (49.54), and contributing a leg on the winning 400 free relay. Will Mathee, the Bulldog's defending state dive champ, won his specialty as well. With several state-quality divers and a strong nucleus of swimmers in Newenhouse, Jim Akkala, and Connor Neuville, Cedarburg will make some noise at the D2 level next month at sectionals and likely the state meet.

-- Bayport edged out D2 Ashwaubenon for the title at the Ashwaubenon Invitational, 498-466. Leading the way for Bayport was sprinter Ryan Keuler, who won the 200 and 100 frees (1:48.68 and 49.44) and swam legs on two of the team's winning relays. Look for Bayport and Neenah to duke it out at the Neenah sectional next month.

-- McFarland dominated the Stoughton College Events Invite, winning with 743 points, or 267 more than runner-up Sauk Prairie-Wisconsin Heights. The meet features events usually swum at the collegiate level, which fits in well with a McFarland team that boasts a number of top distance swimmers and swimmers able to move up to a 200-yard race with ease. The Spartans dominated from the start, going 1-2-3 in the 1,000-yard freestyle, and eventually winning 8 of the meet's 16 events. Last month we highlighted the team's 400 free relay, which posted four sub-50 splits at the Fort Atkinson Invite. The same foursome were at it again in the 800-yard free relay, with all four swimmers posting sub-1:50 splits: Brandon O'Donnell -- 1:47.27; Brian Heiser -- 1:46.79; Ryan O'Donnell -- 1:49.98; and Graham Thoresen -- 1:48.01. The sectional and state meets are a month away, and anything can happen between now and then, but it's hard to imagine a D2 team matching up with McFarland's depth of talent.

-- New Berlin West/Eisenhower won the Rocket Invitational at South Milwaukee, coming away with wins in all but two events to coast to an easy win.

-- Sturgeon Bay/Southern Door won the Sheboygan North Relays, edging out second-place Sheboygan South 68-57.