Conference round-ups -- D2

Conference swim meets went pretty much as expected, with only a mild surprise or two. Here's a recap:

-- In the Badger North, McFarland won handily over D1 Sauk Prairie-Wisconsin Heights, 559-449. Waunakee made a strong showing, finishing third and only nine points behind Sauk. The Sauk trio of Tyler Evans, Matt Friede and Tyler Lentz was sharp as usual, combining for five wins and swimming legs on the winning medley and 200 free relays. But McFarland's depth as usual paid off; to cite just one indicator, the Spartans' B relays never finished lower than tied for 6th (their A relays finished twice second and first in the 400 free relay). The 200 free was anticipated to be one of the best races of the meet, and it was; Friede won with a 1:46.07, followed by McFarland's Brian Heiser in 1:46.64 and Graham Thoresen in 1:47.10.

-- In the Badger South, Milton beat back a spirited Edgewood squad by 11 points, 445-434. The runners-up swam remarkably well; the Crusaders swam without sophomore Drew teDuits, seeded to win conference in both the 50 free and 100 back and swim key legs on two relays. But teDuits fell ill on the eve of the meet, a real blow to the team's chances (Edgewood had edged Milton in a duel meet earlier this year.). But Edgewood coach Dave Dahler rallied his team prior to the meet's start, and the team nearly pulled off the win without teDuits. Leading the way was junior Chase Stephens, who set a Fort Atkinson pool record in winning the 500 free (4:49.30), won the 200 free, and swam on two winning relays (200/400 free). Also swimming extremely well for Edgewood was senior Chris Kuecker, who finished second in both the 100 and 200 frees and joined Stephens on the winning freestyle relays. Edgewood may not have the depth to challenge McFarland for a sectional title this week at Waunakee, but if teDuits regains his health in time, the Crusaders look ready to make some noise. Milton's Jeff Maxwell led the way for his team with wins in the 200 IM and 100 back.

-- Elkhorn finished second in the Southern Lakes to D1 Lake Geneva Badger-Walworth Big Foot, with Delavan-Darien placing third. D-D, led by its trio of Nate Johnson, Alex Reigert, and Kevin Schneider, won the medley and 400 free relays, along with Johnson winning both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Elkhorn's Dalton Anderson turned in the year's fastest time in the 100 fly with a winning time of 51.64. And keep an eye out for Jefferson's Doug Posorske -- he swam a strong second-place fly to Anderson in 55.60 and a very strong second in the 50 free with a time of 22.65, which puts him into the top 10 of fastest D2 50 free times this year.

-- In something of a surprise, Cedarburg used good depth and a strong showing by its divers to take the North Shore Conference title over Whitefish Bay, 458-416. Defending state champ Will Mathee won the diving for Cedarburg, which also got wins from Carl Newenhouse in the 100 backstroke and its 400 free relay. WB got individual wins from Chris Fink (200 free), Chuckie Prestigiacomo, and Jason Castillo along with its medley relay.

-- Shorewood finished a close second to D1 New Berlin in the Woodland Conference, 462-441. Whitnall finished 5th and Brown Deer/University School 6th at the meet. Shorewood was led by Kasmir Bohannon (200 free), Stephen Meyer (100 backstroke) and Karl Weisling (500 free), who all posted third-place finishes in what is a very competitive conference this year. Those three joined Asher Kaufman in posting a 2nd-place finish in the medley relay.

-- Ashwaubenon finished 2nd to D1 Bayport in the Fox River Classic conference meet, led by sprinter Jake Pelishek. He won the 50 free with a D2-leading time this year of 22.07 and swam anchor on the team's 200 free relay, which posted a strong 1:32.22 in finishing second, and the 200 medley relay, which also finished second with a 1:43.21. Both relay times are the third-fastest posted this year in D2.

-- Plymouth won the Eastern Wisconsin Conference championship, as the team swept all three relays and five of the nine individual events. Diver Mitchell Spaeth continued a strong season with an all-time conference score of 436.35, the year's highest D2 score.