Saturday, October 31, 2009

North and South -- Badger Conference meet results

One outcome was expected; another was a bit of a surprise.

The Badger Conference of late has moved its season-ending conference meets to Friday nights. Swimmers in the Northern Conference gathered in Baraboo, while those in the Southern Conference swam at Stoughton.

Up north, DeForest surprised no one with a dominating win, 530.5-422 over Sauk Prairie (Waunakee was third with 394 points, followed by Baraboo -- 364, River Valley -- 244, Lodi -- 98, Portage -- 80.5).

"It's just think it's an expectation," DeForest coach Sue Winckler told the Sauk Prairie Eagle after the win. "We're a smaller team this year, and to come back and win is special."

The Norskies got big nights out of their top four swimmers, who will carry the team's hopes for a fourth straight D2 state title on their shoulders in the coming weeks. Junior Casey Wolter (200 free -- 1:58.98; 500 free -- 5:19.66) picked up two wins, while sophomore Leah Winckler (200 IM -- 2:15.89) and senior Lindsay Verhulst (100 breaststroke -- 1:11.73) each picked up a win and a second-place finish. Sophomore Chelsea Statz added third-places finishes in both the 200 and 100 frees. The four combined to win the 400 free relay (3:44.03), and with Nicole VandeWettering subbing for Statz, won the 200 free relay (1:43.92). If the Norskies are to defend their state title, they probably need Wolter, Winckler, Verhulst and Statz to all qualify in both their individual events; Friday night provided a good indication they are poised to do so.

It was also a solid night for Sauk Prairie junior Alison Meng, who captured wins in the 100 fly (58.91) and 100 back (59.29). Teammate Kelsey Kohlbeck added a win in the 50 free (25.52) and a runner-up finish in the 100 free (55.79) -- both times would have qualified for state last year (and a hint the junior may switch events from last year, when she qualified for state in the 200 IM and 100 fly). Sauk lost a lot when senior state titleist Abby Diehl graduated, but Meng and Kohlbeck have enjoyed solid seasons and helped the Eagles to their first runner-up title in the Badger North.

Down south, McFarland got a big night from senior Chloe Bartuska to lead McFarland to the win, 391-335 over Oregon. (Milton finished 3rd with 332 points, followed by Edgewood -- 291, Monona Grove -- 230, Fort Aktinson -- 226, Monroe -- 207, and Stoughton -- 156).

The Badger South this year was quite competitive, with a number of close meets among the conference's squads. In the end, McFarland used superior depth to top a quality field. In a conference meet where teams can score two relays and individual events are scored down to 16th place, depth pays off, and McFarland this year has augmented a solid returning cast with some very good freshman.

Leading the way was Bartuska, who has put together a very good year. Last year, she peaked at exactly the right time, with top-six finishes in the 200 and 100 frees at the D2 state meet swimming out of the slower, first heat. This year, she's focused on the 200 and 500 frees, and came away with wins in both (1:55.73 in the 200, 5:16.23 in the 500). She also led off the Spartans' winning 400 free relay with a 54.83 split that gave the relay a lead it never gave up.

Augmenting Bartuska was junior Stirling Smith, who contributed a 2nd (100 breaststroke -- 1:07.29 in a terrific match-up with Milton's Jennah Haney) and a 3rd (200 IM), along with a solid leg on the 400 free relay.

"We thought we definitely had a shot," McFarland head coach Bill Martin told the Wisconsin State Journal. "We knew going into (the meet) it was going to be probably a four or five-way battle. We knew we had to perform well, and we did."

Oregon got a double-win from senior sprinter Rachel Walsh (50 free -- 24.80; 100 free -- 54.23), while there was some disappointment in the Milton camp with the third-place finish.

"We came in obviously wanting to win it," Haney told the State Journal. No fault of Haney's; she had a monster night, with terrific wins in the breaststroke (1:06.74) and 200 IM (2:06.73), and solid legs on Milton's winning medley and 200 free relays.

Milton might be characterized as top-heavy; the team also got very good performances Friday night from the freshmen sister duo of Katelyn and Abby Holmquist. But a conference meeet emphasizes deep teams, which is where McFarland proved superior to Milton. Still, look for Milton to make a lot of noise at next weekend's D2 sectionals and then the state meet -- they feature the kind of swimmers who will likely get through to state and could place very high at the state meet.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Conference meets and sectional psych sheets

Nearly all conferences in the state will be holding their conference swim meets today and tomorrow. We'll post highlights of those results sometime this weekend.

In addition, sectional entries are due to the WIAA by this coming Tuesday at noon. That will be the first glance at who's swimming what events, and how sectionals may unfold. The WIAA lately has begun posting those psych sheets on its website in the days leading up to sectionals; we'll let you know when they are posted and highlight some of the key D1 and D2 races.

And most importantly, good luck to all of the competitors. These next several days leading up to the state meet are when all the weeks and months of early-morning practices, workouts and meets pay off.

More swimsuit news -- now updated

This was posted on the www.madison.com website yesterday; it provides more clarification on what apparently is legal for swimsuits for WIAA competition:

http://host.madison.com/sports/columnists/rob_hernandez/article_ac2f98ac-c494-11de-9dd2-001cc4c03286.html

The relevant information:

Jason Verhelst, the Madison Memorial coach and Wisconsin Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association president, sent this e-mail out to WISCA coaches and parents earlier in the week:

"In my continued attempt to keep you updated on the continuing suit sage I write with more information on what is legal and what is illegal in swim suits this year. ... Apparently, the FINA suit list now has some suits listed that are not allowed due to new NFHS language. The suggestion now is to use the USA Swimming list or the NCAA Swimming List (see Related Links).

"In talking to Dave Dahler, from Walters Swim Supplies, he suggested eight suits that are legal on both lists. They are:

•Speedo AquaBlade Recordbreaker
•Speedo Fastskin II Recordbreaker
•Speedo Pro Recordbreaker
•Speedo Pro Kneeskin
•TYR Fusion Aeroback
•TYR Fusion Aeroback Short John
•TYR Tracer Light Aeroback
•TYR Tracer Light Short John

----------------------------

Update: Here's an excerpt from an email by a girl's coach also concerned about suits for the upcoming sectional and state meet competition.

"My understanding is that if the referees see a suit they don't like, they ask the coach of the swimmer if it is legal and it is the coaches responsibility to know. So I am allowing my swimmers to wear FS Pro and Tracer Light."

Those two suits are on the list outlined in the email distributed earlier this month by the WIAA that I wrote about on Oct. 24. See:

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/10/these-suits-are-legal-apparently.html
(This posts lists the 7 criteria the WIAA will apparently use to determine if a suit is legal or not.)

See these posts for additional information on suits:

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/09/another-installment-on-suits.html

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/09/blue70s-here-today-gone-tomorrow.html

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Milwaukee Riverside/Bay View wins city championship

Congratulations to the Milwaukee Riverside/Bay View co-op, which edged Milwaukee King/Washington 417-394 to to win the Milwaukee City Conference Swim Meet.

Milwaukee city swimming rarely grabs the sport's headlines, as the city teams simply don't compete with the state's top swim programs. But city swimmers put in the same early-morning and after-school hours practicing as other teams, and reap the same intangible rewards that swimming provides, even without the fanfare that accompanies the state's elite programs.

Riverside/Bay View came away with the city conference title by winning 10 of the 12 events, including all three relays. Senior sprinter Nicole Kohnke set a meet record in winning the 50 free in 26.17, then joined teammates Lydia and Esther Gottinger and Nakema Perry in setting another meet record of 1:49.21 in winning the 200 free relay.

Keep an eye on Kohnke and sister Jaime -- Nicole last year came within a half-second of qualifying for state in the 50 free, and Jaime's winning time in the 100 butterfly at the conference meet (1:02.78) is within striking distance of last year's D1 state qualifying time in the event (1:01.08). The city conference last qualified a swimmer for the state meet in 2005.

Is the Waukesha South pool too fast?

Sectionals are approaching for the girls swim season, and that means one thing (to borrow a phrase) -- swim fast or go home.

In swimming, there are only two ways to qualify for the state meet -- win a sectional title in a given event, or finish as one of the fastest remaining swimmers in the state. In Division 1, 24 slots are set aside for state qualifying (which results in three heats of each event in the 8-lane UW Natatorium, where the state meet is held).

That means the six sectional winners in each event automatically qualify for state, regardless of their time, while the remaining 18 slots are awarded to the 18 fastest remaining swimmers. In theory, all 18 of those slots could come out of one sectional. Other than the sectional winners, the WIAA allots state qualifying bids solely on time.

That differs from some other sports -- notably golf and cross country -- in which a certain number of slots are set aside for state qualifiers from each sectional, regardless of the time or score. That makes sense -- in golf, for instance, Div. 1 players at sectionals are competing for state bids on six different golf courses, which vary considerably in set-up and difficulty. Same with cross country, where runners throughout the state are competing for state bids on courses that vary in difficulty. So it makes sense not to penalize a golfer who has to play a sectional qualifying tournament at a difficult golf course, or the runner competing on a hilly course.

By the same token, goes this line of thinking, it makes sense to base qualifying for swimming on times. A 25-yard pool is the same, more or less, regardless of where a sectional meet is held.

Perhaps not.

A review of qualifying times for last year's Div. 1 girls state meet indicates that qualifiers from one pool -- the sectional hosted at the Waukesha South High School pool -- swam much faster than qualifiers from any of the other five D1 sectional meets. A total of 72 swimmers and relays qualified last year for state from the Waukesha South sectional, the most of any D1 sectional in the state.

Talent, of course, explains a lot it. Defending state champion Hartland Arrowhead swims at the Waukesha South sectional, as do D1 state powers Waukesha South/Mukwonago and Muskego. The two Brookfield high schools (Central and East), as well as the Waukesha North/Kettle Moraine co-op, also had several strong swimmers qualify for state out of the Waukesha South sectional last year.

But a closer look at qualifying times from last year reveals that, to an unusual degree, swimmers qualifying for the state meet from that sectional swam their fastest times at the Waukesha South pool, and not the UW Natatorium.

Most swimmers qualifying for state post their fastest times of the season at the state meet at the Natatorium. Training is a large part of it; most swimmers are trained to "taper" at the state meet, with the easing up on training producing a fresher swimmer and, in theory, faster times. Additionally, the frenzied atmosphere and intense competition of the state meet usually propel swimmers to their fastest times. But part of it is the pool, as well; the Natatorium (albiet old) is a competition-only pool, and in particular its depth is conducive to fast times.

(What makes for a fast pool? Width, depth, gutter systems that dissipate waves -- all factor into a pool's ability to foster fast times. See this article from National Public Radio that describes the fast times produced at the Beijing Olympic pool: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93478073)

Times from last year's state meet bear out the notion that swimmers (and relays) post their fastest times at the state meet at the Natatorium. At last year's D1 state meet, 154 of the 265 swimmers who qualified for state (58 percent) cut time from what they swam at sectionals. A total of 110 swimmers (42 percent) added time. (There was one extra qualifier for D1 state last year -- a tie for the 24th spot in the 100 butterfly. In addition, one swimmer at state swam her exact sectional qualifying time.) The same held true for the girls Div. 2 meet at the Natatorium -- of the 175 swimmers and relays competing (there was one DQ in the meet), 129 of them (74 percent) cut time from sectionals, while only 46 (26 percent) added time.

But the 58 percent of the D1 swimmers who cut time at state last year is skewed dramatically by the performance of the Waukesha South state qualifiers. If you take out the Waukesha South qualifiers, the performances of the rest of the D1 swimmers mirrors that of the D2 state meet -- 68 percent of all D1 swimmers (not counting the Waukesha South qualifiers) cut time at last year's state meet; only 32 percent added time.

Why the disparity? Because most of the Waukesha South sectional qualifiers added time at state, instead of cutting time. Of the 72 Waukesha South state qualifiers, 48 (or 67 percent) added time, while only 24 (33 percent) cut time.

In other words, two out of every three swimmers who qualified for the D1 state meet at a sectional pool other than Waukesha South cut time at state. Meanwhile, two out of every three swimmers who qualified from the Waukesha South pool added time at state.

Perhaps it's the level of competition that spurs on such fast times at the Waukesha South pool. After all, the sectional last year hosted the eventual state champs (Hartland Arrowhead), as well as the 4th (Waukesha South/Mukwonago) and 5th (Muskego) place teams at state. But the Middleton sectional is arguably just as competitive; it featured the defending state champs from 2008 (Madison East), perennial power Madison Memorial (3rd at state last year), plus two other teams (Middleton and Madison West) that finished in the top 10 at state last year. While the Waukesha South sectional qualified 72 swimmers and relays to state, the Middleton sectional was close behind with 69 swimmers and relays.

But Middleton sectional qualifiers performed considerably better at last year's state meet than the Waukesha South qualifiers. While only 33 percent of the Waukesha South qualifiers cut time at state, 85 percent of the Middleton state qualifiers (59 of the 69 entries) cut time at state.

Of course, sectional qualifying times play an important role in seeding and lane placement for the state meet. They determine which of the three heats swimmers and relays swim in, with only the eight fastest times qualifying for the last, fastest heat. While anyone (or any relay) can win a state-meet event from any heat, the surest way to earn a spot on the coveted awards podium (where the top six swimmers are formally recognized at the meet) is to swim in the last heat with the fastest swimmers. At last year's D1 state meet, 55 of the 66 swimmers and relays who earned a spot on the podium came from the final heat.

It's hard to argue against using the Waukesha South pool as a sectional qualifying site. It's centrally located for the D1 teams competing there, has very good spectator seating, and the folks there know how to run swim meets effectively and efficiently. But it's also the newest of the six D1 pools used for sectional qualifying; it first became available for the sectional qualifying meet in 2005. It bills itself, at state club competitions frequently held there, as the fastest competitive pool in the state, and employs the latest in fast-pool technology.

So do swimmers at the Waukesha South sectional enjoy an advantage over the rest of the D1 field by virtue of the pool they swim in? Comments, as always, are welcome.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

These suits are legal (apparently)

Swimsuits continue to generate debate in the Wisconsin high school swim community. With conference, sectional, and state competition coming up quickly, swimmers (and coaches and parents) continue to wonder what suits will be allowed in competition.

Prior to the start of the girls swim season this fall, the WIAA announced that it would follow the lead of the national high school federation and ban so-called high-tech suits for competition this year. See this previous post:

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/09/blue70s-here-today-gone-tomorrow.html

That's left many to ask -- which suits are legal, and which are not? Speculation was heightened recently when FINA -- the sport's international governing body -- released a list of legal suits. See this:

http://reachforthewall.com/2009/10/15/fina-puts-out-list-of-approved-2010-suits/

So far, the WIAA has maintained its official stance that it won't be releasing a list of approved suits for competition. See this from Sept. 18, 2009, published on the WIAA webite under "Swimming & Diving Interpretations and Questions & Answers"

Question: Will there be a list of approved suits?
Interpretation: NFHS – No, there is no plan this year to have a list of approved suits. The limits in style/shape, the elimination of zippers and/or fastening systems, the requirement of a textile suit of a woven or knit material and the requirement of the suit being permeable to water and air should take care of having the swimmers in legal suits. With this NFHS response in mind, below you will find some additional information that have been organized based upon recent interpretations from the NFHS:
1. Only one swimming suit shall be permitted to be worn in competition. Two suits should be relatively easy to identify.
2. A suit that does not meet the size/style restriction for girls and for boys should also be easy to identify.
3. Any zipper on a suit is a good indication of a violation.
4. The construction must meet all of the requirements in the rule – textile, permeable, no zippers (fastening system), size, and can’t aid in buoyancy. If the suit does not meet all requirements of the rule, the suit will not be considered legal.
5. If parts of the suit are permeable and other parts are not, the suit is not a legal suit.
6. “Textile” is defined as a material consisting of natural and/or synthetic, individual non-consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by knitting, weaving or braiding. Lycra, Spandex, Polyridge, Speedline, Streamline and PBT (texturized polyester) are considered textile materials. Coaches can check the clothing
tabs found on the inside of the suit or with the manufacturers for the material/fabric.
7. Any suit that has coating on it (i.e., plastic, rubber, foreign substance) that can be clearly seen may not be used for competition.

However, a recent email from WIAA officials obtained by wiscswim.blogspot indicates the following girls suits will be allowed in competition. The relevant parts of the email are reprinted here in full:

--------------------------------------

Speedo Aquablade: For Females—Style #705031 or #705032 (Brief)
--Style #719039 or #719040 (Recordbreaker)

--------------------------------------

Speedo FS Pro: For Females—Style #7190102 (Recordbreaker Knee), #7190203 (Recordbreaker)

--------------------------------------

Speedo FSII: For Females—Style #7190141 or #7190142 (Recordbreaker)
--Style #7190148 or 7190147 (Recordbreaker Knee)

----------------------------------------

TYR Tracer Light: For Females—Style TLAB6 (Aeroback) or TLSJ6A (Aeroback—Short John)


The TYR Tracer 2 and the Nike Hydra are not currently being identified as approved suits.

----------------------------------------

The email from the WIAA comes after coaches have requested clarifying information from the WIAA on exactly which suits would be allowable. In addition, retail swimsuit stores have apparently lobbied the WIAA for clarification, as this is the time of year during the girls swim season when parents and swimmers usually buy new suits for conference, sectional and state competition.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Spartans rule again in the Big Eight

Congratulations to the Madison Memorial Spartans, who this past week wrapped up their fifth consecutive Big 8 title with a win over Madison East 106-64. Memorial becomes the third team in the history of the conference to win five straight titles, following the 10-year run of the Spartans starting in 1970 and Madison West in the 1980s.

See this wrap-up from the Wisconsin State Journal:

http://host.madison.com/sports/high-school/swimming/article_4cb3d1fc-bdfc-11de-8edd-001cc4c002e0.html

While Memorial winning a conference title may induce a few yawns -- the program has long been one of the state's elites, and winning state titles is usually THE season goal -- it's still worthy of attention. The Big 8 has gotten much more competitive in recent years, with the emergence of East as a state power and the move of traditionally strong Verona from the Badger over to the Big 8.

And as most coaches will tell you, maintaining excellence in a program is not the piece of cake it may look like to outsiders. As a perennial champ, you're almost always everyone's biggest duel meet of the season. And in a large program like Memorial, freshmen and even sophomores often have to bide their time before making an impact on the varsity squad and swimming on the A relays. At most squads around Wisconsin, solid freshman can come in and start swimming varsity right away; not necessarily so at Memorial. Coach Jason Verhelst has to balance a fine line between maintaining interest among younger swimmers and stoking the competitive fires of a squad that's often three deep in quality swimmers per event.

So hat's off to Verhelst and his Memorial squad, which lost a bunch of solid seniors from last year's team. It's an accomplishment worth noting.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

More results from last weekend

Catching up on results from last weekend -- some of the last big invites before conference and sectionals begin.

In the dog-bites-man category of swim news, Hartland-Arrowhead won another invite, this one at Highlander Invite at Mequon Homestead. In all seriousness, HA deserves credit for swimming very well against some of the top teams in the state, and winning easily. The team scored 417 points, with individual wins from freshman Julia Mikota (50 free), sophomore Kate Jones (100 back),junior Emma Goral (100 fly), and senior Caryn Knight (100 breaststroke). They also got wins from their medley and 200 free relays. The most surprising win came from Jones, who beat defending state champ Jackie Powell of Madison Memorial in the backstroke. Jones swam a 58.73, a tenth-of-a-second faster than she swam last year when she finished 6th in the event at state. She could certainly give Powell a run for the money in this event come state meet time.

And here's the other scary thing about HA -- the strength of this team is its underclassmen. Led by Mikota, HA has added several top freshman to go along with a group of swimmers that doesn't depend on too many seniors besides Knight to score the bulk of its points. In fact, some of the fiercest competition HA will likely face this season will be narrowing its squad down to the 16 or so picks for slots to swim at sectionals (HA had two underclassmen divers score at last year's state meet.)

"We knew we'd be up against really tough competition," Arrowhead coach Jennifer Leider told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel after the meet. "I stressed to the girls that this is the time to show me what you've got because they're going to be vying for spots at sectionals. They really performed well and I'm proud of them. Their times are right there. They know what's at stake. They know that everybody's gunning for them. They've been really focused and really working hard."

Memorial outswam a number of strong teams for second place, with 261.5 points, followed by Waukesha South/Mukwonago (212), Mequon Homestead (200), Burlington (189), Middleton (143), and Muskego (129). Memorial coach Jason Verhelst acknowledged the tough chore facing D1 teams this year going up against HA:

"Arrowhead right now in the state of Wisconsin for girls swimming is the measuring stick," he told the Milwaukee paper. "In the last couple of meets, (teams measure themselves) by how close they are to them in the final tally. For us, we've got to match that intensity and get as close to them as we can. (This meet) is a good indicator for the team, and it's a good indicator for individuals that want to make state. If you finish in the top 16 here, you've got a pretty good shot of making it to state."

Over at Fort Atkinson, defending D2 champ DeForest -- minus top senior swimmer Lindsey Verhulst -- won the Fort Invite pretty handily, with 355 points to 322 for runner-up Oregon. (Fort finished 3rd with 311.5 points, followed by Sauk Prairie -- 283; Badger-Big Foot-Williams Bay -- 282; and Monona Grove -- 273.5).

DeForest won despite its three relays finishing no higher than 3rd (400 free relay; both the medley and 200 free relays finished 5th). But distance ace Casey Wolter continued her strong season with wins in the 200 and 500 frees, and sophomore Leah Winckler added a win in the 200 IM. As usual, DeForest relied on depth not found on other D2 teams in the two longest freestyle races; the Norskies racked up 90 points in the 200 and 500 frees.

One of the best races of the day came in the 100 free, when Sauk Prairie junior Alison Meng (54.50) edged Oregon senior Rachel Walsh (54.57) and BBF's Maddie Clark, 8th in this event last year at D1 state (55.06). Meng has been having a solid season so far; with her win at the Fort Invite in the 100 free, it will be interesting to see whether she switches over to the event instead of the back and fly that she swam last year at sectionals and state.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Small School State (Shorewood Invitational) results

In what one observer called a "sprinting clinic," Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol swept to the title at the Shorewood Invitational (otherwise known as Small School State) with a convincing 271-232 over the host team. SB/S's win, combined with its strong showing earlier this season at the Wisconsin Girls Invitational (where it finished ahead of three-time defending state champ DeForest), stamps the Clippers as a legitimate threat to unseat the Norskies from the state D2 throne.

Meet highlights:

-- SB/S won the medley and 200 free relays, the latter in a very quick 1:39.21, and got a win from freshman sensation Savanna Townsend in the 50 free. They also added a host of strong finishes in individual events, with Townsend picking up a 3rd in the 200 free, her sister Sierra a 3rd in the 200 IM and 2nd in the 100 free, and Michaela Rabas a 3rd in the 100 back. This is a well-balanced team -- the kind of team that's likely to qualify individuals in depth for state, and put together solid relays. That's usually the formula for doing well at state.

-- SB/S's Savanna Townsend continues to impress. In the 50 free, she beat Whitefish Bay's Maggie Smith -- the runner-up in this event the past two years at state -- by .64 seconds, a big margin in swimming's shortest event. Her winning time of 24.54 has not been bettered by anyone this year in D2, according to the state coach's top-30 listings. She also broke 2 minutes in the 200 free, and finished only behind state meet veterans Elli Sellinger of Shorewood and Chloe Bartuska of McFarland. Freshman of the year in D2? I'm not sure anyone else is in the running.

-- In a match-up between the top two finishers from last year's state meet in the 500 free, defending champion Kelsey Hojan-Clark (5:00.52) won easily over Shorewood's Clare Chamberlain (5:17.10). For good measure, Hojan-Clark -- a remarkably versatile swimmer who could probably have her pick of any two events for state qualifying and do well -- won the 100 butterfly in 58.74, easily topping Berlin/Green Lake's Siri Smits (1:00.25).

-- Sellinger and Chamberlain did have very solid meets for the host squad, with Sellinger taking both the 200 and 100 frees (1:55.63 and 53.73) and Chamberlain -- two-time state champ in the event -- taking the 200 IM (2:08.63) by nearly three seconds over Grafton senior Sadie Nenning. The pair also swam on Shorewood's winning 400 free relay, which won by more than three seconds over McFarland.

-- In a match-up between the top two finishers last year in the 100 back at D2 state, Smits beat Nenning quite easily, with a time of 57.47 to 58.93. Nenning swam a very good race, but Smits' time at this point of the season is outstanding. There's a reason Smits' winning time at state last year (55.83) would've won the Div. 1 state title last year; she's that good.

-- In perhaps the best race of the meet, Waukesha Catholic Memorial's Anna Meinholz beat defending state champ Kate Criter of Plymouth in the 100 breaststroke, with McFarland's Stirling Smith finishing 3rd -- the three swimmers were separated by only about half-a-second. All three swimmers finished in the top 4 last year at state, and all broke the previous state record in the event. All posted solid times, as well, with Meinholz finishing in 1:07.44.

(Note to organizers: If this meet is intended -- as it always has been in the past -- to showcase some of the state's top Div. 2 squads, it would be helpful to invite just Div. 2 squads. Waunakee, which finished 6th overall at the meet and had several top-6 finishes, has been a Div. 1 squad now for two years.)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fit to be tied

One of the better D2 sprint match-ups took place this week at the meet between Milwaukee suburban squads Whitnall and New Berlin Eisenhower. The 50 free featured NBE sophomore Alli Bellford against Whitnall senior Kate Schubert.

Bellford was the surprise 3rd-place finisher in the 50 free at last year's D2 state meet; Schubert, meanwhile, was a big reason why Whitnall qualified all three of its relays for the state meet last year, swimming legs on both the 200 and 400 free relays as well as the fly leg on the medley relay. She also finished 10th in the 100 fly at state.

At the dual meet, Bellford and Schubert ended tied for the 1st in the 50 free, with both girls swimming a 25.76. Bellford also took the 100 free (57.34), but Schubert helped her team to a 92-78 win with a win in the fly and swimming legs on the decisive winning medley and 400 free relays for Whitnall.

The two will likely face each other again, as both participate in the Cudahay sectional.

Friday, October 16, 2009

D2 state meet preview -- Small State Invite

The Small State Invite is this Saturday at Shorewood. Although several top D2 teams won't be there, it should provide a good preview of a number of D2 contenders and top teams as the season heads toward sectionals and the state meet in November. Among the teams at the meet: Sturgeon Bay/Sevatopol, Edgewood, Whitefish Bay, McFarland and the hosts.

Watch out for Shorewood swimming in comfortable surroundings. The team's terrific tandem of senior Elli Sellinger and junior Clare Chamberlain are having oustanding seasons. The team has also added some much-needed depth, notably freshman Ellen Stello, who has racked up several top-30 times this season, including a very solid 5:21.92 in the 500 free.

As Shorewood heads for sectional qualifying, it will be interesting to see how coach Robby McCabe arranges his relays (and whether the Small State meet gives a hint of how he'll do it). The Greyhounds may have enough depth to get three relays through to state. But stacking both Sellinger and Chamberlain on two relays makes those relays a threat to win; last year, the duo had the two-fastest splits in the D2 state meet 400 free relay (faster than Sauk Prairie's Abby Diehl and Monona Grove's Hayley Martin, who won the D2 sprint titles last year and anchored their teams' 400 free relays.)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Bound for Stanford

Madison West's Kylie Rosenstock, one of the best divers in state history, has decided to attend Stanford. Here's the Wisc. State Journal story:

http://host.madison.com/sports/high-school/swimming/article_1207a846-b8cd-11de-8534-001cc4c03286.html

Rosenstock will be seeking to become the first diver in Div. 1 state history to win four state diving titles. Rosenstock's winning score of 471.60 last year was the second-best in D1 history.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Decisions, decisions

With sectionals about three weeks away, it's nearing decision time for several of the state's top swimmers. The decision -- which two events to swim for sectional qualifying?

One top Div. 2 swimmer -- Grafton senior Sadie Nenning -- has already indicated she may switch from the 100 butterfly to the 200 IM this year. See this from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/preps/63944117.html

Nenning will certainly swim the backstroke; she won state titles in the event as a freshman and sophomore before finishing second last year to Berlin/Green Lake's Siri Smits' record-breaking win. Nenning finished 4th last year at state in the 100 fly, having finished 2nd as a freshman and 6th as a sophomore in the 200 IM.

Here's a look at some swimmers in each division and the decisions they face:

D2

-- Milton senior Jennah Haney, similar to Nenning, is a two-time state champ (100 breaststroke) who finished 2nd in the event last year to record-breaking freshman Kate Criter. She'll certainly swim the breaststroke again. Her second event? Last year, she finished 3rd in the 200 free after finishing 3rd in the 200 IM at state her first two years. Her decision may depend on how a deep but young Milton squad arranges its relays; Haney acknowledged being tired for last year's 200 free after swimming a very fast breaststroke leg on Milton's 200 medley relay. With both D2 state champs in the 50 and 100 free having graduated, Haney could also opt for one of the shorter freestyle sprints.

-- Plymouth sophomore Criter, who besides winning the breaststroke as a freshman also took second in the 100 fly. But Criter's also posted some impressive times in other events this year; she currently has the 3rd-fastest times in the 50 free and the 200 IM.

-- Shorewood's dynamic duo of senior Elli Sellinger and junior Clare Chamberlain. The two scored 74 points between them last year at state, with wins by Sellinger in the fly and Chamberlain in the 200 IM (her second win in a row), and 2nd-place finishes in the 200 free (Sellinger) and 500 free (Chamberlain). The two are so versatile they could probably choose among several events and make it to the final heat of state. But Shorewood may be thinking it has a shot at the D2 state title this year; coach Robby McCabe will likely try to place Sellinger and Chamberlain in the two events that can best maximize their point potential at the state meet.

-- Sauk Prairie junior Kelsey Kohlbeck finished 12th (IM) and 11th (fly) in her state races last year, but with Sauk's top sprinter Abby Diehl having graduated, Kohlbeck has been swimming a lot of freestyle sprints this year. She has the 5th-fastest 50 free time and 4th-fastest 100 free time posted this year so far.

D1

-- It will be a major surprise if either of the two double-event winners from last year -- Madison East's Aja Van Hout (200 IM, 500 free), and Madison Memorial's Jackie Powell (200 free, 100 back) -- switch events. It's a possibility -- both are very versatile swimmers -- but it'd still be a major surprise.

-- What about Hartland Arrowhead's Haley Pietila? She was 2nd last year as a freshman in both the 200 and 100 frees. With last year's state champ in both the 50 and 100 frees (Madison East's Ruby Martin) gone to graduation, Pietila could move down to the two shorter sprints this year. She swam the 50 and 100 frees at the recent Madison Girls Invitational at the Natatorium, perhaps a hint of what she'll swim at sectionals.

-- Wisconsin Rapids' Becca Weiland is almost a sure bet in the 50 free; her 23.38 is the fastest time posted this year in the event by nearly half-a-second. She swam the 50 and 100 frees at state as a freshman, but Weiland also has posted top-five times this year in the 100 fly and backstroke, giving her several options for an event in the second half of the state meet.

-- Hartland-Arrowhead's Emma Goral will be looking for her third straight title in the fly. Will HA repeat what it did last year, and swim Goral in all three of its relays? It's possible, perhaps even probable. Goral doesn't have a natural second event, she's a very good relay swimmer, and HA is a prime candidate to contend for all three relay titles at state this year.

-- What about freshman sensation Ann Brooks? The Burlington co-op swimmer has posted an outstanding 2:07.06 200 IM already this year; only Van Hout has swum faster this season. She also has top-five times posted in the 200 free, 500 free and 100 breaststroke. One dilemma -- she almost certainly won't swim the 200 free and 200 IM back-to-back, and both the 500 free and 100 breaststroke look to be loaded this year with lots of talent.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

A faster 500

It used to be a rare event when someone broke the 5 minute barrier in the girls 500 free.

In Div. 2, it's been accomplished six times by the event winner -- in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2005, and last year by Brookfield Academy's Kelsey Hojan-Clark, who just missed the state record of 4:53.94 when she swam a 4:54.18.

In Div. 1, it's been even more rare -- once in 1992, twice by Middleton's Courtney Veerman in 2005 and 2006, and then by Madison East's Aja Van Hout in 2007. That is, until last year. 2008 was a breakthrough year in the 500 free in D1, as four swimmers broke the magical 5-minute mark, led by Van Hout's record-setting 4:48.60. The others: Muskego's duo of Brittany Walsh (4:52.87) and Jessica Wolf (4:57.78) and Middleton's Katie Delaney (4:54.65). Waukesha South/Mukwonago's Courtney Sheehan came close in finishing 5th with a time of 5:00.85.

It could be even faster this year in Div. 1. Last night, Madison West junior Ilsa Feierabend ripped off a 5:04.95 500 in a dual meet against Sun Prairie in the dungeon that is the Madison West pool. That's faster than Feierabend went last year at state, when she swam a 5:05.70 to place 8th. Earlier this year, Brookfield East's Sara Brzozowski - 19th last year at state -- swam a 5:06 in a dual meet, more than 11 seconds faster than what she swam at state. Several other swimmers this year have gone under 5:10, according to the state coaches top-30 time list, and it's not unusual for swimmers to drop up to 10 seconds or more as they taper for the end of the season.

Could we see a final-heat 500 free in Div. 1 this year with everyone going under 5 minutes? It may not be a stretch -- the D1 500 free is loaded this year, with the top eight finishers from last year's state meet, as well as 16 of the top 17 finishers, returning. In all, 20 of the 24 qualifiers for last year's D1 500 free return.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

About that Div. 2 coaches poll...

The latest Wisconsin Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (WISCA) poll has DeForest listed as #1, followed by Madison Edgewood, Plymouth, Monona Grove, and Sauk Prairie. See: http://www.wisca.net/polls

Sorry to rain on anyone's parade, but the poll is clearly lacking a complete roster of top-tier D2 teams. Among the notable D2 teams not ranked: Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, and Elkhorn -- all teams expected to place in the top 10 at this year's state meet. Also missing are contributions from teams with some of the state's top swimmers -- like Berlin/Green Lake and defending 100 back champ Siri Smits, and Delavan-Darien and senior Emily McClellan, who's been having an outstanding season.

Ironically, the WISCA D1 poll is pretty complete, and looks to be an accurate reflection of how the D1 state meet is likely to play out -- Hartland Arrowhead the heavy favorite, with a bunch of teams (Madison Memorial, Waukesha South/Mukwonago, Muskego, the Burlington co-op and a few others) duking it out for 2nd place and top-five finishes.

And here's the thing about the WISCA poll -- it's totally merit-based. Rankings are determined by top-30 times, with only a given swimmer's two best top-ranked times counting in the calculation. That's unlike coaches polls in other sports (notably football), where regional biases and tradition sometimes overrule objective assessments of teams.

But the WISCA poll is entirely self-selecting -- coaches have to make the effort to submit complete and accurate times to make the thing work. So Div. 2 coaches -- if you're out there, submit those times!

The other invite last weekend

Although it didn't draw the powerful field of the Wisconsin Girls Invite at the UW Natatorium, the Fondy Cardinals Girls Invite produced some interesting results.

Bay Port, proving once again it's one of the better and deeper squads in the Fox Valley, won the invite handily with 357 points to 276 for the Oshkosh North/Oshkosh Lourdes co-op. And Bay Port won it without winning a single event. It's the Pirates second big invite win this year, having won the Ashwaubenon Invite earlier this fall.

Other notable results from the Fondy Invite:

-- Oshkosh North/Lourdes junior Rachel Revolinski won two individual events with solid times: the 200 free in 1:56.94 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.36. Revolinski is one of those versatile swimmers who may have a tough time choosing her two events for sectionals; last year, she finished 9th in the 200 IM and 11th in the 100 free at the Div. 1 state meet.

-- Green Bay East/Preble's Jasmine Lee -- who nearly bypassed her senior year of swimming -- was also a double winner, with a 2:12.67 win in the 200 IM and a 59.71 win in the 100 butterfly. Lee finished 4th last year at the D1 state meet in the IM and 5th in the 100 back. As an aside, the D1 200 IM this year looks particularly loaded, with the top seven finishers from last year returning and the potential of top freshmen like Eau Claire Memorial's Leah Pronschinske and Burlington's Anna Brooks swimming it as well.

-- Elkhorn sophomore Rachel Johnson led a strong showing by Elkhorn (3rd place, only six points behind the Oshkosh co-op) with wins in the 50 (25.51) and 100 (55.44) frees. Elkhorn could make some noise at this year's D2 state meet; the team has two very good swimmers in Johnson and senior Terrin Seaver and returns nearly everyone who scored points at last year's state meet, when the squad finished 10th. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's latest poll of teams in the southeast region has Elkhorn ranked 10th overall and 3rd among D2 teams, behind only Shorewood and Whitefish Bay.

-- Ashwaubenon senior Andrea Teske won the 500 free in a solid time of 5:14.36. Teske and Ashwaubenon this year get to move back down to Division 2 for sectional qualifying, which they will surely welcome. Teske as a sophomore placed 6th in the 200 free and 7th in the 500 free at the D2 state meet; last year, swimming against much faster competition when Ashwaubenon got moved up to Div. 1, she failed to make it to the state meet. Her time at the Fondy Invite is one of the fastest 500 free times posted this year by a D2 swimmer.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

2009 Wisconsin Girls Invitational

Highlights from the year's biggest meet so far (and there were plenty), swum at the US Natatorium Saturday. Warning -- long post ahead:

-- Hartland Arrowhead won, as expected, by a whopping 148 points over the host Madison Memorial squad -- 372-224. Last year, HA topped Memorial by 40 points. Guess we have a favorite -- a heavy one at that -- for this year's Div. 1 state meet. HA this year may not be quite up to the standards of the school's dominant 2004 and 2005 squads, which won nearly every event at state those two years. But it's awfully good; against some of the best competition in the state, HA qualified at least two swimmers into the two-heat meet finals, and often had multiple swimmers in the final heat. Its relay teams also came within two-tenths of a second of sweeping all three relays. It looks like the only thing that can stop HA on its march to a seventh state title in eight years is a massive outbreak of swine flu on the HA high school campus -- swimmers, wash those hands!

-- Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol won the competition among the D2 schools at the meet, and stamped itself as a serious threat to upend DeForest's quest for a fourth straight state title. The SB/S squad finished 7th overall at the meet with 115 points, 28 more than DeForest, which finished 11th overall with 87 points. In truth, the two D2 squads are exceedingly closely matched -- the SB/S Clippers deeper in the sprints, the Norskies deeper in the distance events, and perhaps a bit more balanced. Watch out for SB/S's 200 free relay -- it finished 4th at the meet, with a time of 1:40.99 (not its fastest of the season), and placed ahead of solid 200 free relays from teams such as Memorial, Wausau East, Oshkosh West and Eau Claire Memorial.

-- The night's best race featured a great story line -- the savvy veteran against the new kid on the block. In the end, experience won -- by the narrowest of margins. The 100 breaststroke final matched two-time defending state champ and senior Emily Russart of Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay against Eau Claire Memorial's freshman phenom, Leah Pronschinske. The freshman posted the faster qualifying time, but Russart came off the blocks and out of her underwater pull ahead, and never gave up the lead, holding off a closing Pronschinske 1:04.37 to 1:04.38. Proschinske's arrival on the high school swimming scene has been highly anticipated, in part to her achieving an Olympic Trials cut while an 8th grader. Look for another terrific matchup between her and Russart at state.

-- Russart also played a key role in preventing an Arrowhead sweep in the relays -- the B3 medley relay of Ellie Lorenzi, Russart, Lindsey Mikrut and Maddie Clark held off HA 1:49.28 to 1:49.48. That's the same line-up for B3 that won state last year. Arrowhead tried to counter by switching ace sprinter Haley Pietila to the anchor leg of the medley. But after a closely contested backstroke leadoff leg between Lorenzi and HA's Kate Jones, Russart took over, swimming a scary-fast 28.99 breaststroke leg to break the race open. She topped Arrowhead's Caryn Knight -- no slouch in the breaststroke herself -- by more than two seconds on her leg, and HA never caught up. Great medleys are often made by breaststrokers, a point driven home by B3 Saturday night.

-- Give Madison East's Aja Van Hout credit -- alot of it, actually. After swimming a meet-record and state-leading 1:50.87 in the 200 free, she chose to swim the 100 butterfly against Arrowhead's Emma Goral. It's hard to say someone who's won state the past two years in the 200 IM, like Van Hout, has a weak stroke, but the butterfly may be it for her. It's certainly not her best one. But she took on Goral, the two-time defending state champ and maybe the strongest favorite in any single event this year in Division 1. The two went at it closely for the first 50 yards, but Goral's superior turns and strength in the end gave her a .53 seconds win in the event (and a meet record to boot, at 56.45). Van Hout, who loses an individual race about once a blue moon, deserves kudos for taking on one of the state's best.

-- Jackie Powell was the night's only double winner, taking both the 100 free and 100 back, where she is the defending state champ. Powell's win in the 100 free, in which she beat Pietila, last year's state runner-up in the event, pretty handily (52.38 for Powell to 52.83 for Pietila) led to some post-meet speculation about whether Powell was planning to switch out of the 200 free -- where she is also the defending state champ -- into the shorter sprint. Hard to imagine -- Powell just dominated the 200 free last year at state, beating Pietila by nearly two seconds. (Then again, and this is purely speculative, maybe there's just some gamesmanship going on between Powell and Van Hout, probably the two best swimmers in the state. Hard to imagine Van Hout switching out of the 200 IM, either, since she's the two-time defending state champ and won it by more than three seconds last year. But she has been swimming a lot of 200 frees so far this year...)

-- Pronschinske showed she wasn't just a one-event swimmer, either. The Eau Claire Memorial freshman won the 200 IM quite handily, by nearly two seconds. Granted, the event was missing Van Hout, but it included a number of top finishes from last year's state meet in the event, including runner-up Becca Soderholm of Madison East. Russart of B3 was within shouting distance at the turn toward the final freestyle legs, but Pronschinske impressively came home with a 30.58 anchor split. Overall, it was quite a meet for the Eau Claire freshman -- this invitational, unlike any other in the state, is run in a prelims/finals format, which makes for a very long day. For top-tier swimmers, it means they are swimming six events -- two heats of prelims, two heats of finals, plus two relays. For freshman especially, it can be a grueling day. But Proschinske held up well -- the mark of a very good swimmer.

-- For her first two years of high school swimming, she stood in the shadow of her sister. That's excusable, given that Ruby Martin left Madison East with four individual state titles and three relay titles. But now little sister Ivy is a junior, and demonstrating she may be one of the top pure sprinters in the state. She handily won the 50 free over a deep field that included Pietila, Wausau East's Lea Koenig and Lauren Sichterman, and two of the best freshmen in the state -- Arrowhead's Julia Mikota and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol's Savanna Townsend. Martin's time of 24.17 beat Pietila by .33 seconds -- a pretty good amount in a 50 sprint.

-- Relays are often built around a dominant swimmer or two -- witness B3's medley relay. But Arrowhead's winning 200 free relay was a thing of beauty by its balance. Check out these splits -- Mikota, 24.79; Jones, 24.62; Holly Johnson, 24.83; Goral, 24.82. When your slowest and fastest splits are separated by only two-tenths of a second, you're doing something right.

-- Led by its tandem of Hilary Woldt and Natalie Bolin, Oshkosh West had a nice meet, finishing 4th with 134 points, ahead of notable teams like Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay and Wausau East. The pair finished 7th and 8th in the 200 free, with Bolin then finishing 5th in the 500 free and Woldt 3rd in the backstroke. Oshkosh West will be looking to reclaim its sectional title that it lost to Neenah last year.

-- Finally, what's up with Muskego? Ranked 4th in the latest state coaches poll, and with a slew of top-tier swimmers, the team showed up for the prelims, swam pretty well, then skipped town. Distance aces Brittany Walsh and Jessica Wolf went 1-2 in qualifying for the 500 free, and other notable Muskego swimmers like Emma Szczupakiewicz and Sami Pochowski also swam in the prelims but not the finals. Maybe head coach Ed Hallett doesn't like the prelims/finals format of the meet. Anyone know? Feel free to comment.

Full results here:

http://www.spartanswimmingdiving.com/files/wisconsin_invite/2009/2009_Meet_Results.pdf

or simply go to http://www.spartanswimmingdiving.com/wisconsin_invite.html and click on 2009 results.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Big meet in Madison

The Wisconsin Girls Invite, hosted by Madison Memorial, takes place this Saturday at the UW Natatorium. A number of top D1 and D2 teams will be there, including defending D1 state champs Hartland-Arrowhead (ranked #1 in the latest state coach's poll), the #2 ranked host team, and #4 Muskego, along with top D2 squads like DeForest, Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, and Madison Edgewood.

Just like last year, it will be done in the prelims-final format, making for a long day for the swimmers. Look for Arrowhead to do well; it should be fun to see how the remaining D1 and D2 teams sort themselves out in a pool many will be swimming at for state next month.

Big win for Milton

Milton won its big dual meet with Madison Edgewood this past Tuesday 91-79 in a matchup between two undefeated squads in the always competitive Badger South Conference. Edgewood had won the season-opening Badger South relays meet, but Milton was able to turn the tables with a solid showing from its strong freshmen class and a remarkable showing by senior Jennah Haney.

Remarkable, because in a meet where every first-place finish was critical, Haney pulled off one of the most difficult doubles in the sport -- winning the 100 fly and then coming right back in the next event and winning the 100 free. After a brief rest, Haney then came back to anchor Milton's winning 200 free relay that out-touched Edgewood by a mere four-hundreths of a second.

The Milton squad also got a solid double-win from sophomore Stacey Kincade in the 200 IM (2:18.60) and 500 free (5:22.29). Edgewood's depth kept the meet close, but in the end, Milton's ability to pull out lots of wins -- 9 of the 11 races contested -- and Haney's remarkable double gave the hosts the win.

Up North -- the fight for who's best

Let's be honest -- swim fans in the greater Madison and Milwaukee areas tend to be a bit disdainful of swimming north of their two respective orbits. Perhaps with some reason -- only one team in the history of the girls state meet (Sauk Prairie, 2002) has arguably come from outside those two metropolitan areas.

Conventional wisdom suggested the Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol girls squad could make some noise at this year's Div. 2 state meet. But it looks like they might not be the only northern team to push their way into contention. At last weekend's Plymouth Invitational, the host squad edged out SB/S 618-583 in an eight-team invitational dominated by the two squds.

Plymouth is led by super sophomore Katie Criter, the defending state champ in the 100 breaststroke and runner-up in the 100 butterfly. Criter is a versatile swimmer -- she's posted top-five times in five individual events so far in the state coach's top-30 rankings -- and she won the fly and breaststroke at her team's invite. But Plymouth showed at their invitational they are far from a one-swimmer squad; fellow sophomore Sarah Coley picked up a win in the 100 free, and Plymouth was able to "out-depth" SB/S for the win.

Of course, SB/S shouldn't be dimissed based on one meet. Indeed -- with wins at the Plymouth Invite in all three relays, plus four individual wins -- they are the kind of squad likely to do well at sectionals and state.

One thing's for certain -- this year's D2 Plymouth sectional is absolutely loaded. Defending state runner-up Whitefish Bay, with a senior-laded squad, will be joined by Plymouth, SB/S, a solid Shorewood squad, an improving Port Washington team, and teams like Grafton and Brookfield Academy that include past individual state champions. It should be a good one to watch.