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.
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18 comments:
According to the buzz in the stands, it was Muskego's homecoming. What is not clear is why they came for prelims if they had no intention of swimming in finals?
I've also heard some speculation that meet organizers were pretty tight in enforcing the meet entry deadline, and some teams tardy with their meet entries couldn't swim. I understand the need for deadlines, but if I was coaching one of those teams, and found out Muskego skipped out on the finals, I'm not sure I'd be too pleased.
This meet highlights a few things WIAA might want to think about. First, a bit of research will show that most high school state meets are in the prelim/final format. In fact, Wisconsin may be one of the few left that conduct such a high level meet in a single timed final session. In watching how the state high school swim meet is conducted you feel like you are back in the 50s, 60s or 70s. The format is completely out of date. A simple example: the meet is conducted in an 8 lane pool, scores are awarded to 16th place, but you only do a medal ceremony to 6th place??? What's up with that? Why? If WIAA goes to a prelim/final format, they will also have to change how the swimmers qualify for the state meet. Again, a small bit of research will show you, most other states have true time standards. In fact, Minnesota allows the top two finishers for each section to qualify, plus all the other swimmers that meet the time standard are allowed to swim at the state meet. Image what that might mean for the meet and the impact it could have on WI high school swimming. Maybe some of the fastest WI swimmers who don't swim high school would. Again, Wisconsin's format is truly out of date and does not match with how high level swimming is conducted. I hope this meet is being watched by the WIAA for the possibility of changing the state meet.
In some ways we do have a prelim/final meet. Its just that the prelim is 6 or 7 days prior to the finals. No matter what you swim all year, you get to swim at sectionals, so there is no time standard that way, but whatever you are able to do for a time at sectionals determines if you make it to state, just like finals, with the exception that sectional champs get in regardless of time.
Prelim/final is certainly one way to go, but anyone who as been in the Nat on Friday night or Saturday afternoon in mid November can attest that Wisconsin High school swimming is pretty exciting the way it is. If its not broke, mayber we shouldn't try to fix it.
Does anyone know of a place to check and see which states have prelim final and which have the timed final with sectional qualifying?
The six place award thing, however, I must agree has absolutely no justification or reasoning behind it that I can see.
This is good discussion regarding the state meet format. There is no doubt the atmosphere for the state meet is awesome, but I would submit that it is has nothing to do with the current format. The atmosphere comes from high quality/high stakes swim meets. Some facts to consider:
- 13&Over Club State Championships are prelims/finals over three days
- Zone Championships are prelims/finals over three days
- Speedo Sectional Championships are prelims/finals over four days
- USA Junior Nationals are prelims/finals over four days
- USA Nationals are prelims/finals over four days
My point being, high level competitive swim meets are conducted in a prelim/final format and most of the swimmers at the state level swim USA Club Swimming and are trained to swim these kind of meets. I also submit exclusively all NCAA (all divisions) invitationals, conference championships and NCAA Championships are conducted in a prelim/final format. It is the way high caliber meets are conducted and most other states run their high school championships in this format. I simply don't understand the disconnect WIAA with the rest of the swimming community and the way real high level swim meets are conducted. You certainly can argue we are not training our high school swimmers for future college careers with our current state championship format! Check out MSHSL (Minnesota) for their details. They conduct two divisions in this format. Why can't Wisconsin?
- Iowa conducts a timed final meet
- Illinois has time standards and a prelim/final format
- Michigan has time standards and a prelim/final format
I could go on...you just need to check each state's high school athletic organization website and you can see for yourself how many run a prelim/final format and those who have time standards versus the out of date way Wisconsin does ti.
Just a follow on comment to my previous post. I believe I am correct in stating that those states that conduct a prelim/final format at that state still conduct a sectional meet while also maintaining state qualifying standards.
As far as history goes, I think Wisconsin went to a timed final format when they went to a 2 division setup. I may be mistaken, but I think all WIAA state championships where there is an individual event champion give awards through 6th place.
I'll add my two cents (well, a few more than that...)
I'm not a big fan of the prelims/finals format. I think it's OK to have a one-day invite run along these lines, but I don't think it's a good idea for the state swim meet. Reasons?
-- High school swimming should do all it can not to resemble club swimming. The two are different beasts. Club swimming is primarily, and increasingly, geared toward high-end swimmers. High school swimming -- and high school sports generally -- should not be; the primary focus of high school sports should be participation, instilling the virtues of being part of a team, and representing your community and school through good sportsmanship. One of the great virtues of swimming as a high school sport is that (with very few exceptions involving a tiny number of elite, high-profile programs) there are not cuts -- if you want to swim in high school, chances are you can, and you'll participate. Check out your typical high school football or basketball game, and count how many players actually compete, and compare it to swimming.
What's this have to do with prelims/timed finals? A lot, I'd argue -- I'd suggest that the more high school swimming starts to resemble club swimming, the less incentive there is for the top-tier of swimmers to keep participating in high school swimming. And I'd suggest the WIAA has a clear role in that regard -- swimming is one of the few sports with organized competition that directly competes with high school swim seasons. The WIAA needs to maintain ways to keep the high school swim season as distinct from club swimming as possible.
Other reasons:
-- A prelims/finals format will take even more time away from school for these athletes. It's only one day, you might argue. But, as a former school board member, I'd argue we need to look for ways to keep kids in school longer, not shorten their time in school. The club season -- with their four-day state and Speedo meets -- already wrecks havoc with schooling for top-tier swimmers. The current WIAA format for swimming avoids cutting school time as much as feasible, given the traditional no-Sunday sports participation.
-- Are Wisconsin fastest swimmers really not participating in high school swimming? I know of two who currently don't. If the high school swim season is good enough for Madison East's Aja Van Hout and Madison Memorial's Michael Drives -- two of the best swimmers to come around lately in Wisconsin -- it ought to be good enough for nearly everyone (see Eau Claire Memorial's Leah Pronschinske, who achieved an Olympic Trials cut before she entered high school and chose to swim for her high school.) One more note -- Van Hout and Drives are also two of the real class acts in high school swimming, when it comes to sportsmanship. And they swim for their local high school. I think the two are related.
And I'm not terribly bothered by the 1st-through-6th place awards. It mirrors what's done in track-and-field, and swimmers ought to earn their way onto the podium at state. By awarding eight places, you're recognizing half the Div. 2 field and a third of the D1 field. As the father of someone who's finished 9th and 8th at state the last two years (and was in 6th for part of last year's race), I think it's good to make swimmers hungry to get on that podium.
Overall I agree with Phil's position. I'd also ask the question in a slightly different way: What is the goal of having prelims-finals? What would we be trying to accomplish? Yes it would make it like club and NCAA, but other than that, what is the benefit? Not being snarky here, I am asking this as a serious question.
One other note, I'm fairly familiar with both club and HS here in Wisconsin, and I'll echo what Phil says about the best swimmers choosing to swim HS as well as club. In fact there are a number of top level swimmers who always swim their best times for their HS team. There is something HS swimming does very well about building a team atmosphere that club cannot match. That goes for some of the other "individual" sports as well, such as tennis, or golf.
One final note, I'm not advocating the "everybody wins, don't keep score" type of approach. These kids want to win, and they should want that. But it doesn't need to be the same as club in all respects.
I am glad I brought the subject up. The different perspectives are really interesting.
I hope others take the opportunity to comment
the response to ur talk about swimming high school and not, is that the best swimmers in wisconsin that swim high school you say are michael drives and aja van hout, which swim for very respectable high school teams with respectable coaches, there are some swimmers in milwaukee that do not swim high school. most of the coaches in the milwaukee area high schools are like chemistry teachers, or schools are struggling to find a coach and just pretty much throw away the job to someone not qualified at all. i am familiar with a group of boys at schroeder that do not swim high school, and the reason they dont is that there is a GROUP of them. A group of them that always train together, push eachother in practice, and are coached by some of the best coaches in the midwest, in Dave Anderson, olympian Adam Mania, and UWM star Chase Gravengood. I think the decision that some of those boys are making, is that they are going to go with something thats guaranteed to make them faster and coaching consistency, rather than leaving it up to some coach that doesnt really know what he is talking about, or still coaching with methods from the 90s. I swam high school, and loved it, but had no option. I started out my high school season going best times, but progressively got slower and slower throughout the season, because the training was WEAK. then after the season was over I trained for a few weeks, and went personal bests. Most of these kids that have someone to push them need to train with those respective people. those schroeder boys have set numerous NATIONAL records in relays over the past 2 years. How could you pass up not training with them if you have the option?
Captainwordiness (good ID, by the way!):
I'll be the first to admit I'm quite biased toward high school students competing for their schools and community. I think doing so instills values in kids that simply can't be matched by club swimming. The great upside of club swimming -- that it is intently focused on individual and personal development and improvement -- is also its downside. When the intense focus on individual achievement becomes such that high school-aged kids are steered toward (or steer themselves toward) club swimming at the expense of competing for their high school, I think those swimmers miss out on something -- competing as part of a team, competing on behalf of their school and community, supported and cheered on by classmates (and supporting and cheering on classmates). The goals of club swimming and high school swimming, I'd suggest, are different, and ought to be.
Is there a dearth of top-tier coaches in the high school ranks? Probably, but that's common to most high school sports -- the compensation that high school coaches get, compared to the hours they put into it, demonstrates that most coaches do it for love of the sport and working with young adults. Top-tier swimmers have access to club coaches for nine months a year; I don't think it's asking too much of them to train with their high school coaches and teammates for three months of the year (and the WIAA even allows swimmers to train during the high school season with their club teams -- and some do.)
And if there is a dearth of high school coaching out there in swimming, isn't the best way to develop a deeper pool for that to encourage top-tier talent to swim in high school, and then transition into coaching at the high school level? No one save for Michael Phelps and literally two or three others will ever make a living off swimming. So why not encourage top-tier talent to give back to the sport by considering high school coaching? (And I actually see quite a few good former high schoolers now in the Wisconsin coaching ranks.)
In the end, I think the benefits of high school swimming -- which I argue go beyond just the personal development of a given individual swimmer -- outweigh the benefits of opting for club swimming over the high school season. I think the percentage of swimmers -- especially in Wisconsin -- who are so good that they need club swimming year-round is tiny (maybe one that I know of, really, when it comes down to it). If Dagny Knutson can become the nation's top recruited female swimmer and swim for her high school in Minot, North Dakota (not exactly the center of the swimming universe), shouldn't everyone swim in high school?
I agree there are a lot of outstanding swimmers who have opted out of high school swimming for many of the reasons the previous post presented. Many of those reasons are real and valid and should be addressed to strengthen high school swimming in Wisconsin. I go back to the original topic starter: the format of the state meet. I believe the current state format needs to be changed. I presented my reasonsing above, but allow me to recap:
1) many, if not all collegiate level events are in the prelim/final format and our high school state meet should be viewed as a preparation step for university level swimming and it does not current align with the rest of the swimming community.
2) Many, if not all, participants who make the high school state meet have aspirations of swimming at the college level and should be exposed to such a format in a incredibly high pressure environment.
3) Although the argument that high school swimming is built on the team spirit and is accepting of all is is valid and true, one simply can not use that as a justification to keep it the way it is. In fact, if you went to a prelim/final format you would have to make the state meet open to more participants, thus involving more swimmers than currently are able to qualify. The current qualification process is simply archane and is restricting access to such a high level meet for participants. And, it can all be conducted in a single day, on a Saturday, requiring no more time away from academics than what is currently required.
4) Changing to a prelim/final format has really no impact on the conference to sectional to state meet process we currently use today. I highly encourage all to take a look at Minnesota, Michigan and other states on their process. Why can they all do a prelim/final state meet format and have sectional meets and time standards to qualify and Wisconsin can't or won't?
5) So what is up with the "do all it can do to not look like club swimming" comment all about? This discussion line has nothing to do with club swimming, it is all about conducting high level swim meets in the format that is accepted as the standard world wide and is, quite frankly, how it should be done.
Let the debate continue.
James:
Is it really your view that the current format of the state high school swim meet keeps top-tier swimmers out of high school swimming? Honestly, I have a hard time believing that. There are reasons that some top-tier swimmers in Wisconsin opt instead for club vs. high school swimming, but I highly doubt the format of the state meet is a motivating factor.
Coaching, the ability to swim multiple events over multiple days in a single meet, traveling to out-of-state meets, practicing with non-high schoolers, consistency of training, rigor of training -- all of those strike me as reasons kids opt for club vs. high school swimming.
Not all kids who qualify for state aspire to swim collegiately. And I have yet to encounter a single high school swimmer who has qualified for the state meet suggest that their preparation for college swimming is lessened by the current format of the state meet. In fact, I think you can make a good argument that qualifying for the high school state meet is more pressure-packed than qualifying for the NCAAs, which are time-based over the course of a season, not a single meet like sectionals.
All state meets or tournaments, by their very nature, are limiting. I just spent some time at the state golf tournament, and I'm sure lots of high school golfers would want to play at University Ridge in the state tourney. But tournament logistics dictate that only a certain number can participate. The more legitimate question, in my mind, is what's a reasonable number on how many should qualify? The current WIAA numbers for swimming -- 24 for D1, 16 for D2 -- strike me as reasonable, given the number of teams in those divisions and swimmers participating at sectionals. Getting to the state meet, I'd argue, ought to be a pretty stiff hurdle. And, in candor, I have qualms about doing a prelim/finals format in one day. That's a minimum of six races in a day for kids qualifying for finals (presuming they swim on relays), and that just strikes me as a lot. A few top-tier swimmers can handle that, but I'm not sure it's in the best interest of the majority of kids qualifying for state.
Finally, when you say:
"...a lot of outstanding swimmers who have opted out of high school swimming..."
can you specify how many? I don't need names, but I know of very few top-tier swimmers -- beyond the top-tier swimming now in high school -- who have opted out of high school swimming. And one that I know of had access to what is generally regarded as one of the best programs in the state.
(A final finally: Want to really get kids in Wisconsin excited about swimming? Get someone over at the UW to recognize the importance of a top-tier facility for swimming. Look at what the U. of Minnesota's pool has down for high school swimming there. And, more broadly, look at what other Big 10 universities -- Iowa and Purdue, notably -- have done with swimming facilities lately. I'd argue that it's no accident UW men's basketball improved significantly after the Kohl Center was built.)
you hit it spot on with the facility and the format of the meet.
its hard to run a top calibre high school meet in a 25 yd pool and have it be timed finals. you want to run wth the big boys? you go prelim/finals and then do it in a big pool with proper warm down area.
for the best of the best, high school swimming, is to showcase you to college recruiters and get some scholarship $$$. its harder to showcase that using the current format. no college championship meet is like that. whether its mid season invites, conference, and nationals
going back to high school/club. i did high school. i loved it. it was a lot of fun. but it made me worse, but i totally agree with you on the team aspect. however, the club that i was on, was a very very tight knit club as well, and we ALL cheered for eachother. club helps develop individual abilities, but there is definitely a sense of team on certain teams. teams such as BAC, just train, and i never see the team very close, on the boys side at least. however, the group of girls from last year (aja, jackie, ruby, ivy, chelsea...and years before danielle, kelly, that was a GREAT group of girls, and i know that they were all close together and had that sense of team, it totally depends on the type of club team you have though. but i find girls do best with high school swimming anyways... the pizza parties, the candy parties, making goofy shirts. girls like that stuff. guys have their head shaving parties... it depends where you go!
this goes on to bring up the next topic. will wisconsin get any better in college swimming with such a sub par facility? and why are most top tier talents going out of state? its sad.
First, I am not really arguing the state meet format is the reason why some high school swimmers opt out. I think the previous post articulated many of the reasons quite well. There are quite a few male swimmers who have opted out, and many (maybe 5 or more) train at Schroeder. As far as female swimmers go, there are a fewer number, but some well known have in the past, like Stephanie Armstrong (senior year) for example.
What I am really arguing is that our state meet format is not formatted in way all high level swim meets are currently conducted today. Single session timed final formats are just not done anymore, at this level. And as I think about your comment regarding the UW-Madison facility, I realize the meet format probably has more to do with the facility than anything. What other states have that Wisconsin doesn't (other than Schroeder, which is definitively showing it's age, and the soon to be built pool in Kenosha) is a 50 meter pool that can run two 25 yard pools making the prelim session much shorter. I can't agree with you more on the need for a world class facility like you see at Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio State, etc...
An apocryphal story about the UW Nat:
Not long ago, I was serving as a timer at a club meet held at the Nat. I looked down at my timer's sheet, and discovered a fairly high-profile high school swimmer in my lane. This recruit had recently signed to swim at the University of Minnesota.
I did the usual -- confirmed this person's name, and -- with a bit of time to kill -- wished the swimmer good luck at Minnesota. "Nice facility up there," I said.
The recruit smiled, looked around the Nat, and said: "Yeah, a whole lot better than this place."
I will say I think the UW women's side has improved of late in keeping top recruits in-state (Beckie Thompson, Kelly Winckler, Ruby Martin). But it's another story on the men's side, and I can't help but think that with both teams, the Nat is something that's an obstacle to overcome in recruiting, rather than a draw, especially compared to what the Big 10 competion is providing.
But then again, look who's run the UW athletic department the past two decades -- two football guys.
I've been reading this blog for a while, though this is the first time I've posted. I'm currently still swimming in high school and also on BAC.
Reading through all the interesting comments, there are a few things that I noticed.
First, the Schroeder "boys" who set the national records consist of, at most, one extremely fast high school boy, and three men who are currently in, or even finished with college. This includes someone who competed in the Olympics for another country years ago. Not exactly a good example of high school vs. club swimming.
Secondly, the comment that BAC boys do not seem very close, is one I find to be false. Having been a part of BAC for many years I can honestly say that my fellow teammates are some of my best friends. Yes, we have a large team and obviously I'm not close with all of them, but everyone is very friendly and each has their own close knit group of friends.
Thirdly, in regards to the format of the state swim meet, I very much enjoy how it is now. To be honest, the intense cheering would NOT happen if it were too much longer, especially if it were a two day meet. I've been to girls state meets for the past 7 years, cheering for my team. By the end of the meet, you're exhausted and never want to yell again. That environment plays a large part in the swimmers performance. It's no fun to look up at the crowd and see a bunch of tired people who don't really want to be sitting in the Nat anymore.
Finally, talent will keep going out of the state unless two things happen:
1) The UW needs a better pool. Currently they have one of the worst pools in the nation among D1 colleges. However, this is not as important as most people believe, because the SERF is a very nice training facility, as well as the other facilities the team uses at the Kohl Center.
2) Having talked to many people who have dealt with the UW coaches, it seems as if they believe that Wisconsin swimmers will automatically want to go to Wisconsin. Clearly this is not true, yet they continue to offer very little money to top Wisconsin swimmers. Swimmers want to feel valued, and the coaches give no indication that they will value their Wisconsin born and bred swimmers.
Thanks for your time!
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