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.
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In 2006 Abbey Soderholm swam the 200 free and 200 IM back to back, and medaled in both (2nd and 6th). One of the gutsiest swims ever at that meet in my opinion.
And she anchored Madison East's medley relay to a 5th-place finish to start off the meet.
Relays -- that's one of the things that makes the sectional race selection so interesting. There are some tough turnarounds -- swimmers competing in the 500 free swimming the 200 free relays, breaststrokers swimming the 400 free relay, medley relay swimmers turning around for the 200 free (like Haney did last year) -- that coaches and swimmers have to take into consideration.
All the more reason that teams with solid freestyle sprinters often do well as state -- the meet in terms of the balance of events sets up perfectly for someone swimming the 50/100 frees and anchoring two of the three relays.
Speaking of decisions...maybe you would love to be or hate to be Arrowhead's coaches. 3 potential state diver qualifiers and a very, very deep talented swim team. There will be some very fast swimmers and good divers from Arrowhead that will not make the state team as they will quickly fill their 21 spots.
I thought D1 got three swimmers per event? That would be 24 swims and three divers.
I am pretty sure it's 21, inclusive of divers and relays.
Both D1 and D2 get 18 individuals and one relay team per relay event. So that's 21 entries -- 18 individuals, three relays. The relays have to be one per relay event (you can't enter two relays in one relay event and none in another); the individuals can be spread out however a coach wants. So it amounts on average to two individuals per individual event; teams without divers obviously use those two "extra" entries to stack up a particular event.
DeForest girls last year, with no divers, used 8 of its 18 individual entries in just two events -- the 200 and 500 frees. Seven qualified for state. Hartland-Arrowhead's boys team this past season -- again, with no diving entries -- entered five swimmers in the 500 free, the most I've ever come across among teams sending swimmers to state. All five qualified, and all ended up scoring points in the D1 meet.
Here is another decision that teams have to make: What suit to wear at sectionals and state? The FINA list came out today, but will the WIAA honor it? Or will somebody get DQ'ed for a suit at one sectional, that is allowed at another sectional?
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