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.