Division 2 sectional round-up

If Saturday's Div. 2 sectionals proved anything, it's that the race for the team title this year may be the closest in years. Several teams came out of sectional competition with a legitimate case for taking home the first-place trophy.

In the day's best competition, Whitefish Bay enjoyed an outstanding day in the Plymouth sectional, winning (326 points) a taught, three-way battle with Shorewood (317) and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol (312). WBay's Jim Davis stacked his relays, taking star sprinter Maggie Smith out of the 100 free and placing her as anchor on all three relays. It worked, as Smith brought home two relay wins for her team -- the medley in a thrilling match-up with SB/S (1:50.59 to 1:50.99), and the meet-clinching 400 free relay in an outstanding time of 3:36.74. For good measure, Smith won the 50 free (24.32, just edging SB/S freshman sensation Savanna Townsend by .03 seconds) and bringing home the 200 free relay in 3rd place.

WBay also got a surprising win from senior Annie Maercklein in the 100 breaststroke, where she edged out defending state champ Kate Criter in the race 1:07.02-1:07.18. But it was a true team win for WBay; nearly every single swimmer for the Blue Dukes improved her seed time and moved up to score points in the meet.

In a meet that featured several oustanding races, none was closer than the 100 free, where SB/S freshman Savanna Townsend edged Shorewood senior Elli Sellinger by a mere .01 seconds, 54.09-54.10. Townsend led a solid showing by SB/S's sprinters; the team qualified three swimmers for state in both the 50 and 100 frees. In addition, Savanna and her sister Sierra, joined by Micheala Rabas and McKenzie Trelka won the 200 free relay in 1:38.43, more than half-a-second under the current D2 state record in the event, set last year by Monona Grove. SB/S also finished second in both the 200 medley and 400 free relays; with their sprinting depth and strong relays, SB/S can certainly make an argument for being one of the strongest contenders for the D2 state title this coming week.

Also at the meet, defending state champ Kelsey Hojan-Clark of Brookfield Academy dominated both of her events, winning the 200 free (1:53.04) by more than three seconds over Sellinger, and the 500 free (5:00.46) by nearly nine seconds over last year's state runner-up, Claire Chamberlain of Shorewood. Chamberlain easily won the 200 IM; she'll be gunning for her third straight state title in the event this Friday.

Over at Baraboo, three-time defending state champ DeForest stated its case for a 4th consecutive title with a dominating performance, 331-276 over a Sauk Prairie squad that also swam extremely well. DeForest stacked its 200 and 400 free relays with its four best swimmers, and got wins from both relays with some very fast times (1:39.91 in the 200; 3:37.43 in the 400). All four of those relay swimmers produced an individual win as well -- Leah Winckler in the 200 IM, Lindsey Verhulst in the 50 free, Chelsea Statz in the 100 free, and Casey Wolter in the 500 free. Sauk's Alison Meng produced two wins -- 100 back (58.47) and the 100 fly (58.88), the latter in a thrilling three-way race with Monona Grove's Kelsey Millin and Winckler. Meng also led off Sauk's winning 200 medley relay. McFarland's Stirling Smith swam a very fast 1:06.05 to win the 100 breaststroke.

Milton edged Elkhorn 320-310 in another terrific sectional battle at Cudahy in a meet that saw the two teams go back and forth throughout the afternoon. Milton senior Jennah Haney led the way for her team, with a win in the 200 IM (2:06.93). She was joined by teammates Abby Holmquist, who won the 200 free (1:58.72), Stacey Kincade, who won the 500 free (5:21.70), and Katelyn Holmquist, who won the 100 back (57.37). The 100 breaststroke was the shining event of the meet, with Delavan-Darien's Emily McClellan (1:05.66) edging Haney (1:05.90) and Waukesha Catholic Memorial's Anna Meinholz (1:07.39) in a race that featured three of the five swimmers who broke last year's state record in the event. Elkhorn flexed its muscles in the relays, winning both the 200 and 400 free relays. Elkhorn senior Terrin Seaver earned the top seed in the butterfly at the state meet with a time of 58.85; she added a 2nd place in the 100 back. New Berlin West's Cory Wannamaker was a double-winner in the 50 and 100 frees.

At the UW-Stevens Point sectional, Berlin-Green Lake got a double win from Siri Smits (100 fly, 100 back) to capture the team title, 301-247 over runner-up Ashwaubenon. Smits and senior Erin Cox contributed legs on the team's winning medley and 400 free relays, and Cox added a win in the 200 IM. Ashwaubenon's Andrea Teske was a double winner in the 200 and 500 frees.