For the past several years, Eau Claire Memorial has been a regional swim power with little to show when it comes to state meet time. But maybe this year's trip to Madison for the Eau Claire swimmers will prove more bountiful.
Eau Claire Memorial, now in a co-op swim program with former city rival Eau Claire North, has put together a squad this year capable of a strong showing at the Div. 1 state meet in February. This past weekend, the Memorial/North co-op traveled to Minnesota (and the first-rate University of Minnesota natatorium -- a better pool than anything found in Wisconsin) to take part in the annual Maroon & Gold Invitational. Competing against mainly Twin Cities-based Minnesota schools, Eau Claire came away with a victory in the Maroon division of the meet (the division representing the second-largest of the four divisions of schools taking part in the meet). The squad's 596.5-559 win over Mounds View (MN) confirmed the Eau Claire squad is for real.
As so often the case in high school swimming, the Eau Claire squad's fortunes have improved with the arrival of some top-tier talent. Three freshman played key roles in Eau Claire's win in the Twin Cities, led by Alex DeLakis, an early candidate for freshman of the year in D1. DeLakis won the 100 breaststroke in a school-record time of 59.18, and finished second in the 200 IM with a solid mid-season time of 1:59.18. He also anchored the team's winning 200 free (1:31.77) and 400 free (3:21.69) relays. Freshman Jake Folz and Trevor Manz also contributed top-10 finishes for Eau Claire, while juniors Isiah Rozich and Wes Manz also had strong meets for Eau Claire.
Full results from the meet here:
http://www.south-high-swimming.org/Mens/MG10/Maroon%20and%20Gold-Maroon%20Divison%20Results.pdf
The Twin Cities win certainly stamps Eau Claire as the favorite in the Hudson sectional in February. Eau Claire Memorial won that sectional title three of the last four years, but its best showing at state in the past four years was 15th back in 2006. Look for a move up this year from Eau Claire's swimmers.
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3 comments:
Shorewood beat Bay!
Results? I'd love to see them!
Delakis has been coached by Paula Caucutt for the last few years. She is the samecoach who has mentored and developed Breaststroke phenom Leah Pronchinske.
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