To all readers of the Wisconsin high school swim blog:
After considerable deliberation during the spring and summer, I've decided to move this blog to the website run by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Swim Coaches Assocation website -- http://www.wisca.net/. The reasons for the move are several:
-- The WISCA website and the high school swim blog are the only two websites fully and exclusively devoted to the sport of Wisconsin high school swimming. My sense is that fans and supporters of high school swimming in the state seek out these two websites for information, and it made sense in many regards to merge the blog with the WISCA website.
-- Hosting the blog at the WISCA website will provide ease of access and a "one-stop shopping" website for high school swim information -- whether it be the popular top-30 times of the WISCA website, or the commentary and analysis provided by the blog.
-- I, along with WISCA's administrators, see great potential for making both the blog and the WISCA website better, with expanded and more in-depth coverage -- for instance, a possible "meet results" section, expanding on the meet results posted on the blog during the 2009-10 boys season; live blogging of state swim meets; and perhaps even video-casting of meets.
One significant change will be that blog readers will have to be registered members of the WISCA website. It does involve a cost, but we (myself and WISCA's administrators) feel the cost of a public membership to WISCA ($10 annually) will be well worth it in terms of expanded and better coverage of Wisconsin high school swimming. Registration details for the WISCA website are available here:
http://www.wisca.net/register.php
Finally, I'd like to say that the move to the WISCA website will in no way change the editorial independence of the blog. I would not have agreed to the move if that was not the case. I plan to keep the tone and direction of the blog as has it has been for the past two years -- focusing on the accomplishments of swimmers, supportive of swimming generally, and a positive source of information about high school swimming. We may examine important issues in the high school swim community from time to time, but the blog will first and foremost focus on the accomplishments and efforts of high school sports' hardest-working athletes.
I hope you'll join me at our new home; look for this year's season previews soon. Your enthusiastic support of the blog has made all of this possible, and motivated me to keep trying to improve it. As always, I welcome your ideas and thoughts, and please feel free to send them (supportive, critical, or just plain old informative) to:
wimcdade@tds.net
Thanks for your support of Wisconsin high school swimming, and this blog.
Sincerely,
Phil McDade
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Old state swim meet broadcasts
A blog reader (from Arizona!) emails to ask if anyone out there in the swimming world knows whether television broadcasts of the Wisconsin high school swim meet from 1977-80 are available anywhere. The reader says the state meet (back when it was a one-division format) was broadcast on the old Ch. 18 in Milwaukee (WVTV), but thought it also might have been broadcast statewide.
Any ideas? Maybe the Milwaukee Public Library? I'll do some checking as well, but anyone with any suggestions -- drop me a line or comment and I'll try to run it down.
Any ideas? Maybe the Milwaukee Public Library? I'll do some checking as well, but anyone with any suggestions -- drop me a line or comment and I'll try to run it down.
Friday, February 26, 2010
See you in the fall
Although I may occasionally post something in the next several months, this blog will go on its annual hiatus until the start of the girls' fall season in August.
I just wanted to take a quick minute to thank all of the coaches, parents, swimmers and readers of the blog who have taken an interest in it. In particular, I'd like to thank the growing legions of folks who email with results, tips, anecdotes, comments, and information about high school swimming. All of them may not make it into the blog, but all are truly appreciated, and help inform me and provide a broader perspective on this wonderful sport.
As I say to nearly everyone who talks to me about it, it's fun to do, and your enthusiasm and support help keep it going. See you in the fall!
(And I'd be happy to chat with anyone about it, regardless of what you think of it. I'll be hanging around -- as I suspect lots of blog readers will be -- at both the 12 & U and 13 & over USA state meets in the next several days, starting tonight at the UW Natatorium.
I just wanted to take a quick minute to thank all of the coaches, parents, swimmers and readers of the blog who have taken an interest in it. In particular, I'd like to thank the growing legions of folks who email with results, tips, anecdotes, comments, and information about high school swimming. All of them may not make it into the blog, but all are truly appreciated, and help inform me and provide a broader perspective on this wonderful sport.
As I say to nearly everyone who talks to me about it, it's fun to do, and your enthusiasm and support help keep it going. See you in the fall!
(And I'd be happy to chat with anyone about it, regardless of what you think of it. I'll be hanging around -- as I suspect lots of blog readers will be -- at both the 12 & U and 13 & over USA state meets in the next several days, starting tonight at the UW Natatorium.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Swim meets aired on TV
Thanks to commentator for providing details on the boys state swim meet television schedule. Here it is:
The meets will air on FS Wisconsin:
The Division 1 meet will be aired on March 1 at 7 p.m.
The Division 2 meet will be aired on March 2 at 7 p.m.
Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.
http://www.wiaawi.org/releases/2009-10/bswimrelease.pdf
The meets will air on FS Wisconsin:
The Division 1 meet will be aired on March 1 at 7 p.m.
The Division 2 meet will be aired on March 2 at 7 p.m.
Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.
http://www.wiaawi.org/releases/2009-10/bswimrelease.pdf
Leftovers from the boys season
Here are a few leftovers and tidbits from the just-completed boys high school season:
Seedings
-- Attached are some links to two documents -- the D1 and D2 boys state meets that compare seed-time points (what teams would've scored had the meet gone perfectly to seed times) vs. the actual outcomes. For simplicity sake, I've downloaded just the scoring differential. i.e., how many more or fewer points teams scored at the state meets compared to their seeding. Thus, it provides a quick glance at which teams "seeded up" at the meets, and which ones did not.
Here are links to the final team scores from the WIAA website:
http://www.wiaawi.org/results/swimmingboys/2010/d1stateteamresults.htm
http://www.wiaawi.org/results/swimmingboys/2010/d2stateteamresults.htm
Simply add or subtract the final team results to the numbers provided in the links below to see whether a particular team did compared to their seed times at the meet.
(Why post this? I've found, in talking to and reading about coaches, that they almost all tell their swimmers to try to swim their best times, and let the results take care of themselves. Swimming's great virtue is that it allows a measure of assessing improvement (or not), regardless of the outcome of a particular swim or meet. Thus, I thought it a worthwhile exercise.)
D1:
State 2010 D1 Boys - Difference
D2
State 2010 D2 Boys - Difference
Thoughts:
-- Hard to imagine Greenfield/Greendale didn't set some kind of record in seeding up 99 points. The bulk of those additional points -- 66 -- came from coach Dale Schrank's strategy of spreading out his top three swimmers -- Mike Lucchesi, Matt Jungers, and Jack Lennertz -- on all three relays at sectionals (which helped secure a sectional title for the team at its home pool), and then placing the big three on just two relays at state. Still, arranging that is one thing, and going out and swimming as well as G/G did is another. A terrific meet from those swimmers.
-- For the second straight state meet, both Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights and Wausau East moved up in a big way. Last year, Sauk went up 49.5 points to capture second place at state; this year, the four-man team went up 48 points to finish in fifth place overall. WEast went up 46.5 points last year to finish third overall; this year, the team went up 41 points to grab a top-1o finish.
-- Wonder why McFarland is so good? Yes, they have top-tier talent, and a lot of it, which helps qualify solid relays for state. But once the Spartans arrive at the Natatorium, they always swim really well. McFarland came into the state meet seeded to win by nearly 100 points, and promptly added 30+ points to their seeded total. There's a reason these guys have won four straight D2 state championships. Maybe some of that great state-meet tapering is rubbing off on their rivals -- it's notable (to me at least) that the top-four placing teams in D2 this year (McFarland, Whitefish Bay, Monona Grove, and Shorewood) all swam very well at the state meet, with all of them seeding up by 18 points or more. Even with McFarland's recent domination, it's a good sign that other teams in D2 are rising up to the challenge of swimming well at the most important meet of the season.
State meet combined
The WISCA website has posted its analysis of the outcome of the state swim meet had both divisions entirely been combined. Out of respect for the website (access to the analysis is available to members and coaches), I won't reveal the outcome -- only to say it's both interesting and quite close.
As a takeoff on that exercise, for the past two years I've looked at the outcome of the D1 state meet had just McFarland moved up to the big-school division. Reason? Both of the past two D1 state meets have been closely contested, with historically low winning totals (Madison Memorial had 200.5 last year; Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial won this year with 197 points). Meanwhile, McFarland has run up huge winning margins the past two years. In addition, the WIAA does allow teams in all sports to voluntarily move up a division for competitive reasons (I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon with the Spartans, but I also don't think the WIAA will move to a one-division format in swimming. Thus, the analysis with McFarland's times placed in the D1 meet.)
Last year, McFarland would've won the D1 state meet. See:
http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-best-boys-swim-team-in-state.html
This year, Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial would've still won -- by 1.5 points. My tally has WS/CM scoring 181 points, and McFarland 179.5. McFarland's terrific relays (86 points to 66 for WS/CM) and solid free sprinters would've been trumped by WS/CM's superior depth in events like the 200/500 frees, 100 fly, and 100 breaststroke.
D2 coaches (and swimmers) -- pat yourselves on the back
D1, of course, has the larger programs, and more depth, among the two divisions of swimming. It's not surprising the big schools have what are acknowledged as some of the best coaches in the state.
But I found this interesting little nugget in reviewing state meet results. Based strictly on seed times, and state meet performances, D2 relays outperformed their D1 counterparts by a wide margin this past weekend.
I looked at the top-16 relays that placed at state in both divisions. Here's what I found:
-- Seven of the D1 medley relays that placed in the top 16 cut time at state; nine added time. In D2, 12 of the 13 medley relays that scored points (there were three DQs) cut time.
-- 11 of the top-16 D1 200 free relays cut time; five added time. In D2, 13 of the 16 200 free relays cut time.
-- 11 of the top-16 D1 400 free relays cut time; five added time. In D2, 14 of the 15 200 free relays (one DQ) cut time.
In other words, 60 percent of the D1 relay teams at state that placed in the top 16 cut time. In D2, 89 percent of the relays cut time. A pretty impressive showing by the smaller schools -- and coaches.
TV broadcasts of state swim meets
A faithful blog reader emails to ask if I know when the boys swim meets will be broadcast on TV. I don't, and a check of schedules on Madison-area cable stations doesn't reveal anything, at least that I can find.
Anyone know? If so, shoot me an email or comment, and I'll post for every broadcast/cable area of the state that I receive. DVDs of both boys state meets can be ordered through this website: http://www.prepfilms.com/
Seedings
-- Attached are some links to two documents -- the D1 and D2 boys state meets that compare seed-time points (what teams would've scored had the meet gone perfectly to seed times) vs. the actual outcomes. For simplicity sake, I've downloaded just the scoring differential. i.e., how many more or fewer points teams scored at the state meets compared to their seeding. Thus, it provides a quick glance at which teams "seeded up" at the meets, and which ones did not.
Here are links to the final team scores from the WIAA website:
http://www.wiaawi.org/results/swimmingboys/2010/d1stateteamresults.htm
http://www.wiaawi.org/results/swimmingboys/2010/d2stateteamresults.htm
Simply add or subtract the final team results to the numbers provided in the links below to see whether a particular team did compared to their seed times at the meet.
(Why post this? I've found, in talking to and reading about coaches, that they almost all tell their swimmers to try to swim their best times, and let the results take care of themselves. Swimming's great virtue is that it allows a measure of assessing improvement (or not), regardless of the outcome of a particular swim or meet. Thus, I thought it a worthwhile exercise.)
D1:
State 2010 D1 Boys - Difference
D2
State 2010 D2 Boys - Difference
Thoughts:
-- Hard to imagine Greenfield/Greendale didn't set some kind of record in seeding up 99 points. The bulk of those additional points -- 66 -- came from coach Dale Schrank's strategy of spreading out his top three swimmers -- Mike Lucchesi, Matt Jungers, and Jack Lennertz -- on all three relays at sectionals (which helped secure a sectional title for the team at its home pool), and then placing the big three on just two relays at state. Still, arranging that is one thing, and going out and swimming as well as G/G did is another. A terrific meet from those swimmers.
-- For the second straight state meet, both Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights and Wausau East moved up in a big way. Last year, Sauk went up 49.5 points to capture second place at state; this year, the four-man team went up 48 points to finish in fifth place overall. WEast went up 46.5 points last year to finish third overall; this year, the team went up 41 points to grab a top-1o finish.
-- Wonder why McFarland is so good? Yes, they have top-tier talent, and a lot of it, which helps qualify solid relays for state. But once the Spartans arrive at the Natatorium, they always swim really well. McFarland came into the state meet seeded to win by nearly 100 points, and promptly added 30+ points to their seeded total. There's a reason these guys have won four straight D2 state championships. Maybe some of that great state-meet tapering is rubbing off on their rivals -- it's notable (to me at least) that the top-four placing teams in D2 this year (McFarland, Whitefish Bay, Monona Grove, and Shorewood) all swam very well at the state meet, with all of them seeding up by 18 points or more. Even with McFarland's recent domination, it's a good sign that other teams in D2 are rising up to the challenge of swimming well at the most important meet of the season.
State meet combined
The WISCA website has posted its analysis of the outcome of the state swim meet had both divisions entirely been combined. Out of respect for the website (access to the analysis is available to members and coaches), I won't reveal the outcome -- only to say it's both interesting and quite close.
As a takeoff on that exercise, for the past two years I've looked at the outcome of the D1 state meet had just McFarland moved up to the big-school division. Reason? Both of the past two D1 state meets have been closely contested, with historically low winning totals (Madison Memorial had 200.5 last year; Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial won this year with 197 points). Meanwhile, McFarland has run up huge winning margins the past two years. In addition, the WIAA does allow teams in all sports to voluntarily move up a division for competitive reasons (I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon with the Spartans, but I also don't think the WIAA will move to a one-division format in swimming. Thus, the analysis with McFarland's times placed in the D1 meet.)
Last year, McFarland would've won the D1 state meet. See:
http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/02/and-best-boys-swim-team-in-state.html
This year, Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial would've still won -- by 1.5 points. My tally has WS/CM scoring 181 points, and McFarland 179.5. McFarland's terrific relays (86 points to 66 for WS/CM) and solid free sprinters would've been trumped by WS/CM's superior depth in events like the 200/500 frees, 100 fly, and 100 breaststroke.
D2 coaches (and swimmers) -- pat yourselves on the back
D1, of course, has the larger programs, and more depth, among the two divisions of swimming. It's not surprising the big schools have what are acknowledged as some of the best coaches in the state.
But I found this interesting little nugget in reviewing state meet results. Based strictly on seed times, and state meet performances, D2 relays outperformed their D1 counterparts by a wide margin this past weekend.
I looked at the top-16 relays that placed at state in both divisions. Here's what I found:
-- Seven of the D1 medley relays that placed in the top 16 cut time at state; nine added time. In D2, 12 of the 13 medley relays that scored points (there were three DQs) cut time.
-- 11 of the top-16 D1 200 free relays cut time; five added time. In D2, 13 of the 16 200 free relays cut time.
-- 11 of the top-16 D1 400 free relays cut time; five added time. In D2, 14 of the 15 200 free relays (one DQ) cut time.
In other words, 60 percent of the D1 relay teams at state that placed in the top 16 cut time. In D2, 89 percent of the relays cut time. A pretty impressive showing by the smaller schools -- and coaches.
TV broadcasts of state swim meets
A faithful blog reader emails to ask if I know when the boys swim meets will be broadcast on TV. I don't, and a check of schedules on Madison-area cable stations doesn't reveal anything, at least that I can find.
Anyone know? If so, shoot me an email or comment, and I'll post for every broadcast/cable area of the state that I receive. DVDs of both boys state meets can be ordered through this website: http://www.prepfilms.com/
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Swimmers of the year
Time for year-end accolades:
D1
Swimmer(s) of the year: Try as I might, I simply can't separate the accomplishments this year of seniors Matt Friede and Tyler Lentz of Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights. In the words of the great philosopher Forrest Gump, they go together like peas and carrots. In their three years at Sauk, the twosome combined to win six individual state titles and were the major forces on four state-title relays (and another that came within .01 seconds of a fifth title). This year, they put together one of the great performances by teammates seen at a state meet -- Friede capturing the 50 and 100 free titles, and setting a state record in the 50 free (20.44, topping the 20.47 set in 2004 by Kyle Bubolz, one of the great Wisconsin high school swimmers of recent vintage), and Lentz swimming the third-fastest 200 IM in state history and then coming back to easily win the 100 back by more than two seconds. Then there were their contributions on Sauk's relays; a first-place medley relay out of lane 1, and then a remarkable near-repeat of their second-heat 400 free relay triumph of last year that fell just one-hundreth of a second shy of a four-gold medal day. Great careers capped by a great final meet. Runner-up: Madison Memorial's Michael Drives ended his terrific career, appropriately enough, on the winner's podium at the state meet following Memorial's thrilling win in the 400 free relay. Drives won three gold medals on the day, adding wins in the 200 and 500 frees with some of the fastest times ever posted by a D1 swimmer. Drives leaves Memorial as one of the state's most decorated swimmers, with four gold individual gold medals, one relay gold medal, and a member of Memorial squads that won two state team titles, and two runner-up trophies, during his career. Throughout it all, he remained humble in victory, gracious to others, and the very role model of a student-athlete -- he is off to West Point this fall. One suspects Drives preferred spending his last moments at a high school swim meet surrounded by teammates, celebrating a win accomplished together, instead of standing there by himself.
Relay of the year: At a state meet with three terrific relay performances, Sauk's first place in the medley wins out. Coming into the meet as the 7th seed, and swimming out of lane 1, the team of Stephen Hanko, Lentz, Paul Ballweg and Friede topped a #1 seeded Hartland Arrowhead medley that had been undefeated all season, and did it by two full seconds. Lentz and Friede, of course, were the relay's heavyweights, but the contributions of Hanko and Ballweg shouldn't be overlooked. Hanko opened with a 25.17 split on the back, only about a half-second behind Arrowhead, which gave Lentz the opening he needed to put his team in the lead after his breaststroke leg. All Ballweg had to do was keep his relay within striking distance of the lead, as Friede was clearly the fastest anchor in the field. Ballweg did better than that, his 23.95 fly leg giving Friede a lead that you knew he wouldn't give up. Sauk's two-second win was its fourth relay win in the past three years; Friede anchored all of them.
Race of the year: It'd be hard to top the craziness of the meet-ending 400 free relay, so we won't try. Three relays, three different heats, separated by three-hundredths of a second. Could it get any better? It may be years before Wisconsin swim fans see anything as entertaining as this year's 400 free relay at the state meet. So here's to: Greenfield/Greendale's team of Mark Liederbach, Mike Lucchesi, Matt Jungers, and Jack Lennertz, 3:09.27 (third place); Sauk's team of Lentz, Ballweg, Hanko, and Friede, 3:09.25 (runner-up); and the winning Memorial relay of Michael Salerno, Patrick Franken, Drives, and Ben Anderson, 3:09.24. Guys, it was quite a show.
Rookie of the year: Alex DeLakis of the Eau Claire Memorial/North co-op became the first freshman in three years to win in individual event at the state meet with his win in the 100 breaststroke, and he did it in thrilling fashion. DeLakis, third after 50 yards, delivered a 30.02 final split to earn a .58-second win over Wisconsin Rapids' Ryan Korslin. DeLakis added a runner-up finish in the 200 IM for an Eau Claire squad that finished 7th at state. Runner-up: Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial freshman Alex Swain played a central role in the Blackshirts' run to the state title. He scored six points in the 50 and 100 frees and -- just as importantly -- was a key cog in WS/CM qualifying all three relays to the state meet with final-heat seed times. Swimming the lead-off leg on both free relays, Swain helped the 200 relay finish 6th, and the 400 relay finish 7th at state.
D2
Swimmer of the year: On a team with a ton of very good swimmers, McFarland sophomore Ryan O'Donnell stood out this year, and capped a great season with a state meet for the ages. Two individual wins (200 IM, 100 fly, with the fly time of 49.74 breaking a 15-year-old state record), two relay wins, both in record time. O'Donnell comes from great lineage -- brothers Derrick and Brandon also won individual state titles -- but Ryan may turn out to be the best of the three. A truly dominating performance that surprised even his father. "I wasn't expecting this," said his father, Larry, amid the McFarland fans celebrating the team's fourth straight state title. Runner-up: Four years ago, Madison Edgewood's Chase Stephens was a skinny, tall freshman who had trouble executing a basic flip turn -- and couldn't break 56 seconds in the 100 free at the sectional meet. He ended his high school career with three gold medals around his neck -- wins in the 200 and 100 frees, and a meet-fastest 45.85 anchor leg that clinched Edgewood's win in the 400 free relay. Any swimmer who achieves a state title has worked hard, but few have had such a meteoric rise as Stephens. He's off to Northwestern this fall to continue his swim career.
Relay of the year: McFarland came into the D2 state meet having won the medley relay three years in a row. Could they make it four? No problem. Sparked by O'Donnell's dominating lead-off leg in the backstroke, McFarland breezed to a 4+ second win in the relay, and broke the previous state record by nearly eight-tenths of a second. Senior Peter Grenzow achieved (we think) state history by anchoring the same relay to victory four years in a row. How fast was O'Donnell's opening 23.46 back leg? Faster -- by more than a second -- than anyone swam in the D1 or D2 meets. It would've finished T-13th in the 50 free at the D2 state meet. (And don't look, but the first three medley relay swimmers for McFarland -- O'Donnell, Jacob Mandli on breaststroke, and Colin Morgan on fly -- are all sophomores.)
Race of the year: In a race that lived up to its pre-meet billing, the 100 fly proved to be the fastest and best race of the state meet, with both O'Donnell (49.74) and Brookfield Academy's Jack Donovan (49.87) going under the previous state record of 49.99 held by Hudson's John Cahoy from 1995. Both O'Donnell and third-place finisher Drew teDuits of Edgewood switched into the event this year, and all three swimmers came into the final turn with a chance to win. But O'Donnell's tremendous push off the wall gave him the slighest of leads when he finally emerged above water, and he held off the on-coming Donovan. The race was so fast that Shorewood's Stephen Meyer, who cut more than four seconds off his seed time and finished 4th with a time of 51.01, would've finished second in the D1 state meet.
Rookie of the year: Grafton's Al Nenning, another competitor from a great swim family, showed he'll be a force in D2 swimming in future years with podium finishes in both the 200 IM (6th) and 100 back (5th). He was the only D2 freshman to qualify in two individual events this year. Runners-up: Two tall freshman -- Fort Atkinson's Lee Hollman, and Monona Grove's Mitchell Paull -- will be seeing a lot of each other in the coming years. The Badger Conference South swimmers both qualified for the 100 back in their freshman years, and both earned spots on state-qualifying relays for their teams.
D1
Swimmer(s) of the year: Try as I might, I simply can't separate the accomplishments this year of seniors Matt Friede and Tyler Lentz of Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights. In the words of the great philosopher Forrest Gump, they go together like peas and carrots. In their three years at Sauk, the twosome combined to win six individual state titles and were the major forces on four state-title relays (and another that came within .01 seconds of a fifth title). This year, they put together one of the great performances by teammates seen at a state meet -- Friede capturing the 50 and 100 free titles, and setting a state record in the 50 free (20.44, topping the 20.47 set in 2004 by Kyle Bubolz, one of the great Wisconsin high school swimmers of recent vintage), and Lentz swimming the third-fastest 200 IM in state history and then coming back to easily win the 100 back by more than two seconds. Then there were their contributions on Sauk's relays; a first-place medley relay out of lane 1, and then a remarkable near-repeat of their second-heat 400 free relay triumph of last year that fell just one-hundreth of a second shy of a four-gold medal day. Great careers capped by a great final meet. Runner-up: Madison Memorial's Michael Drives ended his terrific career, appropriately enough, on the winner's podium at the state meet following Memorial's thrilling win in the 400 free relay. Drives won three gold medals on the day, adding wins in the 200 and 500 frees with some of the fastest times ever posted by a D1 swimmer. Drives leaves Memorial as one of the state's most decorated swimmers, with four gold individual gold medals, one relay gold medal, and a member of Memorial squads that won two state team titles, and two runner-up trophies, during his career. Throughout it all, he remained humble in victory, gracious to others, and the very role model of a student-athlete -- he is off to West Point this fall. One suspects Drives preferred spending his last moments at a high school swim meet surrounded by teammates, celebrating a win accomplished together, instead of standing there by himself.
Relay of the year: At a state meet with three terrific relay performances, Sauk's first place in the medley wins out. Coming into the meet as the 7th seed, and swimming out of lane 1, the team of Stephen Hanko, Lentz, Paul Ballweg and Friede topped a #1 seeded Hartland Arrowhead medley that had been undefeated all season, and did it by two full seconds. Lentz and Friede, of course, were the relay's heavyweights, but the contributions of Hanko and Ballweg shouldn't be overlooked. Hanko opened with a 25.17 split on the back, only about a half-second behind Arrowhead, which gave Lentz the opening he needed to put his team in the lead after his breaststroke leg. All Ballweg had to do was keep his relay within striking distance of the lead, as Friede was clearly the fastest anchor in the field. Ballweg did better than that, his 23.95 fly leg giving Friede a lead that you knew he wouldn't give up. Sauk's two-second win was its fourth relay win in the past three years; Friede anchored all of them.
Race of the year: It'd be hard to top the craziness of the meet-ending 400 free relay, so we won't try. Three relays, three different heats, separated by three-hundredths of a second. Could it get any better? It may be years before Wisconsin swim fans see anything as entertaining as this year's 400 free relay at the state meet. So here's to: Greenfield/Greendale's team of Mark Liederbach, Mike Lucchesi, Matt Jungers, and Jack Lennertz, 3:09.27 (third place); Sauk's team of Lentz, Ballweg, Hanko, and Friede, 3:09.25 (runner-up); and the winning Memorial relay of Michael Salerno, Patrick Franken, Drives, and Ben Anderson, 3:09.24. Guys, it was quite a show.
Rookie of the year: Alex DeLakis of the Eau Claire Memorial/North co-op became the first freshman in three years to win in individual event at the state meet with his win in the 100 breaststroke, and he did it in thrilling fashion. DeLakis, third after 50 yards, delivered a 30.02 final split to earn a .58-second win over Wisconsin Rapids' Ryan Korslin. DeLakis added a runner-up finish in the 200 IM for an Eau Claire squad that finished 7th at state. Runner-up: Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial freshman Alex Swain played a central role in the Blackshirts' run to the state title. He scored six points in the 50 and 100 frees and -- just as importantly -- was a key cog in WS/CM qualifying all three relays to the state meet with final-heat seed times. Swimming the lead-off leg on both free relays, Swain helped the 200 relay finish 6th, and the 400 relay finish 7th at state.
D2
Swimmer of the year: On a team with a ton of very good swimmers, McFarland sophomore Ryan O'Donnell stood out this year, and capped a great season with a state meet for the ages. Two individual wins (200 IM, 100 fly, with the fly time of 49.74 breaking a 15-year-old state record), two relay wins, both in record time. O'Donnell comes from great lineage -- brothers Derrick and Brandon also won individual state titles -- but Ryan may turn out to be the best of the three. A truly dominating performance that surprised even his father. "I wasn't expecting this," said his father, Larry, amid the McFarland fans celebrating the team's fourth straight state title. Runner-up: Four years ago, Madison Edgewood's Chase Stephens was a skinny, tall freshman who had trouble executing a basic flip turn -- and couldn't break 56 seconds in the 100 free at the sectional meet. He ended his high school career with three gold medals around his neck -- wins in the 200 and 100 frees, and a meet-fastest 45.85 anchor leg that clinched Edgewood's win in the 400 free relay. Any swimmer who achieves a state title has worked hard, but few have had such a meteoric rise as Stephens. He's off to Northwestern this fall to continue his swim career.
Relay of the year: McFarland came into the D2 state meet having won the medley relay three years in a row. Could they make it four? No problem. Sparked by O'Donnell's dominating lead-off leg in the backstroke, McFarland breezed to a 4+ second win in the relay, and broke the previous state record by nearly eight-tenths of a second. Senior Peter Grenzow achieved (we think) state history by anchoring the same relay to victory four years in a row. How fast was O'Donnell's opening 23.46 back leg? Faster -- by more than a second -- than anyone swam in the D1 or D2 meets. It would've finished T-13th in the 50 free at the D2 state meet. (And don't look, but the first three medley relay swimmers for McFarland -- O'Donnell, Jacob Mandli on breaststroke, and Colin Morgan on fly -- are all sophomores.)
Race of the year: In a race that lived up to its pre-meet billing, the 100 fly proved to be the fastest and best race of the state meet, with both O'Donnell (49.74) and Brookfield Academy's Jack Donovan (49.87) going under the previous state record of 49.99 held by Hudson's John Cahoy from 1995. Both O'Donnell and third-place finisher Drew teDuits of Edgewood switched into the event this year, and all three swimmers came into the final turn with a chance to win. But O'Donnell's tremendous push off the wall gave him the slighest of leads when he finally emerged above water, and he held off the on-coming Donovan. The race was so fast that Shorewood's Stephen Meyer, who cut more than four seconds off his seed time and finished 4th with a time of 51.01, would've finished second in the D1 state meet.
Rookie of the year: Grafton's Al Nenning, another competitor from a great swim family, showed he'll be a force in D2 swimming in future years with podium finishes in both the 200 IM (6th) and 100 back (5th). He was the only D2 freshman to qualify in two individual events this year. Runners-up: Two tall freshman -- Fort Atkinson's Lee Hollman, and Monona Grove's Mitchell Paull -- will be seeing a lot of each other in the coming years. The Badger Conference South swimmers both qualified for the 100 back in their freshman years, and both earned spots on state-qualifying relays for their teams.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tragedy in Oshkosh; updated with memorial information
News of the worst kind comes from Oskhosh, where Natalie Bolin -- a star swimmer for the Oshkosh West girls swim team -- died from injuries suffered in a car accident Saturday night. Bolin and three others, including Leah Bolin, fellow Oshkosh West swimmer Jennifer Rothe, and Oshkosh North/Lourdes swimmer Rachel Revolinski, were apparently on their way back home after watching the Div. 1 boys state swim meet Saturday.
From the Oshkosh Northwestern:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20100221/OSH0101/100221022/1987/Update-Victim-identified-in-Saturday-night-crash-on-U.S.-Highway-41-as-Oshkosh-teen-Natalie-K.-Bolin
Word spread quickly through the Wisconsin swim community Sunday about the tragic accident. Bolin, a junior, had been a three-time state qualifier for her Oshkosh West team, following in the footsteps of her older sisters Ashley and Stephanie. All four of the girls in the accident were members of the Oshkosh YMCA Dolphins swim team, which posted this message on its home page:
http://www.oshyswimteam.org/Home.jsp?team=wioshy
The Dolphins website also has a link to information about a memorial that has been established in Natalie's name.
Also, this was recently posted on the Oshkosh Northwestern website regarding a Facebook page dedicated to Natlie:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/section/blogs06?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&U=119a90bf-b481-4a01-804a-1b845f64e2ee&plckPostId=Blog%3a119a90bf-b481-4a01-804a-1b845f64e2eePost%3a25b8cc36-673e-4588-9ce6-79c10e6dc3e1&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
Our deepest sympathies are extended to the Bolin family and the Oshkosh swim community.
From the Oshkosh Northwestern:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20100221/OSH0101/100221022/1987/Update-Victim-identified-in-Saturday-night-crash-on-U.S.-Highway-41-as-Oshkosh-teen-Natalie-K.-Bolin
Word spread quickly through the Wisconsin swim community Sunday about the tragic accident. Bolin, a junior, had been a three-time state qualifier for her Oshkosh West team, following in the footsteps of her older sisters Ashley and Stephanie. All four of the girls in the accident were members of the Oshkosh YMCA Dolphins swim team, which posted this message on its home page:
http://www.oshyswimteam.org/Home.jsp?team=wioshy
The Dolphins website also has a link to information about a memorial that has been established in Natalie's name.
Also, this was recently posted on the Oshkosh Northwestern website regarding a Facebook page dedicated to Natlie:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/section/blogs06?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&U=119a90bf-b481-4a01-804a-1b845f64e2ee&plckPostId=Blog%3a119a90bf-b481-4a01-804a-1b845f64e2eePost%3a25b8cc36-673e-4588-9ce6-79c10e6dc3e1&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest
Our deepest sympathies are extended to the Bolin family and the Oshkosh swim community.
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