A quick round-up of conference swim meets last week from around the state:
-- Wausau East, 7th in the last state coaches poll, won the Wisconsin Valley conference swim meet, with 489 points to 394 for runner-up D.C. Everest 394. Wisconsin Rapids finished 3rd with 351 points. The meet featured some terrific relay races between Wausua East and Wisc. Rapids, with Rapids winning both the 200 medley and free relays over East, thanks to strong legs by junior Becca Weiland. Rapids' 1:38.56 in the 200 free relay is the fastest posted this year in D1; East's runner-up time of 1:39.56 is the 4th-fastest D1 time this year in the relay. Weiland also won an exciting race against East's Lea Koenig (23.65 to 24.07) in a match-up between two of the best sprinters in the state. Weiland added a win in the 100 fly (57.97), while sister Racheal added a win in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.24) and a 2nd in the 100 free to Koenig (53.06.) Koenig's proved to be the only one for East, which utilized a strong showing in the relays (two 2nds and a 3rd from its top relays) to win its fourth straight conference championship.
-- Neenah won the Fox Valley Association conference meet, parlaying 78 points from its usual strong crew of divers to win 557.5-467.5 over Oshkosh West. The Rockets were led by Ally Crum and Amy Spaay; Crum won the 100 fly (58.28), Spaay the 100 breaststroke (1:06.90), and the two swam on the team's winning medley relay (1:51.01 -- the 4th-fastest D1 medley time posted this year). Oshkosh West's distance duo of Hilary Woldt and Natalie Bolin each had a win (Woldt in the 200 free -- 1:57.43; Bolin in the 500 free -- 5:14.07), while Berlin/Green Lake's Siri Smits continued her oustanding season in the 100 backstroke, winning with a time of 58.45.
-- The Burlington girls co-op, ranked 5th in the lastest D1 state coaches poll, won the Southern Lakes conference swim meet that featured a number of close and exciting races. Leading the way were sisters Anna and Sara Brooks; Sara had runner-up finishes in the 50 free and 100 back, while Anna took the 500 free (5:09.97) and finished third in the 100 breaststroke. The two also joined Serena Wanasek and Morgan Briggs in taking the 400 free relay (3:43.07). Wanasek added a win in the 200 free (1:59.11) and a second in the 500 free. Two of the best races of the meet featured Badger-Big Foot-Williams Bay's Emily Russart -- the two-time defending D1 state champ in the 100 breaststroke -- going up against Delavan-Darien's Emily McClellan in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. McClellan topped Russart in the IM (2:11.84, just five-hundreths of a second ahead of Russart), but Russart came back with a win in the breaststroke (1:04.76). McClellan's runner-up time of 1:05.31 is the fastest posted by a D2 swimmer in the event this year by more than a second.
-- Plymouth and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol easily won their conference championships, with Plymouth taking the Eastern Wisconsin Conference championship 204-73 over the Kohler co-op, while SB/S won 8 of 11 events to win the Bay Conference championship. Plymouth sophomore Kate Criter was a double winner (100 fly -- 1:00.97; 100 breaststroke -- 1:08.09) and contributed legs on the team's winning medley and 200 free relays. Up in the Bay Conference SB/S won all three relays, and sisters Sierra and Savanna Townsend contributed three wins between them -- Sierra in the 100 free (54.61) and 100 back (1:01.90), with Savanna winning the 50 free in 24.98.
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3 comments:
You've forgotten another great freshman - Natalie Neuwirth set a conference record in the 200 free with a 1:56 low and another win in the 500 at 5:19. She picked up four Y state titles last year and should be a contender.
Good catch -- I actually did notice Natalie's performance at the Wisconsin Valley conference swim meet and didn't write about it. Here's the story about her conference performance from the Stevens Point Journal:
http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/article/20091030/SPJ020507/310300067/-1/varsity
The D1 500 free this year is going to be quite the battle up and down the lanes. Only four of the 24 swimmers who qualified for the 500 last year were seniors. Of the 16 swimmers who placed last year, 15 return, including the top eight.
Thanks by the way, for your outstanding blog - it is the most informative and interesting blog about WI swimming for those of us who love the sport and follow the athletes, their progress, their challenges - Swimming is the best sport and your blog is great!!!
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