SB/S's Savanna Townsend named Green Bay-area swimmer of the year

After leading her Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol girls team to its first-ever Div. 2 state championship, it should come as no surprise that freshman Savanna Townsend has been named swimmer of the year by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Here's the full story:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091211/GPG020507/912110500/-1/varsity

Few freshman have made as big of an impact at the D2 state meet as Townsend did this past season, but it's always refreshing to hear these kind of "there's no I in team" comments come from someone of her ability: "I wouldn't consider myself the head of the team at all," she told the paper. "The team, the captains, they have a lot of responsibility and they do a great job. It's not just one person that takes the lead."

See this link for the rest of the Press-Gazette's all-area girls swim team:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091211/GPG020507/912110499/0/GPG020507/Girls-swimming-Press-Gazette-all-area-team

Neenah's Spaay named Fox Valley swimmer of the year

Neenah's Amy Spaay, 3rd this year at the D1 state meet in the breaststroke, has been named all-area swimmer of the year by the Appleton Post-Crescent. See story here:

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20091128/APC020507/911280641/-1/varsity

The rest of the Post-Crescent all-area girls swim team can be found here:

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20091128/APC020507/911280629/0/varsity

Congrats to Amy for a well-deserved recognition and a fine high school career.

Madison-area girls swimmers of the year

Madison East's Aja Van Hout and Madison Memorial's Jackie Powell have been named Madison-area swimmers of the year, featured in the Preps Extra edition of the Sunday Wisconsin State Journal (Nov. 29, 2009). Both Van Hout and Powell won two events at this year's girls D1 state meet -- Van Hout setting a record in the 200 IM and winning the 500 free, while Powell defended her title in the 200 free and also won the 100 free. Van Hout added a third gold medal via her lead-off leg on East's first-place 400 free relay. Madison West's Kyle Rosenstock, who won her record fourth consecutive D1 state diving title, was named diver of the year.

I'd post a link to the story, which also lists a number of other swimmers making the Madison-area swim team, but cannot find a link to the story on the madison.com website (which relegates swimming behind gymnastics and bowling as sports its readers might be interested in). I'll keep looking for it; if anyone out there finds a link, feel free to post it in the comments section or send me an email.

Congratulations to Aja, Jackie, and Kylie -- the honor is well-deserved.

Recruiting news

Here's a quick look so far of high school swimmers who have announced their intentions for collegiate swimming after this season.

(A personal note on recruiting: Although I do want to encourage comments on this post, I am not a big fan of posting stories or comments that speculate about who is going where, or what schools a given swimmer may be considering. My preference is to list only recruiting commitments posted or publicized somewhere else -- a college or university announcement, a local newspaper or media report, a reputable website like collegeswimming.com. Coaches, parents, and swimmers are free to comment, of course, on where swimmers are headed. But the intent here is to post only known public commitments, not speculative ones. Thanks for your understanding.)

Girls:

Jackie Powell (Madison Memorial) -- Northwestern.
Tracey Vogel (Hartland Arrowhead) -- Buffalo.
Emily Russart (Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay) -- Northwestern.
Chloe Bartuska (McFarland) -- St. Cloud State.
Erica Halley (Appleton East) -- Illinois State.
Source: Collegeswimming.com website

Boys:

Tyler Lentz (Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights) -- Iowa.
Matt Friede (Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights) -- Purdue.
Alex Rodenkirk (New Berlin West/Eisenhower) -- Pittsburgh.
Robert Miner (Madison East) -- UW-Green Bay.
Source: Collegeswimming.com website

In addition, Madison Memorial's Michael Drives has announced on his Facebook page that he plans to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Finally, according to collegeswimming.com, three Wisconsin swimmers who bypassed part or all of high school swimming have signed on with major colleges. They are: Mitchell Friedmann -- Arizona; Dak Stone -- Ohio State; Emily Schwabe -- Louisiana State.

Update (also check the comments section for additions to this list): Brian Heiser (McFarland) -- UW-Green Bay; Stephanie Armstrong (who won a state championship in the D1 100 free as a sophomore, then left high school swimming to swim for Waukesha Express) -- Indiana; Natalie Johnson (Hartland Arrowhead) -- Northern Iowa.

More updates: Abbey Tuchscherer and Hilary Woldt (Oshkosh West) -- Tuchscherer to Iowa; Woldt to Buffalo.

Several UW-Milwaukee signings: Women -- Briana Huth (Appleton North); Molly Piepenburg (Cedarburg); Erika Pliner (Ashwaubenon); Diana Diel (home-schooled; did not compete in high school swimming); Men -- Jeff Maxwell (Milton); Chris Jenkyns (Hartland Arrowhead).

Jennah Haney (Milton) -- University of Wisconsin.
Brittany Walsh (Muskego) -- Louisville.

Marin Thompson (Germantown) -- Illinois.

Katie Schroeder (Brookfield Central) -- Michigan State.

Diver Sara Axness (Eau Claire Memorial) -- Minnesota.

2009 girls season review

Another girls swim season is in the books; a few highlights before moving on to season-ending recognition:

-- Five state records were broken at the Div. 1 and Div. 2 state meets, compared to six records broken last year at the two state meets. This year's records: Aja Van Hout, Madison East, 200 IM, 2:00.06 (2:0139); Emily Russart, Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay, 100 breaststroke, 1:02.53 (1:02.70); D2 -- Kelsey Hojan-Clark, Brookfield Academy, 200 free, 1:49.13 (1:49.94), and 500 free, 4:50.19 (4:53.94); Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, 200 free relay, 1:36.02 (1:38.95).

-- Div. 2 event winners at the state meet had faster times than their counterparts in Div. 1 in four events -- both the 200 and 500 frees, the 200 free relay, and the 100 back. Last year, only one D2 time bettered a winning D1 time. This year, D2 swimmers had half of the top-6 times among all state meet swimmers (D1 and D2 combined) in the back, breaststroke, and fly, and two of the top-6 times in all three of the relays. The D2 field can't match D1 in terms of depth, but this year's results are an indication that the very top tier of D2 swimmers can hold their own with swimmers from the state's largest schools.

-- Did the much-discussed suit ban make a difference in times at the state meets? Hard to tell, without a comprehensive list of which swimmers wore them last year. But they were pretty prevelant among the winners last year. At this year's state meets, 14 of the winning times were slower than last year's winning times; eight were faster. Comments and observations on this issue, of course, are welcome.

On to the post-season recoginition.

D1

Swimmer of the year: It may be getting to the point where swim fans take East's Aja Van Hout for granted. They shouldn't. A swimmer of Van Hout's caliber comes along about once every 10 years or so. She's on her way to accomplishing what only two swimmers in the history of the state have done -- win eight individual titles during her high school career. Perhaps the most notable feature of Van Hout is that -- at least in the biggest meet of the year -- she never has anything close to an indifferent race. Everyone expects her to win, and she does -- time and again. And she clearly inspires her teammates; East came into this year's state meet seeded nearly five seconds behind a very strong Hartland Arrowhead squad in the 400 free relay. But Van Hout's amazing 49.94 lead-off leg (a mere .17 off the all-time state record in the 100 free) gave the East relay a lead that her teammates refused to give up. A treat to watch. Runners-up: Arrowhead's Emma Goral, who won her third straight butterfly title, and was the leader of Arrowhead's dominant D1 title team this year; and Madison Memorial's Jackie Powell, who for the second year in a row won two individual titles.

Swim of the year: Van Hout's record-breaking 200 IM win at the state meet. When you knock off a record held by Arrowhead's Andrea Boritzke (the only swimmer in the history of the state with eight individual and eight relay gold medals), you've accomplished something. And Van Hout broke it pretty easily, by more than 1-1/2 seconds, and became the second high school swimmer in the past year (along with Michael Drives of Madison Memorial) to set a UW Natatorium pool record at a state meet. Runner-up: Emily Russart's record-breaking win in the 100 breaststroke over Eau Claire Memorial freshman phenom Leah Pronschinske. Also worth mentioning: Distance swimmers Katie Delaney of Middleton and Ilsa Feierabend of Madison West. Neither one swam at the state meet in the final heat of their events -- the 200 and 500 frees -- but they earned top-6 podium finishes in both races. Delaney came home with two bronze medals, while Feierabend earned a 6th place (200) and 4th place (500), with both swimmers breaking the 5-minute mark in the 500.

Relay of the year: In a close call, Arrowhead's state-winning 200 medley relay. The team of Kate Jones, Caryn Knight, Emma Goral and Haley Pietila came into the state meet as the top-seeded team, but swimming right next to them were both a loaded-up Madison East squad, along with Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay, the defending champs in the event. Arrowhead's medley had come in as the top seed in last year's state meet, as well, only to see B/B/WB upend them by .14 seconds. The two relays also hooked up at the Wisconsin Girls Invite at the Nat in October, and B/B/WB again edged Arrowhead by a narrow two-tenths. It looked like Arrowhead would lose for a third time after the first two legs of the medley, when the team found itself in third place. But Goral's terrific fly leg gave Arrowhead the lead, and Pietila anchored the team home to victory. Runner-up: East's grab-the-lead-and-hold-on-for-dear-life 400 free relay, which nipped favored Arrowhead by four-tenths of a second.

Rookie of the year: Shawano-Bonduel freshman Mackenzie Buss came in as a highly anticipated freshman, and her program's move up this year from D2 to D1 didn't stop her from winning the state title in the 100 backstroke. Buss, the #3 seed in the event coming out of sectionals, grabbed an early lead in the race and never let go. Runners-up: Burlington co-op freshman Anna Brooks didn't have the state meet she wanted, with a 5th in the 200 IM and a 10th in the 500 free, but she was one of the leading swimmers in a program that looks to be a strong presence for several years. Arrowhead freshman sprinter Julia Mikota got on the podium in both her individual free sprints, and won a gold medal anchoring the team's winning 200 free relay. Waukesha South/Mukwonago's Kayla Skenandore, although a sophomore, eschewed club swimming for her first season of high school swimming, and earned runner-up finishes at the state meet in both the 200 free and 100 fly.

D2

Swimmer of the year: A no-brainer -- Brookfield Academy junior Kelsey Hojan-Clark. Last year, Hojan-Clark showed her great potential with wins in both the 200 and 500 frees at the state meet. This year, she smashed the long-standing state records in each race, held since 1996 by Shorewood's Jamie Belfor, one of D2's greatest swimmers. Hojan-Clark swims for the one of the smallest schools in Div. 2, and as such doesn't have the opportunity to shine in relays that lots of other top-tier swimmers do. But no matter -- her two record-setting performances at this year's state meet stood out. Runners-up: Sauk Prairie junior Alison Meng, who won both the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly, and helped Sauk's medley and 400 free relays to two podium finishes; Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol freshman Savanna Townsend, whose state-meet performance carried the Clippers to the first state title in school history.

Swim of the year: Again, a no-brainer -- Hojan-Clark's 500 free win at state. You may have to be a distance-race junkie (like I am) to appreciate how good this swim was. Hojan-Clark's opening 200 -- a 1:54.14 -- would have beat every other D2 swimmer in the 200 free (save for her own record-breaking swim in the race). She closed with an astonishing 1:56.54 for the final 200 yards, an amazing display of back-half speed. She swam the race alone after about 75 yards, yet kept expanding her lead the entire race. She never once split a 50 free above 30 seconds. Here's one request: Can someone arrange to have the state's two finest swimmers -- Van Hout and Hojan-Clark -- swim against each other next year? Please? Begging is not beneath me...Runners-up: Hojan-Clark's record-breaking 200 free at state; Meng's 100-yard backstroke win at state, where she bested a field that included two former state champs in the event, and won in a time (57.19) that was .25 seconds faster than D1 winner Buss; Delavan-Darien's Emily McClellan, who won the 100 breaststroke over a loaded field that included four other state-record breakers from last year's meet and two former state titleists in the event.

Relay of the year: Sturgeon-Bay/Sevastopol's 200 free relay. Very early in the year, in the midst of the hard training that's not conducive to fast times in meets, SB/S's 200 free relay popped a 1:39.36, less than half-a-second slower than the existing D2 record in the event. The SB/S relay -- sisters Savanna and Sierra Townsend, along with McKenzie Trelka and Michaela Rabas -- kept it up all season long, and entered the state meet as the clear favorites in the event, with a seed time a half-second below the state record. But no one was expecting the relay's 1:36.02 -- a record by nearly three seconds, and a second faster than Arrowhead's winning 200 free relay in D1. A record that may stand for a while -- unless SB/S (which returns all four members of the relay next year) has another go at it. Runner-up: Swimming the anchor leg in the last event of the meet in the final race of her careeer, Whitefish Bay senior Maggie Smith rallied the Blue Dukes from third place in the 400 free relay with a 51.19 split (fastest in the field by more than half-a-second) that gave her team their second relay win of the state meet.

Rookie of the year: Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol freshman Savanna Townsend was the catalyst behind a squad that entered the season as a possible contender for a state title and ended with the first-place trophy high above their heads. Townsend came into the state meet with a lot riding on her shoulders, and somehow managed to exceed expectations -- a 1st in the 50 free, a close 2nd in the 100 free, a lights-out 23.14 anchor leg on the team's record-setting 200 free relay, and a 51.77 anchor leg on the team's 6th-place 400 free relay that secured the team title. She'll be faced with a tough encore next year. Runners-up: The Holmquist sisters of Milton, Abby and Katelyn, who qualified for three individual events and keyed a Milton squad that finished 5th at state despite the loss of some key seniors from last year's team; Ellen Stello of Shorewood, who put together four podium finishes at the state meet in her individual and relay events.

The best swimmers you never hear about

The state swim meets are always full of good stories. Sure, the focus is on who's going to win the team competition, and the possible record-breaking performances. But there are a bunch of other competitors at the meet who deserve notice, as well. Here are a few worth a look:

-- Of the four Madison high schools, LaFollette's swim program sits in the heavy shadows cast by Memorial, West, and East, who have won 30 state titles among them and annually send dozens of swimmers to state. LaFollette hadn't sent a swimmer to the state meet since 2003. But that streak was broken this year by Lancer junior Britney Hilgendorf, who qualified in both the 200 IM and the 100 free. In the IM, the diminutive Hilgendorf came from the next-to-last heat at the Middleton sectional to qualify as the 23rd seed at the state meet. In the 100 free, she knocked more than a second off her sectional seed time to finish in 54.07 and grab the 18th seed at the state meet. It was sweet redemption for Hilgendorf, who last year finished .03 seconds away from qualifying for state in the 50 free. Ironically, the last Lancer swimmer to make the state meet, Caitlin Digney, serves as one of Hilgendorf's coaches for her summer swim club.

-- Two years ago, her school didn't even have a swim program. Now Lodi sophomore Sierra Sachtjen will be competing at the state swim meet -- Lodi's first-ever participant in the state meet for the nascent program. Sachtjen will compete in both the 100 free and the 100 back; she cut more than a second off her sectional seed time in the 100 free to qualify as the 9th seeded swimmer for the state meet. Lodi, with an enrollment of about 530 swimmers, is one of the smallest schools in the state to offer a non-co-op swim program.

-- For the first time in four years, the Milwaukee City Conference will have a swimmer at the state meet. Freshman Jaime Kohnke of the Milwaukee Riverside/Bay View co-op qualified in both the 200 and 500 frees. In the 200 free, Kohnke cut more than two-and-a-half seconds off her seed time at the Cedarburg sectional to grab the 23rd spot at the D1 state meet. She cut nearly three seconds off her 500 free time to qualify -- she'll be in fastest lane, 4, in the second heat of the D1 500. Earlier this year, we noted Kohnke's role in helping Riverside/Bay View to the city conference swim title:
http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/10/milwaukee-riversidebay-view-wins-city.html

-- Madison West senior Kylie Rosenstock enters Saturday's state meet chasing history. She's looking to become the first D1 diver to ever capture four state titles; the D1 scoring record of 502.45 is probably also within the sites of the Stanford-bound Rosenstock. Wisconsin State Journal prep writer Rob Hernandez has a nice take on high school's loneliest sport and Rosenstock here:
http://host.madison.com/sports/columnists/rob_hernandez/article_1953dec4-cd97-11de-acec-001cc4c03286.html

-- Can a program develop into one of the state's best when the pool you practice in is nearly an hour away from your school? River Valley is trying. Surely there are few more dedicated swimmers in the state than those from the Spring Green-based high school. Lacking an indoor pool in Spring Green or at their school, the River Valley swimmers commute up to Baraboo to practice. How good are they? Among D2 schools, only seven qualified all three relays for state, and the list included the usual top-tier D2 teams -- DeForest, Whitefish Bay, Milton, and so on. Oh, and River Valley. The state berths weren't unprecedented; last year, River Valley qualified both its medley and 200 free relays to state. This year, the quintet of Samantha Ring, Karie Liegel, Rachel Puskula, Olivia Bergman, and Jaelin Crook comprised the three relays that made it to state; for good measure, Puskula qualified in the 100 butterfly. The team's fastest relay is its 200 free relay; seeded 8th for the state meet, the River Valley relay has a chance of nudging its way onto the podium. Not bad for a school with no pool (and most of the River Valley swimmers aren't going anywhere, either; only Bergman is a senior). Update: Here's an articile posted on the madison.com website about the traveling Spring Valley swimmers:
http://host.madison.com/sports/columnists/rob_hernandez/article_2b8ba3f8-cfcf-11de-9444-001cc4c03286.html

-- Another D2 school without a pool-- Pewaukee -- also had a very succesful sectional meet. We took notice of Pewaukee earlier this fall:
http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/09/growing-sport-of-swimming-in-pewaukee.html

At the Cudahy sectional, sophomore Lacey Leist led the way with state-qualifying swims in the 200 free and 100 back; freshman Claire Fernandez cut more than 8 seconds from her seed time to earn a spot in the 500 free. The pair joined senior Carly Paget and junior Catherine Geanon in earning a spot in the state meet in the medley relay, while Leist, Fernandez and Paget joined junior Emily Nelson in earning a bid in the 200 free relay.

-- She's one of the top favorites entering the D1 state meet, but it bears mentioning that the presence of Wisconsin Rapids junior Becca Weiland at this year's state meet was no sure thing a year ago. Last year, Weiland was sidelined by a hurt shoulder, a particularly dangerous injury for swimmers. The constant pounding of yardage required to compete at the sport's highest levels can take a toll on swimmers, especially shoulders. Weiland sat out last year's sectional competition, but burned up the pool this year, earning the state's top seeds in both the 50 and 100 frees. Better yet, she'll be joined on Rapids' very competitive medley and 200 free relays by sophomore sister Racheal. Update: Becca's mom, Linda, writes to inform me it was a knee injury, not a shoulder injury, that sidelined her last year. Initial media reports said it had been a shoulder injury. Here's a nice story from the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune on her comeback:
http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20091112/WRT020507/911120669/-1/Varsity/Prep-swimming-Rapids-Becca-Weiland-makes-full-recovery-from-knee-injury

-- No individual swimmer will travel farther to Madison to compete in the state meet than Rice Lake's Nikki Martinez. Seeded 23rd overall among all D2 swimmers at sectionals in the 200 free,
Martinez cut more than two-and-a-half seconds off her seed time to finish runner-up at the Stevens Point sectional and qualify for the very last spot in the 200 free for the D2 state meet. She just missed qualifying in the 500 free as well, by less than half-a-second.

-- Finally (and with all due -- and sincere -- apologies to the hard-to-pronounce and hard-to-type Sara Brzozowski of Brookfield East, Kayla Dlugopolski of Mequon Homestead, and Emma Szczupakiewicz of Muskego) -- is there a better name in either of the state meets than Greenfield's Esmerelda Perez? I can't find one. I occasionally announce swim meets on the side, and I'm half-tempted to highjack the microphone for Perez' heat of the D1 100 butterfly. She's also a sectional champ, having won the Kenosha Bradford 100 fly title at last week's competition.

D1 and D2 meets seeded

Here's how the D1 state meet would turn out based solely on seed times (and for divers, seed scores) from this past weekend's sectional meets:

1) Hartland Arrowhead -- 329 points.
2) Muskego -- 194.
3) Waukesha South/Mukwonago -- 188.
4) Madison East -- 143.
5) Wausau East -- 119.
6) Eau Claire Memorial -- 111.
7) Madison Memorial -- 110.
8) Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay -- 109.5.

Thoughts: As expected, Arrowhead came out of the sectional meets as the clear favorites for the state title. They are the only team with swimmers and divers in every event, and all three of their relays earned top seeds. A collective rash of false starts (or the aforementioned swine flu) seems to be the only potential roadblock between Arrowhead and its seventh title in eight years.

As for the rest of the seeding, it's eerily similar to last year, when Muskego and Waukesha South/Mukwonago came out of the very competitive and fast Waukesha South sectional as the two teams seeded behind Arrowhead, only to finish 4th (WS/M) and 5th (Muskego). Reasons for the move down vary; I've speculated about about one possible explanation here:

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/10/is-waukesha-south-pool-too-fast.html

Madison East as the 4th seed bears watching; few teams in D1 have tapered for the state meet as well as East the past two years. And four-time state champion Aja Van Hout is certainly a threat to post two wins and 40 points all by herself in the 200 IM and 500 free. But East only qualified two relays this year (medley and 400 free), and they are both seeded 3rd, so there is not a ton of room to capture more points there.

Meanwhile, Wausau East has all of its potential points wrapped up in four events -- the 200 and 400 free relays, and sprinters Lea Koenig and Lauren Sichterman in the 50 and 100 frees.

It's also worth noting that looming as the 7th seeded team is Madison Memorial (seeded at 110 points), which qualified all three relays and has entries in seven of the eight individual swimming events. A bunch of Memorial's swimmers are in the second heat, not the fastest one, so the Spartan swimmers will have to swim really well to move up. But coach Jason Verhelst has also proven to taper his swimmers well for the state meet.

D2

Here's the D2 state meet seeded:

1) Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol -- 184 points.
2) DeForest -- 182.
3) Whitefish Bay -- 178.
4) Milton -- 157.
5) Shorewood -- 151.
6) Elkhorn -- 138.
7) Sauk Prairie -- 135.
8) Grafton -- 118.

Thoughts: Good golly, Miss Molly -- could this be any closer? The top three teams separated by six points, with the top five separated by only 33 points -- not that much in a state meet.

With such a close meet, the outcome will likely hinge on the relays, which of course are worth double the points of individual races. Any moves up or down from the relay seeding positions means a lot in a meet so tight (and especially so in this one, as the big moves up or down in the relays among the top five times will likely come at expense of each other).

Of the top five seeded teams, all qualified three relays for the meet. But here's where it gets interesting. Based on sectional performances, it looks like Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol and Whitefish Bay have their relays set. In particular, Whitefish Bay coach Jim Davis' decision to put star sprinter Maggie Smith on three relays paid off, as the Blue Dukes' relays captured two top seeds (medley and 400 free) and a 7th seed (200 free relay).

But DeForest, Shorewood and Milton all could potentially move personnel around on their relays. DeForest's medley relay was the last one to get into the state meet, as coach Sue Winckler put her four fastest swimmers on the free relays. Those two relays each earned #2 seeds in the meet, and are filled with veteran state meet competitors who know how to perform under pressure. Shorewood spread out its relay swimmers to try to get three relays into the state meet, and it worked. But only one of those relays -- the medley -- qualified for the second, fast heat of the meet, and it will have to swim in lane 1. Shorewood's other two relays are seeded in the slower, first heats. It will be interesting to see how Shorewood coach Rob McCabe uses his top two swimmers -- Clare Chamberlain and Elli Sellinger -- in the relays. Meanwhile, Milton coach Tom Lieder has some unexpected flexibility with his relays, as freshman star Abby Holmquist -- seeded to make it to state in the 100 free -- just missed the cut-off time to qualify in the event. He could choose to put her on all three relays; Milton's relays are seeded 8th (medley), 5th (200), and 14th (400), so they have room to move up.

Digging into those psych sheets

More nuggets from the sectional psych sheets posted (and taken down, and then re-posted) by the WIAA this week (we crunch the numbers so you don't have to...):

Based on seed times, here's how the top 24 seed times break down by section, in Div. 1:

Middleton -- 65 swimmers/relays seeded to make state.
Waukesha South -- 56 swimmers and relays.
Neenah -- 46 swimmers and relays.
Hudson -- 36 swimmers and relays.
Kenosha -- 31 swimmers and relays.
Cedarburg -- 30 swimmers and relays.

Observation: Pretty much as expected, and similar to last year, when Middleton and Waukesha South sent large numbers of swimmers to state. The Cedarburg sectional is down from previous years, as traditionally strong teams like Mequon Homestead find themselves in a bit of a down cycle. The Neenah and Hudson sectionals, on the other hand, are on something of an upswing.

As for D2, here's how the top 16 seed times break down by section:

Baraboo -- 57 swimmers and relays.
Plymouth -- 52 swimmers and relays.
Cudahay -- 46 swimmers and relays.
Stevens Point -- 21 swimmers and relays.

Observation: Three pretty even sectionals, with the Point sectional that hosts most of the D2 teams from northern Wisconsin trailing the field. The Baraboo sectional, with the deepest field of seeded swimmers, should see quite the competition in the three relay events -- 18 relays (or an average of six teams per relay) are seeded to make it to state.

Deepest individual or relay events by seed time -- D1:

Middleton sectional: 200 medley relay -- 8 relays seeded to make state.
Waukesha South: 100 backstroke -- 8 swimmers.
Waukesha South: 200 free -- 7 swimmers.
Middleton: 200 IM -- 7 swimmers.
Neenah: 100 butterfly -- 7 swimmers.
Middleton: 500 free -- 7 swimmers.

Deepest individual or relay events by seed time -- D2:

Baraboo sectional: 200 medley relay -- 7 relays seeded to make state.
Baraboo: 100 butterfly -- 7 swimmers.
Plymouth: 500 free -- 7 swimmers.
Baraboo: 200 free -- 6 swimmers.
Cudahy: 50 free -- 6 swimmers.
Baraboo: 200 free relay -- 6 relays.
Cudahy: 100 breaststroke -- 6 swimmers.

Two other observations:

1) Based on seed times, there are a lot of fast freestyle sprinters in both divisions. The slowest (16th) time in the Div. 2 50 free seeded to make state (25.65) is already faster than last year's qualifying time for the event (25.91). The same holds true for the 200 free relay, which of course features four 50-yard sprinters (slowest seed time this year -- 1:45.17; last year's qualifying time -- 1:45.66.) In D1, the slowest time (24th) seeded to make the 50 free final (25.39) is only .25 seconds behind last year's qualifying time. There has been much speculation about how times at sectionals and state will compare to last year, when many swimmers wore the now-banned fast suits at both meets. It certainly looks like the shortest races this year may be faster overall than last year.

2) Div. 1 times have nearly always been faster than Div. 2 times, as the larger D1 teams have deeper pools of talent from which to draw. But D2 times seem to be creeping up on D1 times in a few areas. Notably, the final qualifying times seeded to make state in both D1 and D2 are remarkably close, and separated by only tenths of seconds, in a few events -- 200 medley relay, 50 free, and 400 free relay. Perhaps a sign that D2 teams are getting both better and deeper.

Sectional psych sheets are posted...

...on the WIAA website; click on girls swimming, then "2009 results."

Notes, highlights, and things I'll be looking for at this Saturday's sectional meets:

-- A quick review of the psych sheets shows two defending state champs opted out of events they won last year -- Madison Memorial's Jackie Powell in D1 and Shorewood's Elli Sellinger in D2. Powell, last year's state champ in both the 200 free and 100 back, dropped the backstroke and will swim the 100 free. Sellinger, who won the 100 fly last year and finished runner-up in the 200 free, will also swim the 100 and 200 frees this year.

-- Will Hartland Arrowhead and/or Madison Memorial qualify all of their swimmers into the state meet? Memorial did it last year, and has most of its swimmers competing in the final heat at the Middleton sectional. Arrowhead's status as the season's top D1 team was certainly endorsed by their seedings for the Waukesha South sectional; they own all three of the top relay seeds, and seven of the top seeds in the eight swimming events. Every one of their 16 swimmers is seeded 4th or higher at the sectional. You know you're deep when swimmers who are a threat to win a sectional title might not end up on any of your relays -- that's Arrowhead this year.

-- How many sub-5 minute 500 frees will we see in sectional competition in D1? It used to be a notable accomplishment when anyone broke 5 minutes in the race at state. Last year, four D1 sectional swimmers broke 5 minutes. This year, with a very deep pool of returning talent in the race, there are 10 swimmers seeded at sectionals with times of 5:10 or faster. Two-time defending state champ Aja Van Hout of Madison East leads the way with a seed time of 4:56.87.

-- The once-sleepy Hudson sectional -- often overshadowed by the Madison- and Milwaukee-are sectionals -- promises some real fireworks this year. Wisconsin Rapids and Wausau East will face off the third time this year in the 200 free relay; the squads own two of the five fastest seed times in the state in the event this year. Sprinters Becca Weiland of Rapids and Lea Koenig of Wausau East will renew their rivalry in the 50 and 100 frees; they are tied for the top time in the sectional in the 100 free (53.06). And Eau Claire Memorial's terrific duo of freshman Leah Pronschinske and senior Tina DeLakis will square off in the 100 breaststroke -- they own two of the four fastest seed times in the event.

-- It's not too often a freshman claims two top seeds in a D1 sectional. But it happened four times this year. Shawano/Bonduel's Mackenzie Buss owns the top seeds in the 100 free and back in the Neenah sectional; her 57.71 in the back is the fastest seed time in the state. Pronschinske got the top seeds in both the breaststroke and IM at the Hudson sectional, while Arrowhead's Julia Mikota owns the top seeds in the freestyle sprints at Waukesha South. Finally, Anna Brooks from the Burlington co-op earned top seeds in the very tough 200 IM/500 free double.

-- Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol is the top-seeded team in D2 heading into sectionals, and coach Mike McHugh is placing the Clippers' high hopes for the coming weeks squarely on the shoulders of his outstanding crew of sprinters. McHugh used 8 of his 18 sectional slots in two events -- the 50 and 100 frees. The team earned three of the top five seeds in the 50 free, led by freshman sensation Savanna Townsend, while Savanna and sister Sierra own two of the top three seeds in the 100 free.

-- D2 sectional showdown #1 I would pay good money to see: the 200 free at the Plymouth sectional, featuring last year's top two finishers at state -- Brookfield Academy's Kelsey Hojan-Clark and Shorewood's Elli Sellinger. The pair own seed times nearly four seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

-- D2 sectional showdown #2 I would pay good money to see: the 100 breaststroke at the Cudahay sectional, where a two-time state champion can't even budge her way into one of the two top seeds. The race features Delavan-Darien's Emily McClellan, Waukesha Catholic Memorial's Anna Meinholz, and Milton's Jennah Haney, all of whom were among the five swimmers to break the D2 state record in the event at last year's state meet. McClellan owns the top seed time (1:05.31) and has twice beaten Haney this year in the event. Meinholz earned the top seed for last year's state meet (and finished 3rd), while Haney -- who won this event at state her first two years in school -- broke the state record by nearly two seconds last year only to finish runner-up to Plymouth's Kate Criter. Maybe THE sectional race of the year, either division.

-- D2 sectional showdown #3 I actually will pay good money to see: the 100 fly at the Baraboo sectional, featuring Sauk Prairie's Alison Meng and Monona Grove's Kelsey Millin, who own the top two seed times in the state in the event. They'll be joined by DeForest's Leah Wickler, third-seeded at the sectional. Both Meng and Millin have had strong and consistent seasons in the butterfly, while Winckler came on strong last year to finish 5th at state (Meng finished 6th at state, Millin 7th). Don't be surprised to see all three of these swimmers high atop the podium at the D2 state meet.

Last state poll before sectionals

The latest WISCA (state coaches association) poll is out, and it shows Hartland Arrowhead (D1) and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol (D2) on top (and thanks to all the Div. 2 coaches for posting results, making the D2 poll complete for the first time this season).

The polls -- based on top-30 times posted by coaches, and utilizing only the two best times of any given swimmer -- are a good reflection of where the two divisions sit on the eve of sectional qualifying competition. HA owns a big lead in Div. 1 -- 860 points to 334 for second-ranked Madison Memorial. One interesting development this season in D1 has been the emergence of a number of teams outside the Milwaukee-Madison orbit of swimming to move into the top 10. Here's the D1 poll:

1 -- Arrowhead: 860
2 -- Madison Memorial: 334
3 -- Madison East: 306
4 -- Waukesha South-Mukwonago: 304
5 -- Burlington-Catholic Central-East Troy-Waterford-Wilmont Union: 271
6 -- Muskego: 266
7 -- Wausau East: 248
8 -- Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln: 248
9 -- Oshkosh West: 226
10 -- Neenah: 214

In D2, the poll is a pretty accurate reflection of what appears to be a wide-open race this year for the state team title. Sturgeon Bay, which has swum well all season long and won the Small State Invite at Shorewood earlier this season, deserves the top spot in the poll. But titles are won in the water, not on paper, and there are a host of teams chasing the Clippers. It wouldn't be surprising to see any of the top half-dozen or so teams in the latest D2 poll come away with hardware from the state meet. Here's the D2 poll:


1 -- Sturgeon Bay-Sevastopol: 433
2 -- Milton: 399
3 -- Shorewood: 371
4 -- McFarland: 342
5 -- DeForest: 337
6 -- Madison Edgewood: 329
7 -- Sauk Prairie: 315
8 -- Whitefish Bay: 305
9 -- Plymouth: 243
10 -- Grafton: 216

Conference meet round-up -- Greater Wisconsin

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.

Conference meet round-up -- Milwaukee area

A quick round-up of Milwaukee-area conference meets:

-- Hartland Arrowhead, the top-ranked team in Div. 1, romped to a win in the Classic 8 conference meet, trumping second-place (and #3 ranked) Waukesha South/Mukwonago 731-581. HA won all but one of the 12 events (only sophore Anna Meinholz of Waukesha Catholic Memorial prevented the sweep with a 1:06.21 win in the 100 breaststroke), and posted some very fast times in (it must be said) the very fast Waukesha South pool. Star freshman Julie Mikota swept the free sprints (24.01 in the 50, 52.46 in the 100), while Tracy Vogel swept the two long free races (1:53.72 in the 200, 5:01.53 in the 500). Two-time state champ Emma Goral won her specialty -- the 100 fly -- in a very fast 56.63, and contributed legs on all three winning relays. In an interesting twist, sophomore Haley Pietila won both the 200 IM (2:06.72) and 100 back (58.01) -- times competitive with the best in the state in races she normally doesn't swim. When sectional psych sheets are posted this week, it will be interesting to see what Pietila chooses for her two races -- she was state runner-up in the 200 and 100 frees last year, and has swum the 50 free on occasion this year. Her conference showing certainly gives her plenty of options. With all of its depth, internal team competition for relay spots has been fierce this year at Arrowhead. All three relays are a threat to win at state, with the 400 free relay team of Goral, Pietila, Mikota and Kate Jones -- which ripped off a 3:33.66 at the conference meet -- looking especially tough.

-- Menomonee Falls/Hamilton capped a terric day for the M.Falls athletic programs (the football team knocked off defending D1 state champs Mequon Homestead the same afternoon) with a thrilling win at the Greater Metro conference meet, edging Brookfield Central 572-562, with Brookfield East in third with 448 points. MF/M clinched the conference meet championship with a win in the final event, the 400 free relay, swum by Haley Lucas, Amanda Siehs, Briana Botros, and Grace Devine. MF/H won all three relays at the meet, while Siehs captured both free sprints (25.40 in the 50 free and 54.92 in the 100 free). Brookfield East's Sara Brzozowski was a double winner, taking the 200 free (1:56.11) and the 500 free (5:10.50). Brzozowski, a sophomore, has shown solid improvement this season from her freshman campaign; she's a threat to swim in the final heat of both events at D1 state this year.

-- Mequon Homestead continued its strong run of conference championships at the North Shore meet, with an easy win over Whitefish Bay 475-336. Grafton finished 3rd with 298 points, followed by Cedarburg with 250. For Homestead, the largest school in the conference, it was a case of superior depth triumphing; Miaya Hillard was the lone individual winner for Homestead, with a win in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.48). The team also got a win from its 200 free relay. Double-winners at the meet included Cedarburg's Molly Piepenburg in the 200 and 500 frees (1:58.16 and 5:12.36 -- the senior had two podium finishes in these two events last year at D1 state) and Grafton senior Sadie Nening in the 200 IM (2:12.14) and 100 back (58.59).

-- Muskego, ranked #6 in the latest state coach's poll, swam to an easy victory at the Southeast Conference meet with a 603-351 win over Kenosha Bradford. Distance ace Brittany Walsh was a double winner for Muskego, winning her specialties (1:59.20 in the 200 free, 5:06.12 in the 500 free). Muskego also got a double win from sophomore Sami Pochowski (100 free -- 54.15; 100 breaststroke -- 1:10.97) and a win from sophomore Emma Szczupakiewicz in the 100 fly (1:01.23). The two sophomores also swam on the team's winning medley and 400 free relays. Muskego may not have the depth to tangle with the very top tier of D1 teams, but their top swimmers can compete with the best of the D1 field.

-- Shorewood topped D2 rival Whitnall in the Woodland conference meet, 415-319. New Berlin West finished 3rd with 266 points, followed by Pewaukee and Wauwatosa West tied for 4th with 237 points. Shorewood junior Clare Chamberlain won two events, one of them notably. She won her specialty -- the 200 IM (2:09.58) -- where she's the two-time defending state champ. But then she switched over to the 100 breaststroke, which she won with a 1:06.56, the second-fastest time posted this year in the event. Chamberlain has finished 2nd and 3rd the past two years at state in the 500 free, but she may be contemplating a switch. She's a very solid breaststroker, and with Kelsey Hojan-Clark looming in the D2 500 free (Hojan-Clark beat Chamberlain by 17 seconds earlier this season in the 500 at the Small School State Invite), she may be thinking the breaststroke is a better option. Senior teammmate Elli Sellinger added a win in the 100 free (54.09); she, too, may switch into this event this year for sectionals, after finishing 2nd in the 200 free at state last year and winning the 100 fly. Freshman Ellen Stello also had a terrific conference meet for the Greyhounds, with a win in the 500 free (5:21.18) and joining Chamberlain and Sellinger on the team's winning medley and 400 free relays. Shorewood is emerging as a real threat to bring home some hardware from what looks to be a very competitive D2 state meet this year.

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.

Swimmers of the year -- girls

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has named Brookfield Academy's Kelsey Hojan-Clark as its swimmer of year. It's a big honor for the D2 swimmer, given the competition she faces from the wealth of D1 powers in the Milwaukee area. Hojan-Clark was the only Milwaukee-area swimmer to win two individual state titles this year, and came with about a half-second of setting two state records in the 200 and 500 frees.

See article here:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/preps/35348844.html

This past weekend, the Wisconsin State Journal named Madison East's Ruby Martin and Aja Van Hout as its co-swimmers of the year. It's the second year in a row the paper has honored Van Hout, a sophomore with seven state titles to her name already. Martin finished her career at East with eight state titles (four individual, four relays) and will be headed to the University of Wisconsin to continue her swimming career.

Girls season recap

Another girls high school season is in the books, with Hartland-Arrowhead (D1) and DeForest (D2) winning state titles. For HA, it was their sixth title in the past seven years; for the Norskies, it was their third title in a row.

Look for more of the same next year. If any two teams are poised to repeat their titles, it's HA and DeForest. HA returns nearly everyone who scored points at the state meet -- 139 points in individual races, all members of the team's three relays that scored 96 points, and two divers who contributed 14 points. HA is quite young -- two-time 100 fly state champ Emma Goral is only a sophomore, and HA got major contributions this season from freshmen Hailey Pietila, Kate Jones, and Stephanie Hein. That's an awfully strong foundation for at least two years to come.

Meanwhile, many of HA's chief rivals will be losing some significant swimmers. Madison East, state champs in 2007 and runner-up this year, returns most of its swimmers but graduates eight-time state champ Ruby Martin, who is headed to the University of Wisconsin. Madison Memorial returns two-time state champ Jackie Powell and a host of strong swimmers, but must replace veteran sprinters Kayla Smith and Mackenzie King, along with Kendra Loch and Kelsie Saxe. Waukesha South/Mukwonago, meanwhile, must replace sprinter Arriana Gorenc and several mainstays of its relays.

DeForest graduates state meet veterans Molly Anderson, Karmyn Vandewettering, and Lark Egen, but the team returns arguably its four best swimmers -- versatile junior Lindsey Verhulst, sophomore Casey Wolter (a top-five finisher at state in both the 200 and 500 frees) and freshmen Leah Winckler and Chelsea Statz, both of whom swam exceedingly well down the stretch of the season. The Norskies return 98.5 points from this year's state meets, and have the depth to fill spots on their relays filled this year by seniors.

Several D2 teams as well will graduate longtime state-meet stalwarts -- Grafton's Brianna Dietz, Sauk Prairie's Abby Diehl, Waukesha Catholic Memorial's Elle Meinholz and Ashley Majewski, Monona Grove's Hayley Martin, and Milton's Hailey Foss and Kaitlyn Kincaide. If any team can compete with DeForest next year, it might be Edgewood. The Crudaders graduate Beth Schramka, a four-time qualifier for the state meet, but return a strong corps of sprinters and a solid group of freshmen swimmers.

Look for two other topics to continue to percolate during the off-season -- the much-debated switch of the girls and boys swim seasons (see:

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2008/10/switching-seasons.html and

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2008/10/switching-seasons-chap-2.html

and the controversy over the use of fast suits (see:

http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2008/11/fast-suits.html