At last year's D2 boys state meet, one team that caught my eye was Berlin/Green Lake. It wasn't so much that the B/GL co-op did well -- they scored 37 points to finish 17th overall -- but that the team did it with all underclassmen, including two very good freshmen in Greg Hameister and Dylan Young.
This past weekend, the B/GL showed they are ready to make even more noise. The team finished second at the Oshkosh West Invite, trailing only traditional D1 Fox Valley power Neenah and beating out a very good Appleton North/East team for third. Plymouth, a solid D2 team returning most of its state swimmers from last year, finished well back of B/GL in 4th. See partial results here from the Oshkosh Northwestern:
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20091206/OSH020507/91205066/1148/OSH02
Hameister led the way for B/GL, with a 2nd and 4th in his individual events and relay legs that helped produce two 2nd-place finishes in the 200 and 400 free relays. But several other B/GL swimmers garnered top-six finishes, an indication the team is adding depth to the four swimmers who took part in last year's state meet.
There is a strong tradition of solid swimming for Berlin/Green Lake; the co-op won the D2 state title as recently as 2001. Early on this season, they certainly look to be one of the contenders for a sectional title at the Plymouth sectional in February.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Verona sprints to big win at Nicolet Invite
The newly formed Verona-Mount Horeb swim co-op (they're neighboring school districts) ventured over to the north suburbs of Milwaukee last Saturday for one of the first big meets of the season, and came away with an impressive win at the Nicolet Sprint Invitational. The Wildcats scored 336.5 points to win over D2 powers Whitefish Bay (318) and Shorewood (284.5). Middleton (279.5) and Madison East (186) rounded out the top five.
It's not surprising that a sprint invitational would be dominated by solid sprinters, and Verona/MH has a good one in senior Derek Toomey. He posted wins in the 50 free (21.55) by more than a second over Whitefish Bay's Chuckie Prestigiacomo, one of the better D2 sprinters in the state, and raced to a truly impressive four-second win in the 100 free in 47.30. That's not far off the time Toomey swam last year at the D1 state meet (47.17) to finish 5th. There are a bunch of top D1 sprinters back this year, but Toomey's performance Saturday certainly stamps him as a top contender in the two sprints come Februrary.
Toomey's contributions were augmented by a strong meet from junior Spencer Ritt, who won both the 100 and 200 IMs. The 200 IM was a particularly fun race to watch, as Ritt -- a very good flier and backstroker -- got off to a big lead during the first two strokes and then held off a hard-charging Jay Tomasiewicz of Shorewood. In the end, Ritt just held off Tomasiewicz 2:04.51 to 2:05.62. Verona also got a strong meet from senior Jacob Olandt, normally a 500-yard free swimmer who finished second in both the 100 and 200 frees. The Wildcats this year are a deep and veteran team, and with Toomey and Ritt have two top-tier swimmers. It will interesting to see them tangle -- frequently, as it turns out -- with defending D1 champs Madison Memorial this year. The two Big Eight schools will swim against each other in dual, conference and sectional meets this year, as well as some invites.
As for the rest of the meet:
-- The performance of Whitefish Bay and Shorewood should reinforce the notion that the Milwaukee suburban neighbors will be two of the better D2 squads in the state. Topping a very deep Middleton squad at Nicolet is no small feat. The two schools have a number of versatile swimmers, and enough depth to probably put together three state-qualifying relays. Whitefish Bay was particularly impressive in winning the 400 medley relay by nearly seven seconds; the Blue Dukes return all of the swimmers who swam on the team's 3rd-place 200 medley relay last year at state.
-- Madison East senior Robert Miner had a solid meet, with wins in the 200 free (1:48.66) and 50 fly (24.22). The UW-Green Bay recruit had two podium finishes at last year's state meet in the 200 free and 100 fly.
-- Looking for one of those breakout freshmen? Try Grafton 9th grader Al Nenning, whose sisters Sadie and Bailey have been stars for the Grafton girls team for several years. Nenning went up against state meet veterans Ritt and Jason Castillo of Whitefish Bay in the 100 IM and held his own, finishing third. He's already posted some solid times on the WISCA coaches top-30 list.
-- Monona Grove's divers had an impressive first meet, outscoring the field at Nicolet with 44 points behind first-place senior Trevor Sisson, a 4th-place from freshman Patrick Sisson, and a 9th place from junior Austin Anderson. Trevor Sisson, the top returning D2 diver from last year's state meet, won handily, topping Verona's Bill Reilly 407.20 to 362.20.
It's not surprising that a sprint invitational would be dominated by solid sprinters, and Verona/MH has a good one in senior Derek Toomey. He posted wins in the 50 free (21.55) by more than a second over Whitefish Bay's Chuckie Prestigiacomo, one of the better D2 sprinters in the state, and raced to a truly impressive four-second win in the 100 free in 47.30. That's not far off the time Toomey swam last year at the D1 state meet (47.17) to finish 5th. There are a bunch of top D1 sprinters back this year, but Toomey's performance Saturday certainly stamps him as a top contender in the two sprints come Februrary.
Toomey's contributions were augmented by a strong meet from junior Spencer Ritt, who won both the 100 and 200 IMs. The 200 IM was a particularly fun race to watch, as Ritt -- a very good flier and backstroker -- got off to a big lead during the first two strokes and then held off a hard-charging Jay Tomasiewicz of Shorewood. In the end, Ritt just held off Tomasiewicz 2:04.51 to 2:05.62. Verona also got a strong meet from senior Jacob Olandt, normally a 500-yard free swimmer who finished second in both the 100 and 200 frees. The Wildcats this year are a deep and veteran team, and with Toomey and Ritt have two top-tier swimmers. It will interesting to see them tangle -- frequently, as it turns out -- with defending D1 champs Madison Memorial this year. The two Big Eight schools will swim against each other in dual, conference and sectional meets this year, as well as some invites.
As for the rest of the meet:
-- The performance of Whitefish Bay and Shorewood should reinforce the notion that the Milwaukee suburban neighbors will be two of the better D2 squads in the state. Topping a very deep Middleton squad at Nicolet is no small feat. The two schools have a number of versatile swimmers, and enough depth to probably put together three state-qualifying relays. Whitefish Bay was particularly impressive in winning the 400 medley relay by nearly seven seconds; the Blue Dukes return all of the swimmers who swam on the team's 3rd-place 200 medley relay last year at state.
-- Madison East senior Robert Miner had a solid meet, with wins in the 200 free (1:48.66) and 50 fly (24.22). The UW-Green Bay recruit had two podium finishes at last year's state meet in the 200 free and 100 fly.
-- Looking for one of those breakout freshmen? Try Grafton 9th grader Al Nenning, whose sisters Sadie and Bailey have been stars for the Grafton girls team for several years. Nenning went up against state meet veterans Ritt and Jason Castillo of Whitefish Bay in the 100 IM and held his own, finishing third. He's already posted some solid times on the WISCA coaches top-30 list.
-- Monona Grove's divers had an impressive first meet, outscoring the field at Nicolet with 44 points behind first-place senior Trevor Sisson, a 4th-place from freshman Patrick Sisson, and a 9th place from junior Austin Anderson. Trevor Sisson, the top returning D2 diver from last year's state meet, won handily, topping Verona's Bill Reilly 407.20 to 362.20.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Submitting results
I'm keenly interested in seeing results from around the state, submitted by coaches, meet organizers, or anyone else for that matter. A couple of commentators said they were having trouble getting through my email address. Here it is:
wimcdade@tds.net
I hope it works; it's worked for others who have seen the blog and contacted me. And thanks for sending any and all results -- it's really appreciated!
(Original post now corrected; thanks for the help!)
http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/12/boys-season-gets-underway.html
wimcdade@tds.net
I hope it works; it's worked for others who have seen the blog and contacted me. And thanks for sending any and all results -- it's really appreciated!
(Original post now corrected; thanks for the help!)
http://wiscswim.blogspot.com/2009/12/boys-season-gets-underway.html
Friday, December 4, 2009
Hojan-Clark swims a sub-4:48 500 free
I'm normally reluctant to highlight non-high school season activities, as the primary focus of the blog is high school swimming.
But this bears mentioning. At the Short Course National Championships being held in Federal Way, Wash., Elmbrook Swim Club's Kelsey Hojan-Clark (a junior at Brookfield Academy) yesterday swam a 4:47.96 in the 500 free to finish 14th in the event. That's under the all-time 500 free time swum by a Wisconsin high schooler (4:48.60, swum by Madison East's Aja Van Hout last year at the D1 state meet).
Hojan-Clark, who smashed the D2 state record in the 500 free last month with a time of 4:50.19, swam a 4:49.07 in the short-couse meet prelims, then came back to cut more than a second off that time. You can watch the race here; Hojan-Clark is in Lane 8 at the top of the picture:
http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20091203/women_s_500yd_free_b_final-17427.html
But this bears mentioning. At the Short Course National Championships being held in Federal Way, Wash., Elmbrook Swim Club's Kelsey Hojan-Clark (a junior at Brookfield Academy) yesterday swam a 4:47.96 in the 500 free to finish 14th in the event. That's under the all-time 500 free time swum by a Wisconsin high schooler (4:48.60, swum by Madison East's Aja Van Hout last year at the D1 state meet).
Hojan-Clark, who smashed the D2 state record in the 500 free last month with a time of 4:50.19, swam a 4:49.07 in the short-couse meet prelims, then came back to cut more than a second off that time. You can watch the race here; Hojan-Clark is in Lane 8 at the top of the picture:
http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20091203/women_s_500yd_free_b_final-17427.html
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Spartans look sharp
The defending D2 champs, McFarland, took to the water for the first time this season at the Badger Conference (North and South combined) Relays Tuesday night at a crowded Waunakee pool, and had no trouble coming away with a win.
The Spartans easily topped the 11-team field with 166 points, 48 more than runner-up (and defending Badger Conference South champs) Milton. It was close for the next few spots, as Fort Atkinson (106), Edgewood (104) and Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (104) all finished within two points of each other.
McFarland won four of the 10 events at the all-relay meet, and never finished lower than 4th in any of the relays. Of all things, the Spartans stacked their 4 X 25-yard free relay, which led to the interesting site of defending state champ Brian Heiser (200 free) doing an in-water start ala an 8-year-old for his 25-yard anchor leg.
Sauk won the opening and closing events -- the 400 medley and the 400 free relay -- with lineups that may look very familiar come sectional and state meet time. In the medley, it was backstroker Stephen Hanko leading off, followed by Paul Ballweg (breaststroke), Tyler Lentz (fly) and Matt Friede (free). The relay won by nearly seven seconds over an Edgewood relay that included stars Drew teDuits and Chase Stephens; don't be surprised to see that same Sauk line-up in the regular 200 medley relay toward season's end. The same four swimmers for Sauk then clocked in a respectable 3:23.94 to win the 400 free relay.
UPDATE: Results here...
2009 Badger Conf Relay Results
In other D2 swim news, Ashwaubenon traveled to the Door County Y and beat Sturgeon Bay/Southern Door 106-75 in a non-conference matchup between two traditionally strong D2 programs. Full story here from the Door County Advocate:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091202/ADV02/912020527/0/adv&theme=ADVSPORTS
The Spartans easily topped the 11-team field with 166 points, 48 more than runner-up (and defending Badger Conference South champs) Milton. It was close for the next few spots, as Fort Atkinson (106), Edgewood (104) and Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (104) all finished within two points of each other.
McFarland won four of the 10 events at the all-relay meet, and never finished lower than 4th in any of the relays. Of all things, the Spartans stacked their 4 X 25-yard free relay, which led to the interesting site of defending state champ Brian Heiser (200 free) doing an in-water start ala an 8-year-old for his 25-yard anchor leg.
Sauk won the opening and closing events -- the 400 medley and the 400 free relay -- with lineups that may look very familiar come sectional and state meet time. In the medley, it was backstroker Stephen Hanko leading off, followed by Paul Ballweg (breaststroke), Tyler Lentz (fly) and Matt Friede (free). The relay won by nearly seven seconds over an Edgewood relay that included stars Drew teDuits and Chase Stephens; don't be surprised to see that same Sauk line-up in the regular 200 medley relay toward season's end. The same four swimmers for Sauk then clocked in a respectable 3:23.94 to win the 400 free relay.
UPDATE: Results here...
2009 Badger Conf Relay Results
In other D2 swim news, Ashwaubenon traveled to the Door County Y and beat Sturgeon Bay/Southern Door 106-75 in a non-conference matchup between two traditionally strong D2 programs. Full story here from the Door County Advocate:
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091202/ADV02/912020527/0/adv&theme=ADVSPORTS
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Boys season gets underway
With Thanksgiving behind us, it's time for the boys swim season to move into full swing. A number of conferences around the state have their season-opening swim meets tonight (many of them relay-only meets). There is also a good dual meet tonight "Up North," as Ashwaubenon travels to Sturgeon Bay in a match-up that features two teams that finished in the top 10 last year at the D2 state meet. Both teams lost some solid swimmers to graduation, so it will be a good test to see how these two traditional D2 powers look early in the season.
This weekend will see meets and inviationals at Oshkosh West, Cudahy, Nicolet and Janesville Craig, among others. We'll report on them as we get results.
A note (plea?) to coaches, parents, and other interested parties -- feel free to send results (in any format, but PDFs appreciated) to the email at: wimcdade@tds.net or simply post meet scores in the comments section. Thanks for your help in supporting the blog!
This weekend will see meets and inviationals at Oshkosh West, Cudahy, Nicolet and Janesville Craig, among others. We'll report on them as we get results.
A note (plea?) to coaches, parents, and other interested parties -- feel free to send results (in any format, but PDFs appreciated) to the email at: wimcdade@tds.net or simply post meet scores in the comments section. Thanks for your help in supporting the blog!
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