Switching seasons

The idea that the boys and girls swim seasons would switch -- raised by WIAA officials earlier this year -- appears if not exactly dead, certainly dormant for a while. WIAA officials, at their regional meetings held this fall, have not exactly been overwhelmed with support for the idea. In fact, just the opposite has occured, as several school district officials weighed in to oppose the idea. Verona athletic director Mark Kryka at one of the WIAA meetings raised the possibility that switching boys swimming from its current winter season to the fall could force the school to drop swimming -- an amazing statement, when you think of it, given the strong tradition of swimming at Verona. Other objections raised at the meetings -- that it would make Wisconsin different than its neighboring states, whose girls and boys seasons now parallel with Wisconsin; and that it could pose schedulding problems with local club teams for schools dependent on community-based pools for practice and competition.

The WIAA raised the possibility in light of litigation in Michigan that has resulted in some sports there switching seasons. The organization has said it wants to head off any possible lawsuits over the placement of sports here in Wisconsin. It has also said it wants to make sure it balances athletic opportunities for boys and girls throughout the school year. Right now, girls swimming competes with volleyball, tennis, cross country, and golf as sports offered in the fall. Winter sports for girls are limited to basketball, gymnastics, and the nascent but growing hockey programs. Swim coaches generally opposed hosting boys and girls swimming during the same time, because of the stress it would place on school and community-based pools for use.

WIAA executive director Doug Chickering certainly didn't sound determined to force the change in recent comments. "If we hear enough opposition to swimming and diving, we might come back with tennis next year," he told the Wisconsin State Journal, citing concerns that participation in swimming might fall off with a season switch. "So maybe we are creating more problems than we solve with this."

West-Memorial rivalry

There's a lot of history when Madison Memorial and Madison West take to the pool, as they did last week in their Big Eight Conference opener. Between the two west-side schools, they have collected 29 state titles. The competitors swim against each other all the time -- in dual meets, conference and sectional meets, and at state. Rivals during the high school season often are teammates during the winter, spring and summer club seasons.

Of late, Memorial has had the edge in the rivalry, and last week was no different, with the Spartans coming out on top in the dual meet, 112-58. Similar to Madison East's win the same night against Middleton, Memorial won 10 of the 11 events against the Regents, with only West's Abby Mundt winning the 100 free. Memorial's usual strengths were on display at the meet, showcasing lots of depth, versatility, and the ability to win races against solid competition.

Since both Memorial and Madison East won the same 10 events on the same night, here's a side-by-side comparison of the winning times from each team:

-- 200 medley relay: East (Chelsea Soderholm, Maddie King, Becca Soderholm, Ivy Martin), 1:52.81; Memorial (Jackie Powell, Kendra Loch, Kelseie Saxe, Mackenzie King), 1:52.25.
-- 200 free: East, Aja Van Hout, 1:52.69; Memorial, Powell, 1:56.10.
-- 200 IM: East, B. Soderholem, 2:12.68; Memorial, Saxe, 2:15.02.
-- 50 free: East, Ruby Martin, 23.75; Memorial, Kayla Smith, 25.01.
-- 100 fly: East, B. Soderholm, 59.95; Memorial, Saxe, 1:00.50.
-- 500 free: East, Van Hout, 4:54.65; Memorial, Dana Johnson, 5:24.81.
-- 200 free relay: East (R. Martin, I. Martin, C. Soderholm, Van Hout), 1:38.35; Memorial (Alissa Endres, Loch, Saxe, Smith), 1:41.49.
-- 100 back: East, R. Martin, 57.83; Memorial, Powell, 1:00.00.
-- 100 breast: East, King, 1:12.25; Memorial, Loch, 1:10.61.
-- 400 free relay: East (R. Martin, B. Sonderholm, C. Soderholm Van Hout) 3:33.63; Memorial (Powell, Endres, Johnson, Smith), 3:42.28.

Smart swimmer

Here's a nice story from a former colleague of mine, Andy Hall, in the Wisconsin State Journal about a very smart high school senior:

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/303197

Wouldn't you know it -- he's a swimmer! Everts swam the opening backstroke leg on Edgewood's state-qualifying medley relay team last season.

Baraboo makes a statement

Heading into the Badger Conference North relays Tuesday night, Baraboo might have been excused for thinking it had a steep hill to climb. After all, the relay meet featured two-time defending state champs DeForest, a strong McFarland team newly moved to the Badger North, and a Sauk Prairie team poised to move into the state's elite D2 teams.

But the Thunderbirds, swimming in their home pool, showed they will certainly be a team to contend with this year, as they won the all-relay meet with 102 points, ahead of DeForest and McFarland, which tied for second with 88 points. Sauk Prairie finished fourth with 66 points. The win comes a week after Baraboo won the season-opening Janesville Parker Relays, beating out Badger South Conference's Milton by 15 points.

Baraboo got off to a hot start at the Badger North relays, winning three of the first four events behind state-meet veterans Emily O'Rourke, Blair Murphy, Shannon Keeling, Emily Thompson, Ellie Reufer, and Raegen Trimmer. They followed that up with a series of top-three finishes, including a meet-clinching second-place finish in the final 400-free relay.

"DeForest and McFarland are great teams, and Sauk's top girls are incredible," Baraboo head coach Lynn Keeling told the Baraboo News Republic after the meet. "It's going to be a really exciting conference, and we're going to have a lot of good dual meets."

Baraboo last year was a team with solid depth; they were one of only five D2 teams (DeForest, McFarland, Monona Grove, and Whitnall were the others) to qualify all three relays for the state meet. They also qualified five swimmers in seven events for the state meet. The challenge for Baraboo has been placing in the top tier of swimmers; the highest finish for a relay last year at state was 9th, and their highest individual placer was O'Rourke (6th) in the back. The T-Birds appear ready to take that next step.

(Information and quotes courtesy of Baraboo News Republic.)

Shorewood 2-for-2

Shorewood certainly isn't shy about scheduling tough non-conference foes. A week after knocking off Grafton, the Greyhounds toppled state runner-up Whitefish Bay 94-82 Tuesday night. Shorewood's Clare Chamberlain and Elli Sellinger continue to impress with strong early-season swims, with Chamberlain going 2:10.53 in the 200 IM (less than two seconds off her D2 state-winning time last year) and 1:08.23 in the breaststroke, while Sellinger dropped down to the 50/100 frees and won each (25.07 50, 53.95 100). Look for Shorewood and traditional D2 power Whitnall to fight it out for top honors in the Woodland Conference this year.

Oregon wins Badger Conference opener

Is Oregon the team to beat in the Badger South Conference? With Verona's departure to the Big Eight Conference, the race for the Badger South appears wide open. Oregon laid claim to the top spot with a strong performance at the Badger Conference South Relays Tuesday night at Stoughton. Oregon won five of the 11 events at the meet, and revealed some added depth that the Panthers -- which have always had a cadre of strong swimmers -- have lacked in the past. They scored 151 points to win the meet over second-place Milton.

Of course, it's early in the season, with two months to go before the conference swim meet. But the all-relay meet at Stoughton is often a good indicator of a team's depth, as it requires teams to put together 11 separate relays. Oregon qualified two relays for state last year (200/400 free) out of the very tough D1 Middleton sectional, and returns all of the swimmers who swam on these relays. State qualifiers Maddie Schwartz (back, 500 free) and sprinter Rachel Walsh also return for the Panthers, and the team has added some quality freshmen.

As for the rest of the Badger South teams, Milton won three relays led by state-meet veterans Hailey Foss and Jennah Haney, and finished second with 140 points. Monona Grove finished third (127 points), with Edgewood fourth (118 points). Edgewood's Beth Schramka, a three-time state qualifier who is recovering from a soccer injury from last spring, did not swim at the meet but is expected to begin swimming again for Crusaders this week.

Armstrong skips high school swimming

Waukesha West's Stephanie Armstrong, who won two state titles last year, has decided to drop high school swimming and swim for her Waukehsa Express club team this year, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Armstrong, a junior in eligibility, had an outstanding state meet last fall, winning both the 200 and 100 freestyles. She dropped more than four seconds off her seed time in the 200 free, winning with a 1:50.23, then came back and upset defending 100 free champ Ruby Martin with a time of 50.71, dropping more than a second off her seed time.

High school swimmers opting to swim for their club teams is not all that unusual, but Armstrong's departure is certainly one of the highest-profile departures from high school swimming in recent years.

Armstrong's decision potentially throws open this year's D1 200 free, as only two of the top eight finishers from last year (Middleton sophomore Katie Delaney, 3rd, and Madison West's Abby Mundt, 7th) return.