WIAA GIRLS SWIMMING &
DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS SPLASH INTO ACTION
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 40th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic
Athletic Association Girls Swimming and Diving Championships will be held
Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14, at the Natatorium on the campus of the
University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. Ticket prices for the meet are $6 and
$1 for children 6-years old and under.
MEET INFORMATION: The Division 2 championships will be held Friday, with
the Division 1 championships to follow on Saturday. The Division 2 diving
competition begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. The swimming finals are scheduled to
begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Division 1 diving competition is scheduled to
begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the swimming events to begin at 3 p.m. The swimming
events will run consecutively following the first event's starting time on the
respective days. Here is the order of events (all events in yards):
Order of Events
1. Diving
7.
100 Freestyle
2. 200
Medley Relay
8.
500 Freestyle
3. 200
Freestyle
9.
200 Freestyle Relay
4. 200
Individual Medley 10.
100 Backstroke
5. 50
Freestyle
11.
100 Breaststroke
6. 100 Butterfly
12.
400 Freestyle Relay
CHAMPIONSHIP MEET ON FS WISCONSIN: Watch the delayed airing of the
WIAA State Girls Swimming & Diving Championships
on FS Wisconsin. The Division 1 meet will be aired on Nov. 28 at 4:30 p.m. The
Division 2 meet will be aired on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. Check local cable listings
for the channel in your area.
LAST YEAR: Arrowhead won the Division 1 championship with 256
points, 16 points in front of runner-up and defending champion Madison East,
which scored 240 points. In Division 2, DeForest won its third straight title
by scoring 236.5 points, well ahead of runner-up
Grafton with 180.
MEET HISTORY: The WIAA began girls swimming and diving championships in
1970 and moved to a two-division format in 1992. Madison area schools have
dominated the championships through the years. Either Madison West or Madison
Memorial won all the championships through 1983 and all but one of the Division
1 titles since the inception of the two-division format in 1992 until 2001.
Overall, Madison West has won 15 titles, and Madison Memorial has won 14.
Arrowhead has captured seven titles (1987, 2002-06, 2008). Shorewood has six
titles, four coming consecutively from 1994-97 and its fifth and sixth titles in
2001 and 2003.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 1: Six individual events feature its champion
returning to defend their titles. Senior Kylie Rosenstock of Madison West is
the three-time champion in the diving competition. She returns to the Meet this
year with the top qualifying performance of 473.20. Last year’s runner-up,
senior Sara Axness of Eau Claire Memorial and third-place finisher Lauren
Callin, a junior from Middleton, are also back to contend for the diving title.
Junior Aja Van Hout of Madison East has qualified in both the events she has
won the past two years. She has the top time entering the meet in the 200-yard
individual medley and the second-fastest qualifying time in the 500 freestyle.
Van Hout has more than a three-second cushion between her and the next fastest
competitor in the 200 I.M. Her qualifying time in the 500 is one one-hundredth
of a second behind senior Brittany Walsh of Muskego, who finished runner-up
last year and has qualified with a time of 4:58.70. Junior Emma Goral of Arrowhead
has won the 100 butterfly championship the last two years and returns as the
favorite with the fastest qualifying time of 56.37. Her competition will come
from four other swimmers that placed in the top seven last year, including
runner-up Becca Soderholm, a senior from Madison East. Senior Emily Russart of
Badger/Big Foot/Williams Bay is the two-time returning champion in the 100
breaststroke. She enters the State meet with the second fastest qualifying
time. The top time was turned in by freshman Leah Pronschinske of Eau Claire
Memorial at 1:03.22. Senior Jackie Powell of Madison Memorial is back to defend
her title in the 200 freestyle. She enters with the fourth fastest qualifying
time and will need to contend with sophomore Haley Pietila of Arrowhead, who
finished second a year ago, as well as sophomore Kayla Skenandore of Waukesha
South/Mukwonago, who has qualified with the swiftest time of 1:51.07. The
fastest times in both the 50 and 100 freestyles belong to junior Becca Weiland
of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln at 23.50 and 51.53, respectively. She did not
compete at State last year, but finished third in each of those events in 2007.
Among the qualifiers expecting to contend for the title in both those events
are Pietila, who placed runner-up in the 100 free last season; junior teammates
Lea Keonig and Lauren Sichterman of Wausau East; freshman Julie Mikota of
Arrowhead; and junior Ivy Martin of Madison East. The 100 backstroke will be
hotly contested by a predominant group of underclassmen. Sophomore Emma
Szczupakiewicz of Muskego is the top returner back from last year, having
finished runner-up. However, sophomore Kate Jones of Arrowhead has the fastest
seed time at 57.36, just ahead of the 57.81 recorded by sophomore Zoe
Huddleston of D.C. Everest.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 2: Five events feature last year’s
returning champion. Junior Clare Chamberlain of Shorewood has won the 200
individual medley the past two seasons. She is back to
defend those titles, but will face tough challenges from, among others, senior
Jennah Haney of Milton, who has the fastest qualifying time of 2:06.93. Junior
Kelsey Hojan-Clark of Brookfield Academy returns to defend the titles she
earned last year in the 200 and 500 freestyles. She enters the meet with the
fastest qualifying times in each of those events at 1:53.04 and 5:00.46,
respectively. Those times make her a clear favorite in both events. Junior Siri
Smits of Berlin/Green Lake is the returning champion in the 100 backstroke. She
should expect stiff challenges to retain the title from freshman Katelyn
Holmquist of Milton, who enters the Meet with the fastest qualifying time of
57.37. In addition, senior Sadie Nennig of Grafton, the runner-up last year and
the back-to-back champion in the event in 2006-07, has
qualified in an attempt to regain the crown. The same scenario is featured in
the 100 breaststroke where sophomore Kate Criter of Plymouth will attempt to
retain her crown. The crowded field of contenders in the
event include each of the competitors that finished in the top five last
year. Among them are senior Emily McClellan of
Delavan-Darien, who placed fifth. She enters the meet with the fastest
qualifying time of 1:05.66. Haney is also in the mix following her runner-up
finish last year, which followed back-to-back titles in both 2006 and 2007.
Criter and Smits are the top returning finishers from the 100 butterfly last
season. Criter was runner-up and Smits finished third; however, senior Terrin
Seaver of Elkhorn is among several swimmers with faster qualifying times this
year. She has the best qualifying time at 58.85. The 50 freestyle should again
be hotly contested. Senior Maggie Smith of Whitefish Bay has one last shot at
the title. She has finished runner-up the past two seasons and enters this
year’s meet with the fastest qualifying time of 24.32. However, among those
attempting to deny her the title will be freshman Savanna Townsend of Sturgeon
Bay/Sevastopol with a seed time of 24.35 and the threesome that finished third
through fifth last year. That group
includes sophomore Alli Bellford of New Berlin Eisenhower (3rd), senior Kelsey
Richard of Edgewood (4th) and sophomore Rachel Johnson of Elkhorn (5th).
Sophomore Chelsea Statz of DeForest is the top returning swimmer in the 100
freestyle, and she has the fastest qualifying time at 53.65. She placed fourth
last year. Senior Kristin Capcik of Milwaukee Lutheran is the top returning
diver from last year, finishing runner-up after a fourth-place standing in
2007. She has qualified with a score of 404.5. However, the top qualifying
score was performed by a freshman. Rachel Stave of Whitnall advanced to the
State Meet with a score of 429.75.