Swimmers shine at state

WAUKESHA — It had been more than a decade since the Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights swimmers notched a top-five finish at state. That drought ended last Friday when the Eagles finished fourth at the WIAA Division 2 state meet held at Waukesha South High School. Cedarburg won the meet with 309 points. Whitefish Bay was second with 231, while Madison Edgewood (191), Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (165) and Monona Grove (157) rounded out the top five. Of the Eagles’ 22 swims at state, 16 of them were season-best times. Sauk-Heights had its first top-five finish since the 2010 team placed fifth. “The state meet went great,” Eagles coach Todd Wuerger said. “It’s tough to come out of the sectional and continue to drop time, but the guys did.   “The guys were grateful for the opportunity to compete in a meet they didn’t think they would have the opportunity to compete in at the beginning of the season.” Sophomore Sam King led a memorable performance by finishing second in the 100-yard breaststroke. King finished in 57.48 seconds, which broke the school record and was just behind Baraboo’s Jacob Laux (57.41). Junior Matthew Loy also had a memorable meet, reaching the podium (top six finish) in all four of his events. Loy was fourth in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.75 seconds. Loy was also fourth in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.77 seconds. Loy teamed with King, senior Sam Beattie and senior Adam Stecker to finish fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. And the Eagles’ foursome of Loy, senior Zach Guentherman, King and junior Ryan Godwin were sixth in the 200-yard medley relay. Senior Jackson Shavlik was seventh in the 500-yard freestyle, while Guentherman added an eighth place finish in the 200-yard IM and an 11th place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. King was ninth in the 50-yard freestyle, while senior Adam Stecker was 13th in the 100-yard butterfly and junior Evan Leece was 16th in the 100-yard freestyle. The Eagles’ 400-yard freestyle relay team of Godwin, Leece, Guentherman and Beattie was also 12th. “This was Jackson Shavlik’s and Evan Leece’s first time competing at the state meet,” Wuerger said. “Four of the eight guys competing (at state) are seniors, so it’s nice having a few guys returning next year with state meet experience.” Wuerger was just as happy to get in a full season, after there were times it appeared that might not happen. “Super proud of how the guys embraced the short season and were compliant with all of the COVID safety protocols,” Wuerger said. “Despite the non-traditional season, I had a blast. It’s a fantastic group of guys.” • Honor students: The Eagles passed out the following awards at the end of their year: Most Valuable: Matthew Loy Most Improved: Austin Kaukl Eric Krueger Award: Phillip Geiselman Ryan Godwin and Matthew Loy were also voted by their teammates to be next year’s team captains.   Feb. 5 WIAA DIVISION 2 STATE MEET Team scores: Cedarburg 309; Whitefish Bay 231; Madison Edgewood 191; Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights 165; Monona Grove 157; Shorewood 152; Glendale Nicolet 152; Plymouth 141; Rhinelander 132; McFarland 93; Minocqua Lakeland 91; Ashwaubenon 90; Sturgeon Bay co-op 78; Baraboo 73; Rice Lake 48; Menomonie 35; Chilton co-op 22; Berlin/Green Lake 21; Kiel/Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah 17; Two Rivers/Manitowoc Roncalli 17; Port Washington 14; Whitewater 13; Grafton 11; Tomahawk 10; Stoughton 3; Milton 2. Top six finishers Diving: 1, Stitgen, Madison Edgewood, 493.10; 2, Turner, Cedarburg, 472.45; 3, Zimdars, Cedarburg, 444.60; 4, Brobst, Cedarburg, 401.15; 5, Daniels, Port Washington, 391.55; 6, Miller, Rice Lake, 335.20. 200-yard medley relay: 1, Cedarburg (Henderson, Gwidt, Fleig, Cain), 1:36.29; 2, Madison Edgewood (Senke, Leuthner, VandenBrook, Petersen), 1:37.34; 3, Monona Grove (Tejeda, McAllister, Elfers, Scott), 1:38.32; 4, Plymouth, 1:38.90; 5, Whitefish Bay, 1:39.35; 6, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Guentherman, King, Loy, Godwin). 200 freestyle: 1, Sullivan, Glendale Nicolet, 1:40.94; 2, Hodek, Ashwaubenon, 1:43.94; 3, Strath, Shorewood, 1:45.62; 4, Kroeger, Rice Lake, 1:45.68; 5, Henderson, Cedarburg, 1:46.15; 6 (tie), Petersen, Madison Edgewood and VandenBrook, Madison Edgewood, 1:47.58. 200 individual medley: 1, Fleig, Cedarburg, 1:52.63; 2, Griswold, Shorewood, 1:56.24; 3, Gwidt, Cedarburg, 2:00.31; 4, Yatso, Shorewood, 2:02.35; 5, Bousley, Sturgeon Bay co-op, 2:02.78; 6, Enea, Whitefish Bay, 2:03.06. 50 freestyle: 1, Dedering, Cedarburg, :20.80; 2, Hogan, Minocqua Lakeland, :21.19; 3, McMahon, Whitefish Bay, :21.48; 4, Loy, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :21.75; 5, Wolf, DeForest, :21.96. 100 butterfly: 1, Senke, Madison Edgewood, :50.19; 2, Tejeda, Monona Grove, :51.39; 3, Laux, Baraboo, :51.88; 4, Strath, Shorewood, :52.05; 5, Krueger, Rice Lake, :52.20; 6, Kreft, McFarland, :52.25. 100 freestyle: 1, Dedering, Ced, :45.82; Hogan, Minocqua Lakeland, :47.25; 3, McMahon, Whitefish Bay, :47.49; 4, Loy, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :47.49; 5, Herr, Ashwaubenon, :48.21; 6, Wolf, DeForest, :48.36. 500 freestyle: 1, Fleig, Cedarburg, 4:34.69; 2, Hodek, Ashwaubenon, 4:46.01; 3, Petersen, Madison Edgewood, 4:54.45; 4, Yatso, Shorewood, 4:55.34; 5, Jondle, Monona Grove, 4:58.06; 6, Harrison, Two Rivers/Manitowoc Roncalli, 4:59.52. 200 freestyle relay: 1, Whitefish Bay (Swietlik, Enea, Youel, McMahon), 1:27.48; 2, Plymouth, 1:28.35; 3, Rhinelander, 1:28.48; 4, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 1:29.85; 5, Cedarburg, 1:29.94; 6, Glendale Nicolet, 1:30.46; 7, McFarland (Morrison, Mandli, Hall, Zabawa), 1:31.11. 100 backstroke: 1, Senke, Madison Edgewood, :49.28; 2, Tejeda, Monona Grove, :50.62; 3, Sullivan, Glendale Nicolet, :52.27; 4, Henderson, Cedarburg, :52.28; 5, Griswold, Shorewood, :52.35; 6, Hall, Whitefish Bay, :54.45. 100 breaststroke: 1, Laux, Baraboo, :57.31; 2, King, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :57.48; 3, Norton, Sturgeon Bay co-op, 1:00.34; 4, Gwidt, Cedarburg, 1:00.65; 5, Enea, Whitefish Bay, 1:00.69; 6, Leuthner, Madison Edgewood, 1:03.11. 400 freestyle relay: 1, Cedarburg (Fleig, Henderson, Cain, Dedering), 3:11.15; 2, Madison Edgewood (VandenBrook, Leuthner, Petersen, Senke), 3:14.24; 3, Whitefish Bay, 3:14.52; 4, Monona Grove (McAllister, Elfers, Jondle, Tejeda), 3:15.55; 5, Glendale Nicolet, 3:15.82; 6, Plymouth, 3:18.24. At Waukesha South High School.