THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 44th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15-16, 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
MEET LIVE ON FOXSPORTSWISCONSIN.COM: Every event of the WIAA State Girls Swimming and Diving Championships will be streamed live on the Internet on foxsportswisconsin.com
CHAMPIONSHIPS 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 Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. The Division 2 meet will be aired on Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.
LAST YEAR: Waukesha South/Mukwonago won its second consecutive Division 1 championship by scoring 279 points, six points more than runner-up Arrowhead, which scored 273. In Division 2, Shorewood dethroned two-time defending champion Milton as the team champion with 255 points. Milton finished second with 217 points.
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 up until 2002. Overall, Madison West has won 15 titles, and Madison Memorial has won 14. Arrowhead has captured nine titles, and Shorewood has seven championships.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 1: All but two events feature its champion returning to defend the title. Senior Abby Jagdfeld of Waukesha South/Mukwonago is the champion in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyles, and having set the meet record in the later last season. She owns the swiftest qualifying times in both of those events entering the meet at 50.67 and 1:47.67, respectively. She was also a member of the two-time champion 400 freestyle relay. Junior Corrin VanLanen of Pulaski is the returning champion in the 100 butterfly after finishing runner-up in 2011. She has the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the event this season with a time of 56.37. The top qualifying time in the event belongs to sophomore phenom Beata Nelson of Verona/Mount Horeb, who shattered the State Meet records in the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke in winning both those events last season, has qualified in the 100 butterfly this season with a time of 53.35. That time, if repeated this week, will set the State record in that event as well. Nelson returns to defend her title in the 100 backstroke with the top qualifying time of 53.91. Sophomore Katie Drabot of Cedarburg won the 200 individual medley last season and has qualified to defend her title with a time of 2:07.79, which is more than a second off the pace of senior Ashley Aegerter of Middleton, who has the fastest qualifying time in the event at 2:06.67 after placing fourth a year ago. Junior Lindsay Adamski of Arrowhead returns to the 100 breaststroke after winning the event in 2012. Her qualifying time of 1:04.98 is more than a second off the pace of the fastest qualifier, sophomore Gwen Worlton of Nicolet. She enters the State Meet with a time of 1:03.64 after placing 17th last year. Senior Kaersten Meitz of Waukesha South/Mukwonago attempts to repeat as champion in the 500 freestyle. Her qualifying time of 4:52.59 is almost four seconds faster than the next fastest qualifier. With Nelson shifting focus to the 100 butterfly, senior Mary Warren of Arrowhead attempts to regain the title she won in the 50 freestyle in 2011. She enters the meet with the fastest qualifying time of 23:44 after placing third last season. However, the top qualifying performance last week was turned in by junior Hazel Hertting of Neenah with a score of 496.30. She is also the top finisher returning from last year's meet having placed third. The Arrowhead 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays have won four straight championships and is in position to challenge for a fifth straight crown in both events. Waukesha South/Mukwonago is the two-time returning champion in the 400 freestyle relay and has the fastest qualifying time this year.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 2: Nine events feature last year’s returning champion. Senior Bridgette Alexander of Milton attempts to become just the 14th swimmer to win the same event four times. She is the three-time champion in the 200 individual medley and is the defending champion in the 100 backstroke. She enters the meet with the fastest qualifying time in the 100 backstroke at 57.07 and has the third-swiftest qualifying time in the 200 I.M at 2:08.76. Her stiffest challenges for a fourth title in the medley may come from senior Allison Teske of Ashwaubenon, who placed fourth last season and has this season’s fastest qualifying time of 2:08.11; and junior Rachel Munson of Shorewood, who placed third last year and has a qualifying time of 2:08.56. Munson returns as the defending champion in the 100 breaststroke. She is the leading contender to win the event and to retain her title with the fastest qualifying time of 1:04.11, which is more than two seconds quicker than the next entrant in the event. Senior Kristin Malone of Shorewood attempts to win her second straight championship in the 200 freestyle and a third title in the 100 freestyle. She is favored to repeat in the 200 freestyle with the fastest qualifying time of 1:52.54. Malone enters action with the second-fastest qualifying time in the 100 freestyle at 52.25. Junior Samantha Senczyszyn of Grafton has qualified in the 100 freestyle with a time of 50.95 and looks to deny Malone a third straight title. Sophomore Rina Krupsky of McFarland is the defending champion in the 100 butterfly. She is in position to win her second straight gold medal in the event with the fastest qualifying time of 57.07. She is also the fastest qualifier and top returning finisher in the 500 freestyle. She enters the State Meet with a time of 5:01.47 after finishing runner-up a year ago. Senczyszyn, in addition the fastest qualifying time in the 100 freestyle, is the top qualifier in the 50 freestyle. She was runner-up in the event last season and appears to be in a position to capture the title this time around with a qualifying effort of 23.29. In the diving competition, Junior Gina Jacobson of Edgewood returns to the State hoping to improve on her runner-up position last season, which makes her the top returner back from last year’s meet. She has the third-best qualifying performance at 408.65. It is freshman teammate Ginger Lindgard that has the best qualifying score in the dives with a mark of 450.05. The Milton 200 and 400 freestyle relays have qualified in pursuit of their third and fourth straight titles in those events, respectively. In addition, Grafton’s 200 medley relay also takes aim at a second consecutive title.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Swimming & Diving Championships on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawiswimdive. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: All qualifiers, lane assignments and qualifying standards are available on the girls swimming and diving page on the WIAA website.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the State Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the girls swimming and diving Tournament Information page at www.wiaawi.org/Sports/GirlsSwimmingDiving.aspx.