BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING BEGINS WINTER STATE TOURNAMENT SERIES
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 90th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22, at the Natatorium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. Ticket prices for the meet are $6 and are sold only at the UW Natatorium each day of the competition.
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
STATE MEET STREAMED LIVE: Every event of the WIAA State Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be streamed live on www.foxsportswisconsin.com.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEET ON FS WISCONSIN: Watch the delayed airing of the WIAA State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships on FS Wisconsin. The Division 1 meet will be aired on March 4 at 7 p.m. The Division 2 meet will be aired on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.
LAST YEAR: Madison Memorial won its third consecutive team championship and its 13th title overall, claiming the Division 1 championship with 316 points. Madison West finished runner-up with 206 points. In Division 2, Monona Grove won its first boys swimming and diving team title, compiling 258 points. Edgewood placed second with 209 points.
MEET HISTORY: The WIAA began the boys swimming and diving championships in 1925 and moved to a two-division format in 1993. Waukesha, before it was split into three schools, won the most team titles of any school with 15. Seven of those came in succession from 1964-70. Madison West has won 13 championships as has Madison Memorial. Wauwatosa, before it became two separate schools, and Shorewood have compiled nine championships. Arrowhead and McFarland have claimed six team championships. All six of McFarland’s Division 2 titles came in succession from 2007-12. Waukesha, before it became a multi-school district, produced the most event champions with 77, followed by Madison Memorial with 75, Madison West with 62 and Wauwatosa with 61. Ryan O’Donnell of McFarland has won the most State event titles in a prep career with 14. Three individuals have won 10 State titles, including Ben Anderson of Arrowhead, Jay Mortenson of Madison West and Tom Wanezek of Brookfield East.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 1: There is just one individual returning to defend the title he won last season. Senior Joe Szczupakiewicz of Muskego won the 500-yard freestyle last season and returns as a favorite to repeat with his qualifying time of 4:38.03, which is the swiftest of all other qualifiers in the event. Szczupakiewicz also has the top qualifying time in the 200 freestyle after placing third in 2013. Last year’s runner-up, senior Bailey Biwer of Eau Claire Memorial/North, also returns in the event with a qualifying time of 1:44.38, which ranks fourth fastest entering the meet. Senior Jon Roberts of Muskego qualifies as the top returning swimmer in two events. He enters competition with the best time in the 50 freestyle at 21.48 after placing third in the event last season. He finished runner-up last year in the 100 freestyle, and he possesses the third fastest qualifying time of 47.27 this season. Senior Andrew Lindstrom of Madison West owns the fastest qualifying time of 46.90 in the 100 freestyle, with senior John Hornacek of Madison Memorial clocked in with the second-fastest time of 47.04 after placing fourth a year ago. Lindstrom returns as the top swimmer back from last year’s State Meet in the 200 individual medley, having placed fifth. However, freshman Paul DeLakis of Eau Claire Memorial/North has qualified with the fastest time in the event with a time of 1:53.65. He also has the best qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke at 57.49. He’ll be challenged by senior Ross Rybakowicz of Greenfield/Greendale in both those events. Rybakowicz has the second-fastest time in the 200 I.M. at 1:53.82, and he is the top returning competitor in the 100 breaststroke, finishing fourth in 2013. In addition, he has the second-fastest qualifying time in the breaststroke at 58.72. His teammate, junior Rick Perez, is considered one of the favorites to win the 100 backstroke title. He is the top qualifier in the event with a time of 51.05 after finishing third last year. Sophomore Ben Gebhart of Madison Memorial is among the leading contenders in the 100 butterfly. He is the event’s top returning finisher after placing fourth last season, and he possesses this year’s top qualifying time of 51.26. Senior Draven Feustel of Neenah enters the diving competition with the top qualifying performance at sectionals with a score of 486.85 after placing eighth last year. The event’s top finisher from 2013, senior August Beck of Franklin, placed sixth a year ago and scored the third-best qualifying mark of 435.35. The relay teams of Madison Memorial will attempt to sweep all three events like it did last year. The 400 freestyle relay attempts to win for the fifth straight year; the 200 medley relay goes for its fourth straight championship; and the 200 freestyle relay looks for its third consecutive title.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 2: Three individual champions from last season return to defend their event titles this year. Junior Joe Kaszubowski from Whitefish Bay is the two-time defending champion in the one-meter diving event. He is an overwhelming favorite to win his third title with an event-best qualifying mark of 548.75, which is well over 100 points better than the next best qualifying score. Senior Kirill Korolev of Shorewood is the returning champion in the 200 freestyle. He will need to fend off a number of challengers to repeat the feat, as six of last year’s top 10 finishers return. Senior Sam Johnson of Elkhorn, who finished runner-up to Korolev in 2013, enters the meet as the top qualifier with a time of 1:46.16. Korolev has a seed time of 1:50.94. Junior Kevin Van Cleave of Brookfield Academy attempts to repeat as champion in the 500 freestyle, qualifying with a time of 4:50.16. His time ranks third among qualifiers behind junior Nick Potter of DeForest at 4:42.89 and Johnson at 4:48.26. Van Cleave is also among the leading challengers for the 200 individual medley championship with the top qualifying time of 1:56.63. He is also the top returning swimmer in the event having placed third a year ago. Potter, again, appears to be among the top challengers to Van Cleave in the event, with a qualifying time of less than a second off Van Cleave’s pace. Three other individuals that narrowly missed achieving gold last season return for another shot at the title. Senior Jan Hanson of Beaver Dam appears to be in a position to take the next step and win the title. He is the leading qualifier in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.12. Junior Zach Soper of Shawano also possesses the fastest qualifying time in an event that he finished runner-up in last season. He has posted a qualifying time of 51.05 in the 100 backstroke. That time is more than two seconds faster than the next swiftest qualifier. Sophomore Michael Perry of Shorewood was runner-up in the 100 butterfly last year. He’s back to contend for the crown, qualifying with a time of 54.11. Four of the top five finishers last year return in the butterfly, including Soper, who has clocked in with the best qualifying time at 52.23 after finishing fourth last year. In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Mitchell Roberts of Milton has qualified with the fastest time at 1:00.41 after finishing fourth last season. Senior Tony Donagan of McFarland is the top breaststroker returning from last year’s State meet, having placed third. He is back in the meet with a qualifying time of 1:01.51, which is fifth fastest among qualifiers. Senior Tyler Zaspel of Fort Atkinson placed fourth in the 50 freestyle last season, giving him the distinction as the event’s top returning finisher from a year ago. The top qualifying time in the 50 freestyle has been turned in by senior Zack Parkin of Edgewood, who placed sixth in Division 1 for Middleton last year, at 21.45. In the relays, Monona Grove attempts to win its second straight championship in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, and Fort Atkinson is aiming for a second straight triumph in the 400 freestyle relay.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Boys 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 boys 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 boys swimming and diving Tournament Information page.