Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial ended the reign of six-time champion Madison Memorial by winning the 2017 Division 1 Boys Swimming & Diving championship at the UW Natatorium Saturday.
The co-op program scored 246 team points, 30 more than runner-up Madison Memorial. Eau Claire Memorial/North placed third with a team score of 189.
Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial wins its second title. The first was in 2010, making it the last program to win the team championship prior to the Spartans’ impressive run of success.
Senior Paul DeLakis of Eau Claire Memorial/North won four events and set two Division 1 State records in the process. He became just the fifth individual to win the same event four times by winning the 100-yard breaststroke in a record time of 54.08, breaking the record previously held by his brother, Alex, at 54.56. He also established a new record in winning the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:46.18, eclipsing the mark of 1:46.91 he set in 2015. It’s the third time he has won gold in the event with wins in 2014 and 2015 as well.
DeLakis was also largely responsible for Eau Claire Memorial/North winning the 200 freestyle relay. He swam the last leg in a time of 19.74 to come from behind and capture the crown with teammates Ben Redman, Sam Chumas and Charlie Hower, finishing in a time 1:25.06. It snapped a five-year run of titles in the event for Madison Memorial, which placed fifth.
Eau Claire Memorial/North also won the 400 freestyle relay with the team of DeLakis, Redman, Chumas and Andrew Vierbicher. They finished in a time of 3:07.63.
Sophomore Shane Blinkman of Hudson also turned in a record-breaking performance by capturing the 100 backstroke title with a Division 1 record time of 48.84 after finishing runner-up last year. He broke the previous mark of 49.34 set by Nicholas Petersen of Homestead in 2013.
Senior Danny Larson of Wauwatosa West/East won a pair of titles in the meet. He successfully defended the title he won in the 100 freestyle last season with a time of 46.13, and he improved on his runner-up finish from a year ago to win the 200 freestyle title in a time of 1:38.95.
Defending champion Brandon Spencer of Kenosha Tremper won the diving competition with a score of 508.20.
Junior Ryan Linnihan of Brookfield Central/East is the 2017 champion in the 50 freestyle, out-sprinting the field with a time of 20.99 after placing seventh a year ago.
Junior John Acevedo of Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial claimed first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:30.12 after placing sixth last year and ninth in 2015. Junior Michael Draves of Middleton finished runner-up for the second year in a row with a time of 4:33.52.
The Sauk Prairie 200 medley relay team snapped Madison Memorial’s string of six straight championships in the event. The team of Desmon Sachtjen, Owen Doerre, Ayden Frey and Ben Chao captured the title with a time of 1:34.04, shaving more than three seconds off their qualifying time.
Complete Division 1 Event Results
Complete Division 1 Team Results