Seniors of the boy’s Madison Memorial swim team don’t know what it’s like to lose. The team made it four straight Division I state championships in a row, winning by 100 points over second place finisher Madison West.
The state of Wisconsin features two divisions for high school swimming. Division II took place on Friday, February 21 while Division I followed the day after. Division II featured a brand new champion: Edgewood High School.
DIVISION I
The men’s 1 meter diving got things started with senior Draven Feustel of Neenah claiming the top spot for the final time in his career. With a score of 241.65, he edged out Marcel Harris by just nine points.
The 200 medley relay was the first swimming event of the day and is where Madison Memorial got things rolling. The squad of Justin Temprano, Amos Kaldor, Ben Gebhart, and John Hornacek got to wall first, just touching out the team from Greenfield/Greendale by .05 in a time of 1:33.92.
Nick Plachinski, a junior out of Cerdarburg, claimed the first individual state title of the day in the 200 free, winning in a time of 1:40.71.
The next event on tap was the 200 IM which crowned a freshman as the winner. Paul DeLakis from Ecmemorial/North was the only swimmer in the field to go sub 1:50, getting to the wall first in a time of 1:49.81.
The splash and dash 50 yard free, was won in 21.10 seconds by a senior from Muskego, Jon Roberts.
Team champion, Madison Memorial, would get their second title of the day in the 100 butterfly. Ben Gebhart became a double state champion on the day (won 200 medley relay), swimming to victory in 50.03 seconds.
Roberts would follow suit and claim his second individual state title of the day, sweeping the sprint freestyles. He just touched out Andrew Lindstrom in the 100 free, winning with a 46.04.
The longest race of the day was up next, the 500 free. Joe Szczupakiewicz of Muskego high school, swam a 4:32.05, winning by over two seconds.
Madison Memorial would claim their second relay state title on the day in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Ryan Menninga, Sam Szotkowski, Nathan Eckerle, and Alex Peterson-Weber got the win in a time of 1:25.42.
The biggest race of the day for Madison Memorial was the 100 backstroke where Justin Temprano and John Hornacek finished 1-2. Temprano got to the wall first in a 51.13 with Hornacek close behind with a 51.31.
The superstar freshman, Paul DeLakis (winner of the 200 IM), dominated the 100 breaststroke, the last individual event of the day. DeLakis finished first in a time of 56.46, the only swimmer under the 57 mark.
The final event of the day was the four hundred free relay where the team from Arrowhead spoiled Madison Memorial’s sweep of the relay events. The team of Logan Kozlik, Nick Woida, Logan Roberts, and Jake Barry won in a time of 3:09.64.
DIVISION II
Joe Kazubowski, a junior diver from Whitefish Bay, kicked off the afternoon with a landslide win in the 1 meter diving event. Kazubowski crushed the field with a score of 551.95, almost 200 points ahead of the second place finisher, Henry Carman.
The team champion, Edgewood High School, got its first event state title of the day in the 200 medley relay. Payton teDuits, Austin Darien, Zack Parkin, and Phillip Fochios touched first, winning in a 1:36.89.
Andrw Sackett, a senior out of Monona Grove, claimed victory in the 200 free, swimming a time of 1:43.36.
Up next was the 200 IM. Kevin Van Cleave from Brookfield Academy inched out the win in a time of 1:53.98.
Zack Parkin, a senior from Edgewood, garnered an individual state title for the team champion. Crushing the field by almost a second, Parkin was the only swimmer sub 21, touching in with a time of 20.92.
The 100 butterfly was a tight race with the top three finishers touching within .61 seconds of each other. Zach Soper from Shawano Community edged out the field, touching in a time of 52.24.
The other sprint free race of the day, the 100 yarder, displayed another dominant performance. This time, Jan Hansen from Beaver Dam, crushed the field by almost a second and a half, winning in a 46.12.
The 500 freestyle was the most exciting race of the day, ending in a tie for first place. Kevin Van Cleave and Nick Potter both got their hands on the wall in the exact same time, 4:39.82.
Edgewood would earn another event state title, this time in the 200 freestyle relay. Jack McLaughlin, Joey Basche, Jacob Lynn, and Zack Parkin cruised to the victory in a time of 1:26.29. It’s worth noting Parkin’s split of 20.11 was the fastest in the field by almost two seconds.
Soper would become a double state champion on the day, winning his second event in the 100 backstroke. The only swimmer under 51 seconds, Soper swam to victory in a time of 50.79.
The last individual event of the night featured a senior from McFarland, Tony Donagan. He was the only one in the field to break a minute in the 100 breaststroke, claiming victory in a time of 59.27.
Edgewood would finish its sweep of the relay events, winning the 400 free relay in a time of 3:11.95. Jack McLaughlin, Jacob Lynn, Payton teDuits, and Zack Parkin became multi state champions and helped secure the team title for their school.
Top 5 Teams-DI
1. Madison Memorial-319
2. Madison West-216.5
3. Arrowhead-194.5
4. Muskego-166
5. Greenfield/Greendale-134
Top 5 Teams-DII
1. Edgewood-294
2. McFarland-242
3. Monona Grove-224
4. Shorewood-205
5. Ashwaubenon-139