State Girls Swimming & Diving Championships Preview

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 43rd Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9-10, 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

CHAMPIONSHIP MEET 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 Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. The Division 2 meet will be aired on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.

LAST YEAR:  Waukesha South/Mukwonago won the Division 1 championship by scoring 293 points, just two points more than runner-up Arrowhead, which scored 291. In Division 2, Milton repeated as champion with 236 points, well ahead of Shorewood, which finished second with 193 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 six championships.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 1:  Three individual events feature its champion returning to defend their titles.

Senior Mackenzie Buss of Shawano/Bonduel won the 100-yard backstroke last season, regaining the title she won as a freshman in 2009. She returns in pursuit of her third win in the event with the top qualifying time of 55.48. Senior Natalie Johnson of Cedarburg looks to retain the title she won in the 500 freestyle last year. She enters the meet with the second-fastest qualifying time of 4:55.78. Junior Kaersten Meitz of Waukesha South/Mukwonago has the fastest time entering the meet at 4:53.09. Junior Mary Warren of Arrowhead is the returning champion in the 50 freestyle. Her qualifying time of 23:59 is second-best heading into the State meet this week behind freshman Beata Nelson of Verona/Mount Horeb, who posted a qualifying time of 22.91. Junior Abby Jagdfeld of Waukesha South/Mukwonago is the top returning finisher from last year’s meet in two events. She was runner-up in the 200 freestyle in 2011 and is the fastest qualifier in the event this season with a time of 1:48.75. She also placed third in the 100 freestyle last year and has the swiftest pace in the event entering the meet this year with a time of 51.04. Sophomore Corrin VanLanen of Pulaski is the top returning competitor in the 100 butterfly after finishing runner-up last year. She has the fastest qualifying swim this season with a time of 56.22. Freshman Katie Drabot of Cedarburg looks to make an immediate impression on the State meet, having qualified with the fastest time in two events. She owns the fastest time entering the meet in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:01.76 and in the 100 breaststroke at 1:04.83. The top returning competitors in both those events finished fourth a year ago, including Drabot’s teammate, sophomore Jessica Short, in the 200 I.M. and sophomore Lindsay Adamski of Arrowhead in the 100 breaststroke. Senior Greysen Hertting of Neenah turned in the best qualifying sectional performance in the diving competition with a score of 507.85.  Senior Beth Dzwierzynski of Divine Savior Holy Angels is the meet’s top returning performer in the event with a runner-up finish in 2011. The Arrowhead 200 freestyle and 200 medley relays have won three straight championships and is in position to challenge for a fourth in both events. Waukesha South/Mukwonago is the returning champion in the 400 freestyle relay and has the second fastest qualifying time behind only Cedarburg.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES-DIVISION 2:  Five events feature last year’s returning champion. Senior Rachel Stave of Whitnall is the two-time returning champion in the diving competition. She enters the meet as the favorite to retain the title with the best qualifying performance of 451.65. Junior Bridgette Alexander of Milton is another returning two-time winner. She has won the 200 individual medley the past two seasons and returns to the field with the fastest qualifying time of 2:07.61. Alexander also has been timed with the swiftest qualifying performance in the 100 backstroke at 56.33 after swimming to a runner-up finish last year. The only individual to beat her at State last season was teammate Katelyn Holmquist, a senior who returns to defend her title with the second-fastest qualifying time in the event. Junior Kristin Malone of Shorewood attempts to defend her title in the 100 freestyle, and she enters action with the event’s top qualifying time of 52.07. She has also swam the fastest qualifying time in the 200 freestyle at 1:52.51, which should give the defending champion in the event, sophomore Madison Tew of New Berlin West,  a stiff challenge for the gold medal. Senior Savanna Townsend of Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, who won the 100 freestyle in 2010, is the top returning swimmer from last year’s State meet in two events, and neither of them is the 100 freestyle. She placed second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 50 freestyle. This season she enters the meet with the fastest time in the 100 butterfly at 58.15 and the second-fastest time in the 50 freestyle. The top time in the 50 freestyle belongs to sophomore Samantha Senczyszyn of Grafton at 23.59. Senczyszyn is also the fastest qualifier in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.38 after finishing runner-up at State last season, which makes her the top finisher returning to the event this season. Senior Ellen Stello of Shorewood is another one of last season’s second-place finishers looking to capture glory that narrowly escaped them last season. In the 500 freestyle, she has recorded the fastest qualifying time at 5:05.08. The Milton 200 and 400 freestyle relays have qualified in pursuit of their second and third straight title in those events, respectively. In addition, Shorewood’s 200 medley relay also takes aim at a second consecutive title.

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.