Middleton won the Division 1 team title for the third straight season at the State Girls Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday at the UW Natatorium in Madison, Wis.
The Cardinals tallied a 12-event score of 249.5. Cedarburg finished runner-up with 188 points, and Sun Prairie was third with 170 points.
Individually, Grace Bennin of Verona/Mount Horeb won three events in the meet. She won her third straight championship in the 100-yard breaststroke in a State meet record time of 1:00.65. Bennin also won the 200-yard individual medley with the time of 1:59.93. In addition, she was a champion as a member of the winning 200 medley relay with teammates Sara Stewart, Josie McCartney and Kenzie Zuehl. They finished in a time of 1:43.34.
Sophie Fiske of Sun Prairie was also a three-time champion. She won both the 50 and 100 freestyles with the times of 23.20 and 50.35, respectively, after finishing third and fourth in those same events last season. She was also a member of the winning 400 freestyle relay. Fiske and teammates Michaela Nelson, Bree Moericke and Janelle Schulz won the event in a time of 3:26.55.
Reilly Tiltmann of Brookfield East was also a multi-champion. She won the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.46 after placing fourth in the event last season. She also claimed the title in the 100 backstroke to deny Madison West’s Katrina Marty, who finished second, her third title in the event. Tiltmann recorded a winning time of 54.62 after placing fourth in the race in 2017.
Hannah Aegerter of Middleton was a two-time champion this year. She repeated as champion in the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:55.48. Her other title came as a member of the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Aegerter, Gabriela Pierobon-Mays, Berkley Smith and Makenna Licking won the event in a time of 1:34.24.
In addition to Bennin, the meet featured one other competitor that won the same individual event for the third time. Av Osero of Neenah won her third straight State championship in the one-meter diving competition. She bested the rest of the field with a score of 515.20.
Cassie Stegner of Menomonee Falls/Hamilton successfully defending the title she won in the 200 freestyle last season by racing to title in a time of 1:49.21.
Edgewood reigns atop Division 2 for the fourth straight year, winning the State Girls Swimming and Diving title with 328.5 points at the UW Natatorium Friday in Madison, Wis.
McFarland finished runner-up in the team standings with 209 points, and Tomahawk was third with 164 points.
The Crusaders won three events, including three by DeeDee Walker. She won the championship in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:53.64 after placing third a season ago. Walker was also a member of the winning 200 freestyle relay. She teamed with Maeve O’Driscoll, Abby Reid and Issy Peterson to win the gold, finishing with a time of 1:36.62. In addition, Walker teamed with Kaitly Barth, Anna teDuits and Reid to win the 400 freestyle with a time of 3:30.13.
Alexandra Moderski won three events to pace the Spartans. She became the 17th girls swimmer to win four championships in the same event by racing to the title in 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.77, shattering the previous record she held in the event. She also eclipsed her own record in winning her third gold medal in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.68. Moderski was also a member of the winning 200 medley relay with teammates Mara Freeman, Ella Weaver, Emily Landwehr in the time of 1:45.78. Freeman earned a second title by winning the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.50.
Sofia Bornett of Stoughton won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.30 after placing sixth last season as a freshman, and Nicole Beckman of Whitnall, a four-time qualifier in the 100 butterfly, won her first title after finishing third last year, fourth in 2016 and fifth in 2015.
Mekenzie Hammer of Monroe/New Glarus, who was the fastest qualifier in the 200 individual medley, won the event with a time of 2:08.37 after finishing fifth in 2017. Ella Houwers of Whitewater improved on last year’s runner-up finish to win the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.34
Trinity McNall of Monona Grove captured the crown in the diving competition with an 11-dive score of 468.80 after placing third last season.
The State Girls Swimming and Diving Championships resume tomorrow with the Divsion 1 diving competition at 10 a.m. followed by the swimming events at 3 p.m.