Wisconsin Girls Division 1-2 State Championships

By Lauren Sampl, Swimming World intern

MADISON, Wisconsin, November 26. ARROWHEAD High School tallied 260 points on its way to victory at the Wisconsin Girls Division 1 State Championships, held Nov. 12th-13th in Madison. Waukesha/Mukwonago scored 204.5 points to finish second, while the teams from Middleton and Madison East both earned 163 points to share third place in the team standings. The Division 2 team championship went to Milton High School with 238 points. Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol (184 points) and Deforest (182 points) rounded out the top three teams.

Arrowhead got the ball rolling with a convincing win in the 200 medley relay, winning by more than four seconds in a time of 1:44.70. Kate Jones, Mary Warren, Miranda Helbig and Holly Johnson comprised the victorious relay.

Madison East's Aja Van Hout took down the state record in the 200 free, racing to a time of 1:48.09. Michelle Jesperson held the previous state record of 1:48.29, set in 1992. Sami Pochowski of Muskego nearly cleared the old record as well, swimming a 1:48.86 to finish second.

Van Hout pulled off an impressive double, returning just minutes after her 200 free win to take the 200 IM in 2:01.79.

Madison East continued their parade to the podium as Ivy Martin sprinted to a 23.22 to win the 50 free. Becca Weiland of Wisconsin Rapids was right behind her in 23.42. Lea Koenig of Wausau East also cleared 24 seconds to finish third in 23.78.

Lauren Callin of Middleton was triumphant in the diving competition, scoring 456.15 points to claim first place.

Kayla Skenandore of Waukesha/Mukwonago led a trio of swimmers under 57 seconds in the 100 fly, winning in 56.06. Amanda Walker of Sun Prairie (56.61) and Lauren Sichterman of Wausau East (56.71) wound up second and third.

Becca Weiland of Wisconsin Rapids added to her second place finish in the 50 free with a win in the 100 free, stopping the clock in 50.53. Ivy Martin of Madison East and Lea Koenig of Wausau East fought a close battle for second, with the two finishing in times of 51.52 and 51.55, respectively.

Another close battle unfolded in the 500 free, as Middleton's Katie Delaney narrowly beat out Germantown's Kelly Theis, 5:00.05 to 5:00.14 for the win.

Arrowhead added another relay win to its collection, taking the 200 free relay in 1:34.86, just one tenth of a second faster than second place Madison East (1:34.96). Mary Warren, Holly Johnson, Katie Duranso Haley Pietila comprised the victorious relay.

In the 100 back, Emma Szczupakiewicz of Muskego raced to a time of 56.09, holding off Mackenzie Buss of Shawano/Bonduel (56.12) and Kate Jones of Arrowhead (56.50).

Muskego's Sami Pochowski, runner-up in the 200 free, moved up on the podium with a win in the 100 breast in 1:02.07. Pochowski broke the state record of 1:02.53 set by Emily Russart last season on her way to the championship.

Aja Van Hout, Maddie Martin, Chelsea Soderholm and Ivy Martin teamed up to give Madison East a victory in the final 400 free relay, winning in 3:28.65. Arrowhead finished just behind them in 3:29.01.

In Division 2, Milton ran away with the girls' team title, recording 238 points en route to the championship. Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol scored 184 points to finish second, just two points ahead of third place finisher Deforest (182 points).

Three teams cracked the 1:50 barrier in the 200 medley relay, led by Plymouth. Steph Hunter, Kate Criter, Becca Ebbott and Lauren Halle combined for a time of 1:48.72, ahead of Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol (1:49.32) and Sauk Prairie (1:49.56).

In the 200 free, Kelsey Hojan-Clark of Brookfield Academy won by more than five seconds, finishing in a time of 1:49.40. She broke Jamie Belfor's state record of 1:49.94 from 1996 on her way to her first state title of the meet.

Milton's Bridgette Alexander was triumphant in the 200 IM, stopping the clock in 2:05.98.

Alli Bellford of New Berlin Eisenhower added her name to the record books when she broke Sarah Wanezek's state record of 23.60 from 1997, recording a time of 23.55. Savanna Townsend of Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol nearly clipped the old record as well, finishing second in 23.68.

Rachel Stave of Whitnall owned the diving well, outscoring second place by 100 points to finish with 470.20 points in the one-meter diving contest.

Another state record was wiped from the books as Alison Meng of Sauk Prairie flew to a 55.94 in the 100 fly, breaking Lindsey Highstrom's state record of 56.09 from 1996.

In the 100 free, Savanna and Sierra Townsend pulled off a 1-2 finish for Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol, finishing in times of 52.48 and 52.75, respectively.

Brookfield Academy's Kelsey Hojan-Clark dominated the competition in the 500 free, winning by more than 14 seconds and establishing her second state record of the afternoon in the process. Hojan-Clark hit the pads in 4:48.80, breaking her own state record of 4:50.19 from last season.

Plymouth picked up its second relay victory of the day, as Lauren Halle, Sarah Ebbott, Sarah Coley and Kate Criter combined for a 1:38.61. Milton followed in 1:39.09, and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol picked up third in 1:39.53.

Alison Meng of Sauk Prairie earned her second state championship of the meet, winning the 100 back in 55.91. Katelyn Holmquist of Milton finished just over a tenth behind in 56.05.

Plymouth's Kate Criter broke her own state record of 1:03.31 in the 100 breast, winning the event in 1:03.28. Anna Meinholz of Catholic Memorial was just shy of the previous record, posting a 1:03.68 for second place.

Chelsea Calhoon, Katelyn Holmquist, Abby Holmquist and Bridgette Alexander teamed up to give Milton a win in the 400 free relay, recording a 3:34.16. Deforest grabbed second place in 3:36.33, and Sauk Prairie wound up third in 3:37.73.

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