Agon is the proud sponsor of all high school coverage (recruiting, results, state championships, etc.) on SwimmingWorld.com. For more information about Agon, visit their website AgonSwim.com.
By Kaylie Noll, Swimming World College Intern
The 2016 Wisconsin Boys High School Swimming and Diving Championships will be held this weekend, with Division 2 competing on Friday and Division 1 swimming on Saturday. The meet has a finals-only set up.
Last year in Division 1, Madison Memorial won its fifth team championship in a row and Madison West finished second for the third straight year. For Division 2 last year, Monona Grove took the team title, while McFarland placed second for the second year in a row.
This year, five Division 1 swimmers look to reclaim their titles. Madison West brings back diver Matt Munns, looking to open the meet with a win as top seed. Madison Memorial’s Ben Gebhart has won the 100 butterfly two years in a row, but he may have competition in the forms of Lain Weaver from Madison West, Ivar Iverson of Kenosha Bradford/Reuther, and Garner Kohrell from Apple North/East, each seeded ahead of Gebhart. Madison West also returns 100 freestyle champion Aidan Meara, seeded second behind Conrad Farrell from Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial. Also from Madison Memorial, Justin Temprano is back for more in the 100 backstroke, looking for a third straight win, while tied with Hudson’s freshman Shane Blinkman for top seed. Paul DeLakis from Eau Claire Memorial/North is the reigning champ in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley since 2014 and is seeded first once more in the 100 breaststroke. He also is the top seed in the 200 freestyle by over four seconds, which also means he will not be defending his 200 IM title. Madison Memorial looks to each of their final heat-seeded relays to possibly bring home another victory.
On the Division 2 side, multiple event champions will be back for more. Monona Grove’s Ben McDade is set up to defend the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle titles with his first place seeds in both. While he may have competition in the 200 freestyle from Sherwood’s Michael Perry or Grafton’s Sean O’Connor, seated second and third, respectively, he has over ten seconds of leg room in the 500. While McDade is the returning distance champ, Grafton’s Bailey Bodart is the reigning sprint champ. Last year, Bodart won both the 50 and 100 freestyles, and currently sits in the fourth seeding for both races. Challenging Bodart in the 50 freestyle is Noah Larson from Baraboo with a seed eight tenths faster than the field, Will Hobbs of Cedarburg positioned second, and Ryan Holec from Plymouth, seeded third. In the 100, the same trio are positioned in the same order. Michael Perry, representing Shorewood, looks for a second victory in the 100 butterfly, seeded second behind O’Connor. Whitewater’s Haoxiang (Benny) Liang won the 100 breaststroke last year, and sits sixth in a tight heat. Jack Senczyszyn from Grafton, Joseph Lock from Shorewood, Collin Siverhus of Nicolet, Lock’s teammate Zach Hammond, and sub-one minute Ben Hayes of Brown Deer/University School of Milwaukee are currently positioned in front of Liang. Monona Grove will be racing for another team championship with each of their relays, but Grafton’s relay squads will be in the hunt as well.
.jpg "2016 Wisconsin Boys High School State Championships - logo"){kind=logo}