DeForest takes Badger North Conference swim title

News Republic Sports

WAUNAKEE — It didn’t take more than a glance into Sophia Schmidt’s lane to give DeForest junior Casey Wolter all the motivation she needed to make her finish to the 200-yard freestyle Friday night a pleasant one.

"After every turn, I saw her right there," Walter said of Waunakee’s Schmidt. "But then at the end, I was just like, ‘I’ve got to get this,’ so I kicked it in and went."

The extra gear worked. Wolter won in 1 minute, 58.98 seconds — less than a half second ahead of Schmidt — for the first of four first-place finishes she had a hand in for the Norskies, who scored 530.5 points to win their sixth consecutive Northern Badger Conference girls swimming meet.

Sauk Prairie (422) and Waunakee (394) placed second and third, respectively, with Baraboo coming in fourth (364).

Baraboo’s 200-medley relay team (Emily O’Rourke, Gemma Pillsbury, Liz Teasdale, Emily Thompson) came into the meet seeded No. 1 and went on to win the title with a time of 1:54.27.

DeForest — the three-time defending WIAA Division 2 state champion — also got titles from Leah Winckler (200 individual medley) and Lindsey Verhuslt (100 breaststroke), and displayed its usual depth to finish well ahead of runner-up Sauk Prairie.

"I just think it’s an expectation," said DeForest coach Sue Winckler, whose team has just two seniors. "We’re a smaller team this year, and to come back and win is special."

BHS is action Saturday hosting sectionals.

- Dan Larson of the Sauk Prairie Eagle contributed to this story.

 

DeForest 530 ½ , Sauk Prairie 422, Waunakee 394, Baraboo 364, River Valley 244, Lodi 98, Portage 80 ½ . Baraboo (O’Rourke, Pillsbury, Teasdale, Thompson), 1:54.27; 2, Sauk Prairie, 1:55.55; 3, Waunakee, 1:56.01. 200 freestyle - 1, Wolter, DeF, 1:58.98; 2, Schmidt, W, 1:59.35; 3, Statz, DeF, 2:00.46. 200 individual medley - Winckler, DeF, 2:15.89; 2, Neidinger, W, 2:17.12; 3, Paskula, RV, 2:24.19. 50 freestyle - 1, Kohlbeck, SP, :25.52; 2, Verhulst, DeF, :25.95; 3, Thompson, B, :26.13. 100 butterfly - 1, Meng, SP, :58.91; 2, Winckler, DeF, 1:00.34; 3, Hermsen, W, 1:01.35. 100 freestyle - 1, Schmidt, W, :55.37; 2, Kohlbeck, SP, :55.79; 3, Statz, DeF, :55.84. 500 freestyle - Wolter, DeF, 5:19.66; 2, Lentz, SP, 5:29.80; 3, Pillsbury, B, 5:35.50. 200 freestyle relay - 1, DeForest (Verhulst, Vandewettering, Winckler, Wolter), 1:43.92; 2, River Valley, 1:43.97; 3, Waunakee, 1:44.31. 100 backstroke - 1, Meng, SP, :59.29; 2, O’Rourke, B, 1:00.86; 3, Neidinger, W, 1:02.43. 100 breaststroke - 1, Verhulst, DeF, 1:11.73; 2, Houden, W, 1:12.88; 3, Beck, 1:14.69. 400 freestyle relay - 1, DeForest (Statz, Winckler, Verhulst, Wolter), 3:44.03; 2, Sauk Prairie, 3:45.1; 3, Waunakee, 3:48.62.

RESULTS

Team scores:

 

200 medley relay -