Alison Meng wins 100-yard backstroke sectional title, qualifies for state; others qualify with top-16 state times
Photo by Dan Larson / Sauk Prairie Eagle
Sauk Prairie's Alison Meng stands on the lane-one starting board after receiving her medal for winning the 100-yard backstroke in one minute, 00.09 seconds, just :00.01 slower than her school-record time of 1:00.08, at the WIAA Division 1 Baraboo Sectional Saturday. With the title, Meng qualified for the state meet at the UW-Natatorium in Madison on Nov. 14.
2 images
<< 1 of 2 >>
By Dan Larson / Sauk Prairie Eagle
BARABOO — After finishing the 100-yard backstroke at Saturday's WIAA Division 2 girls swimming and diving Baraboo Sectional, Alison Meng immediately looked to the scoreboard.
But the Sauk Prairie sophomore wasn't looking to check if she won; she was simply confirming what she figured would be the result from the moment the horn sounded to start the event.
"Right off the start, I was like, 'I know I can do this,' and then my turns felt really good so I just knew it was going to be a good race," said Meng, who won in one minute, 00.09 seconds — just :00.01 slower than the school-record time of :1:00.08 that she set last year — to qualify for the state meet Nov. 14 at the UW-Natatorium in Madison.
"I looked up there and I wasn't surprised. I was just really happy because I knew I could do that good."
Event winners from each of the four Division 2 sectionals qualify for the state meet, and the remaining 12 spots in each event are filled by the best times across all sectionals.
The 400 freestyle team of Meng, Megan Cahill, Kelsey Kohlbeck and Abby Diehl finished third in 3:40.18 and learned Sunday that it qualified after the WIAA posted the state-field on its Web site.
But one thing it didn't have to wait to find out: It broke the school record in the event, set by Megan Enge, Breanna Ballweg, Lindsey Kohlbeck and Lauren Breunig with a time of 3:40.68 in 2001.
"Quite frankly, I don't think most people thought that that was within reach at the beginning of the season. I think it was a great way to end the meet." Sauk Prairie coach Melani Guentherman said of the team's accomplishment in the meet's final event.
Meng and Kohlbeck both qualifed in the 100 butterfly after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in 1:00.27 and 1:01.97. Likewise for Kohlbeck in the 200 individual medley after she finished fifth in 2:17.45.
Diehl qualifed in the 100 and 200 freestyles after finishing third in the 100 (:53.93) and fourth in the 200 (1:56.27)
The 200 medley relay team of Meng, Jenna Lovell, Kohlbeck and Diehl also qualified after finishing fifth in 1:53.10.
For a full story from this meet, pick up a copy of the Nov. 12 edition of the Eagle
Team Scores: DeForest 358, Madison Edgewood 276, Baraboo 259, Milton 247, Monona Grove 226, Sauk Prairie 220, McFarland 213, River Valley 117, Monroe 94, Platteville-Lancaster 61, Edgerton-Cambridge 52, Lodi 36, Portage 28.
(Top Sauk Prairie relay finisher listed, top two Sauk Prairie individual finishers listed)
Diving: Hearn, ME, 285.20; 2, Mackesey, MG, 234.95; 3, Kelly, McF, NP. 200-yard medley relay: 1, DeForest (Lark Engen, Lindsey Verhulst, Leah Winckler, Chelsea Statz), 1:51.13; 2, Baraboo, 1:52.03; 3, Milton, 1:52.05; 5, Sauk Prairie (Alison Meng, Jenna Lovell, Kelsey Kohlbeck, Abby Diehl), 1:53.10. 200 freestyle: 1, Haney, Mi, 1:54.63; 2, Wolter, D, 1:56.01; 3, Vandewettering, D, 1:56.13; 4, Diehl, SP, 1:56.27; 14, Lauren Ballweg, SP, 2:08.99. 200 individual medley: 1, Keeling, B, 2:08.34; 2, Foss, Mi, 2:09.74; 3, Schramka, ME, 2:12.40; 5, Kohlbeck, SP, 2:17.45; . 50 freestyle: 1, Martin, MG, :24.21; 2, Verhulst, D, :25.28; 3, Bush, ME, :25.42; 15, Lovell, SP, :26.64; 16, Megan Cahill, SP, :26.82. 100 butterfly: 1, Winckler, D, :58.99; 2, Keeling, B, :59.21; 3, Millin, MG, :59.47; 4, Meng, SP, 1:00.27; 5, Kohlbeck, SP, 1:01.97. 100 freestyle: 1, Martin, MG, :52.80; 2, Statz, D, :53.81; 3, Diehl, SP, :53.93; 12, Cahill, SP, :57.96. 500 freestyle: 1, Foss, Mi, 5:07.29; 2, Wolter, D, 5:09.34; 3, Vandewettering, D, 5:17.63; 10, Shelby Cramer, SP, 5:41.62. 200 freestyle relay: 1, Monona Grove (Millin, Becker, Emmerich, Martin), 1:39.64; 2, DeForest, 1:40.20; 3, Madison Edgewood, 1:42.02; 7, Sauk Prairie (Chantel McConville, Ballweg, Lovell, Cahill), 1:46.20. 100 backstroke: 1, Meng, SP, 1:00.09; 2, O'Rourke, B, 1:00.39; 3, Schramka, ME, 1:00.77. 100 breaststroke: 1, Haney, Mi, 1:05.90; 2, Smith, McF, 1:07.50; 3, Verhulst, D, 1:08.48; 8, Carly Reinke, SP, 1:13.06; 12, Lovell, SP, 1:14.08. 400 freestyle relay: 1, DeForest (Wolter, Vandwettering, Anderson, Statz), 3:39.12; 2, Monona Grove, 3:39.52; 3, Sauk Prairie, 3:40.18.
At: Baraboo Middle School