Springboard to state, 5 Eagles qualify

Photo by Dan Larson / Sauk Prairie Eagle

Alison Meng gets set to start the 100-yard backstroke at the WIAA Division 2 Baraboo Sectional on Nov. 8. Meng won the event in one minute, 0.09 seconds to qualify for the state meet Nov. 14.

5 images

<< 1 of 5 >>

By Dan Larson, Sauk Prairie Eagle

BARABOO — After finishing the 100-yard backstroke at the WIAA Division 2 girls swimming and diving Baraboo Sectional on Nov. 8 at Baraboo Middle School, 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 thought to myself, '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 and :00.3 ahead of Baraboo's Emily O'Rourke, who edged Meng for first at last year's sectional meet by :00.47— to qualify for the state meet Nov. 14 at the UW-Natatorium in Madison.

"At the end I knew it was really close and I just kicked my heart out ... I looked up there and I wasn't surprised — I was just really happy because I knew I could do that good."

Two-time defending state champion DeForest claimed three event titles and finished no worse than fourth in any other event to claim its fifth-straight sectional title with 358 points, 82 points clear of runner-up Madison Edgewood. Sauk Prairie finished sixth with 220 points.

Event winners from each of the four sectionals qualified for the state meet, and the remaining 12 spots in each event are filled by the best times across all sectionals. The WIAA released the full field on its Web site Nov. 9.

And the 400 freestyle team of Meng, Megan Cahill, Kelsey Kohlbeck and Abby Diehl had to wait to find out it qualified after finishing third in 3:40.18 — news that only served as icing on the cake for what was already a successful meet: The team 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.

"Once we looked up at the scoreboard, we were like, 'Wow, that's a fast time.' And then we realized that it was our (school) record, so we were mostly excited that it's our record," said Meng, who along with Cahill, Kohlbeck and Diehl — who was still in the water after swimming the anchor-leg — displayed that excitement by joyfully screaming and clapping hands.

It was a goal the team had since it took to the pool in August, but one that Eagles' coach Melani Guentherman knew wasn't going to be easily attained.

"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." she said of the team's accomplishment in the meet's final event.

The team also swam faster than the pool record time of 3:40.33, set at last year's sectional by Monona Grove's Kelsey Millin, Katie Barta, Elizabeth Emmerich and Hayley Martin, who won the state championship in the event in 3:38.88. DeForest's Casey Wolter, Karmyn Vandewettering, Molly Anderson and Chelsea Statz (3:39.12) broke the record and Millin, Emmerich and Martin teamed with Tess Becker to finish second (3:39.52). The pool began keeping records when the Baraboo girls team started swimming there in 2000.

DeForest's Lark Engen, Lindsey Verhulst, Leah Winckler and Chelsea Statz won the 200 medley relay in 1:51:13 — :00.81 better than the pool record of 1:51.92 set by Madison Edgewood in 2002 — and Millin, Becker, Emmerich and Martin of Monona Grove won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:39.64 — :00.52 better than its pool-record time of 1:40.18 and :00.16 better than its runner-up state finish, both accomplished last year by Millin, Barta, Emmerich and Martin.

Two-time defending state-100 breaststroke champion Jennah Haney of Milton broke her own pool record in the event with a time of 1:05.90, just over one-and-a-half seconds better than the record time of 1:07.39 she set last year, and Leah Winckler of DeForest won the 100 butterfly with a pool-record time of :58.99, breaking Colleen Muldowney's (Edgewood) previous record of :59.53 set in 2002.

Meng and Kohlbeck both qualified in the 100 butterfly after finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, in 1:00.27 and 1:01.97. Meng finished ninth at state last year in 1:01.49 and Kohlbeck 13th in 1:02.55.

Kohlbeck finished fifth in the 200 individual medley in 2:17.45 — a lifetime-best time — to qualify. She didn't qualify last year.

Diehl qualified in the 100 and 200 freestyles after finishing third in the 100 (:53.93) and fourth in the 200 (1:56.27), and the 200 medley relay team — swam by Meng, Jenna Lovell, Kohlbeck and Diehl —qualified after finishing fifth in 1:53.10. Diehl finished fourth in the 100 (:53.04) and fifth in the 200 (1:57.19) at state last year and the 200 medley team of Meng, Jenna Lovell, Kohlbeck and Diehl finished sixth (1:53.54).

"Our team did amazing today," said Meng, whose Eagles will be aided by Kohlbeck's qualification in the 200 IM in their effort to finish in the top-10 after finishing 11th last year. "We put a lot of effort in this season and came out with a great outcome."

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.

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, Vandewettering, Anderson, Statz), 3:39.12; 2, Monona Grove, 3:39.52; 3, Sauk Prairie, 3:40.18.

At: Baraboo Middle School

If you go

What: WIAA Division 2 state swimming and diving meet

When: Nov. 14

Where: University of Wisconsin Natatorium, Madison

Cost: $6 for adults, $1 for children 6-years old and under.