By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School boys swimming team performed well Saturday at the WIAA Division 2 Whitefish Bay Sectional meet at Whitefish Bay High School.
That’s where the season ended for the Elks, and coach Jamie Richardson said the team did the best it could.
“I think that was actually pretty good,’ Richardson said of the Elks fifth-place finish in the 11-team field. “There’s a lot of strong teams in our sectional. I think we fared pretty well.”
The Elks finished with 209 points. Shorewood won the sectional with 400.5.
Nicolet finished second (351), Whitefish Bay third (264), Whitewater fourth (234) and Whitnall sixth (205.5). Delavan-Darien finished seventh (148), Milwaukee Lutheran eight (94), Cudahy ninth (94), Saint Thomas More/Saint Francis 10th (83) and Martin Luther 11th (80).
The winners of each event at each sectional, plus the next 12 fastest times statewide, advanced to the WIAA Division 2 State Swimming and Diving Meet Friday and Saturday at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium.
Richardson said it is the first time in12 years that no member of the Elkhorn boys’ swimming team advanced to state.
“We swam well,” Richardson said. “We had a lot of personal best times, and that’s what you need at a tapered meet.”
Tapering is when swimmers swim less in the days before a big competition, in an effort to conserve energy and refine their stoke. High school swimmers in this area will typically taper before conference or sectional and state meets.
Kyle Gorst, Brenden Finley, Brett Schmieden and William Pyle finished fifth in the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute, 494.47 seconds for the Elks’ best finish.
Logan Radlein finished sixth in the 100 butterfly (1:01.15), which Richardson said is the highest finish for any freshman in any event at the sectional.
Finley finished sixth in the breaststroke (1:05.43). He advanced last season to state in the event.
“Every year you know it is going to get faster,” Richardson said. “He had a really good meet. He swam really well. I can’t fault him for that.”
Gorst finished seventh in the 200 freestyle (1:57.93) and 100 backstroke (59.31). Pyle, Finley, Connor LaFavor and Gorst finished sixth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.43).
