WAUKESHA, Wis. – Brookfield East captured the Division 1 team championship for the third straight season, and a pair of Spartans won four events to highlight the 2021 State Division 1 Girls Swimming & Diving Championships at the Waukesha South High School Natatorium Saturday.
The Spartans compiled 304.5 points to win the program’s third championship. Runner-up Arrowhead compiled 264 points, and Middleton placed third with a score of 193.
Abby Wanezek won both the freestyle sprints for the second straight season. She successfully defended the title she won in the 50-yard freestyle last season by earning the gold medal this season with a Division 1 State meet record time of 22.54. In addition to her collection of gold in the event, she also captured the silver medal in 2019. Wanezek also repeated as the champion in the 100 freestyle, completing the race in 49.35. She also has a sixth-place finish in 2018 to go with her two titles.
Lucy Thomas also won a pair of individual titles for the Spartans. She shattered the Division 1 record in capturing her third consecutive crown in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:00.0. Thomas also swam to the title in 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:46.82.
Wanezek’s sister, Maggie, and teammate Reece Tiltmann also won an individual title. Maggie Wanezek’s individual championship came in record fashion, breaking the former Division 1 mark in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.59 after placing second last year. Tiltmann improved on her seventh-place finish in 2019 and last season’s runner-up finish by winning the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:52.08.
Abby Wanezek and Thomas each won four events in the meet. In addition to their individual titles, they were both members of two championship relays. They teamed with Aubrey Olen and Tiltmann to set a new Division 1 record in the 200 freestyle relay with their time of 1:31.13. Wanezek joined Tiltmann, Olen and sister, Maggie, to set the Division 1 State record in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:19.32. Thomas was a member of the 200 medley relay that captured gold with teammates Maggie Wanezek, Kamryn Dembny and Callie Gregg to record the winning time of 1:41.05.
Campbell Stoll of Arrowhead won a pair of events for the second straight season. She won the 200 individual medley for the second straight season to go with a runner-up finish in 2019. She completed the event in 1:58.29. She also won her second consecutive title in the 100 butterfly, finishing in a time of 51.89.
Stoll’s teammate, Sydney Nelson, was the champion in the diving competition with a score 437.0 after finishing runner-up the past two seasons and 10th in 2018.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
