The Crusaders won their fourth team championship overall and the third in the past four seasons. They earned the crown by compiling 274 points. Last year’s champion Cedarburg was runner-up with 233 points, and Rhinelander was third with 202.5 points.
Senior Colin Senke and freshman Finnley Conklin of Edgewood won three events in the meet. Senke successfully defended his title in the 100-yard backstroke, capturing the crown in a time of 50.12 after placing second in 2020 and fifth in 2019. Conklin won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 55.20. Both Senke and Conklin contributed to the Crusaders’ championship 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. In the 200 medley relay, they teamed up with sophomore Jaxon VandenBrook and senior Silas Leuthner to win the event in a Division 2 record time of 1:33.52. They also joined Leuthner and senior Davis Peterson to win gold in the 400 freestyle with a time of 3:11.94.
Junior Isaac Fleig of Cedarburg was a two-time champion. He swam to his third straight championship in the 500 freestyle, breaking the Division 2 record in a time of 4:26.64. He earned his other gold medal in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:50.53.
Fleig’s teammate, junior Matt Dedering, won the 100 freestyle for the second straight season, recording a time of 49.45. He also swam to a runner-up finish in the event in 2020.
Junior Adrian Bellido of Brookfield Academy was another two-time champion in the meet. He denied Dedering, the 2021 champion, a second consecutive title in the 50 freestyle with his time of 20.85 after placing tied for eighth in 2020. He also denied Senke a second straight title in the 100 butterfly, and it took a Division 2 record performance to dethrone the former champion. After his eighth-place finish in 2020, Bellido raced to a time 49.22, more than a second swifter the Senke’s second-place time of 50.32.
Sophomore Jack Sullivan of Nicolet repeated as champion in the 200 freestyle. He outpaced the remainder of the field with a time of 1:39.41. Senior Dylan Nordby of Menomonie won the diving title with a final score of 383.00 after placing seventh last season.
The Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights co-op captured the title in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of junior Sam King and seniors Ryan Godwin, Evan Leece and Matthew Loy finished with a time of 1:27.12.
The 2022 State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships continue Saturday with the Division 1 competition. The preliminary round in diving begins at 9:30 a.m. with swimming events to begin at 2:30 p.m.
Complete Division 2 Results HERE
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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]
