Whitefish Bay Wins Division 2 State Girls Swimming and Diving Title
WAUKESHA, Wis. – Whitefish Bay won the Division 2 team title at the 2024 State Girls Swimming & Diving Championships at the Waukesha South High School Natatorium Friday.
The Blue Dukes captured to the team title with 360 points and were crowned champions in eight of the 12 events in the meet. It’s the program’s first State championship. Edgewood finished second with 270 points, and Rhinelander, the 2023 champion, placed third with 251 points.
Whitefish Bay won five individual events, including two each by Anne and Maggie Dickinson. Anne successfully defended her crown in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing the race in a time of 1:49.36, and she won the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:54.20. Maggie shattered the record in winning the 100 backstroke in a time of 53.28, eclipsing the old record of 54.39 by more than a second. She also captured the gold medal in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.60. Aibhy King won the 100 butterfly in 56.17 after placing fifth last year.
The Blue Dukes won all three relays after entering the meet with the top seed times in each of the races. The quartet of Maggie Dickinson, Kate Antonelli, King and Julia Burrall swam to the title in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.75. King, Vivian Utschig, Cassidy Shanks and Anne Dickinson earned their position on the top tier of the awards podium in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.04. They capped the competition by winning the 400 freestyle relay with the foursome of Anne Dickinson, Utschig, Shanks and Maggie Dickinson in a time of 3:29.66.
Of the four individual events not won by Whitefish Bay, two were won by defending champions. Celia Francis of Rhinelander, won the 200 individual medley for the second year in a row, posting a time of 2:05.34. Rianna Dobbie of Whitnall, a four-time qualifier, was the repeat champion in the diving competition after winning the title last season and placing fourth in 2022 and seventh in 2021. She compiled a score of 465.95.
Cheyenne Burroughs of Stoughton was the champion in the 100 breaststroke with her time of 1:04.25 after she finished runner-up last year and third in 2022. Hannah Tubbs of the Black River Falls/Blair-Taylor/Alma Center Lincoln co-op earned the championship in the 100 freestyle in a time of 52.24 after she placed sixth a year ago.
The State Girls 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.
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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]
