WIAA State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships Preview
THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 101st Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22, at Waukesha South High School in Waukesha, Wis.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for each tournament session are $9 plus online fees, and they are only available to be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner, at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Tickets#42691538-boys-swimming.
MEET INFORMATION: The Division 2 championships will be held Friday, with the Division 1 championships to follow on Saturday. The Division 2 diving competition begins Friday at 1:30 p.m., and the swimming finals will follow at 5:30 p.m. The Division 1 diving competition will begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m., with the swimming events scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The swimming events will run consecutively following the first event’s starting time on the respective days. Here is the order of events (all events in yards):
Order of Events
1. Diving
2. 200 Medley Relay
3. 200 Freestyle
4. 200 Individual Medley
5. 50 Freestyle
6. 100 Butterfly
7. 100 Freestyle
8. 500 Freestyle
9. 200 Freestyle Relay
10. 100 Backstroke
11. 100 Breaststroke
12. 400 Freestyle Relay
CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE ON WIAA.TV: Every event of the WIAA State Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a subscription basis. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $11.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the “Subscribe Now” link located at the top right area of the page. Archived streams of the meets will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament with a subscription.
BY THE NUMBERS: There are 114 teams in the 2025 Boys Swimming & Diving Tournament Series. The largest 69 programs are in Division 1, with the remaining 45 programs in Division 2.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: Schools are assigned directly into sectional competition with six sectionals in Division 1 and four in Division 2. The winners of each event at the sectional meet qualified for the State Meet. Also qualifying are the next 18 (Division 1) and 12 (Division 2) best individuals/relays/divers (not including sectional winners) from all the sectionals combined.
LAST YEAR: Middleton won the Division 1 team championship for the second straight season by compiling 273 points. Madison Memorial was second with 178 points. In Division 2, McFarland won the team championship with 325 points, and Rhinelander placed second in the team standings with 243 points.
MEET HISTORY: The WIAA began the boys swimming and diving championships in 1925 and moved to a two-division format in 1993. Madison Memorial has won 16 championships to lead all member schools. Waukesha, before it was split into three schools, captured 15 team titles with seven of those coming in succession from 1964-70. Madison West is tied for second on the list of titles with 15. Shorewood and Wauwatosa, before it became two separate schools, have compiled nine championships. McFarland has claimed eight team titles, and Arrowhead has earned six team championships. Madison Memorial has produced the most event champions with 90. Madison West has won 78 events and, Waukesha, before splitting into three schools, won 77 titles. Whitefish Bay is next on the list of individual champions with 63. Competitors from Wauwatosa, before dividing into two high schools won 61. Ben McDade of Monona Grove has won the most event championships in a prep career with 15, and Ryan O’Donnell of McFarland is next on the list with 14. Four individuals have won 10 State titles, including Ben Anderson of Arrowhead, Jay Mortenson of Madison West, Tom Wanezek of Brookfield East and Paul DeLakis of Eau Claire Memorial/North.
EVENT NOTES-DIVISION 1: Three individual events feature their 2024 champion attempting to retain the State title, and all three relays have last year’s champions attempting to win consecutive titles. Senior Carter Jewell of Muskego is the returning champion in the 500-yard freestyle. He qualifies with the fastest sectional time of 4:29.26. Jewell will also contend for the title in the 200-yard freestyle, entering the meet with the fastest qualifying time of 1:38.44. He finished second in the event last season. Other experienced swimmers expecting to contend for the title in the 200 freestyle are senior Alex Heinrich of Madison Memorial, who placed third a year ago, and junior Finn Nelson of Hartford/Slinger, who was sixth last year. Junior Sam Wolf of Middleton is the returning champion in the 200 individual medley after he placed third in 2023. Wolf possesses the swiftest sectional time in the event this year at 1:49.40. There are former medalists in the event that could challenge for the title. Senior Jack Paull of Franklin was runner-up last season and placed 12th in 2023. Sophomore Ryan Wanner of Waukesha West/Mukwonago placed third last year, and senior Brady Wainionpaa of Hudson was fifth. Wolf is also considered one of the favorites to win the title of the 100 breaststroke with the top qualifying time of 55.20. Three swimmers that reached the podium last year return in pursuit of the title. Senior Drew Gaerthofner of Neenah placed third in 2024 and fifth in 2023. Paull was fourth in the event in 2024, and Wainionpaa was sixth. Senior Brady Huettl of Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial is the defending champion and four-time qualifier in the diving competition. He also earned a third-place finish in 2023 and was 11th in 2022. He has the top qualifying performance at sectionals with a score 567.40. Junior River Reeves of Oshkosh North/Lourdes Academy/Valley Christian may be Huettl’s stiffest competition for the crown, placing third last year and 11th in 2023. Other challengers seeking to improve on last year’s medal performances are sophomore AJ Beard of Madison Memorial, who placed fifth, and junior Cole Waldron of Franklin, who was sixth. Senior Keaton Barwick of D.C. Everest is the fastest qualifier in two sprint freestyles. He recorded a time of 20.45 in the 50 freestyle after placing fifth in the event last season. Senior Brady Moore of Racine Case/Horlick/Park will contend for the title in the 50 freestyle as well following a fourth-place standing last season and finishing 19th in 2023. Barwick’s 100 freestyle time of 44.96 was the best at sectionals last weekend and positions him as the leading contender to win the gold. However, a pair of medalists last year return in pursuit of the title. Moore was fourth, and sophomore Logan Loppnow of Brookfield Central/East was fifth. The field of qualifiers seeking the championship in the 100 backstroke is led by junior Max Carter for Middleton. In addition to finishing runner-up in the event last year, he recorded the fastest qualifying time this season at 49.51. The experience of junior Andrew Gundrum of West Bend West/East and senior Trey Smith of Burlington/Catholic Central/East Troy/Union Grove/Waterford may help in challenging Carter for the title. They placed fifth and sixth in the 100 backstroke last year, respectively. The title in the 100 butterfly may be hotly contested. Heinrich has the quickest seeding time at 48.25, but he’ll need to contend with three experienced medalists from a year ago. Junior Caden Van Buren of Middleton was the runner-up last season, and his qualifying time is just .32 of a second off Heinrich’s pace. Senior Noah Van Zuidam of Homestead, who placed fourth last year, and junior Dawson Walters of West Bend West/East, who was fifth, are also in contention for the gold. Middleton has the distinction of having the fastest qualifying time in two of the relays. The Cardinals are the three-time defending champions in the 400 freestyle relay and the two-time defending champions in the 200 medley relay. They again appear to be in position to win those events with the fastest qualifying times of 3:07.62 and 1:29.45, respectively. Brookfield Central/East is the returning champion in the 200 freestyle relay, and the co-op returns to the event with a seed time of 1:25.59, which is .15 of a second behind Verona’s top qualifying time and .12 of a second in back of Middleton’s second-fastest time.
EVENT NOTES-DIVISION 2: Seven of the 12 events feature last year’s returning champion seeking another title, including four individual events and three relays. Sophomore Blake TeBeest of McFarland is the returning champion in the 100 backstroke and the 200 individual medley. He possesses the fastest qualifying time in the backstroke at 51.46. Sophomore Jude Hill of Nicolet may contend for the title as well after placing third last season and recording a qualifying time that is .19 of a second behind TeBeest. Junior Nathan Breit of The Prairie School is also seeking to return to the medal stand in the 100 backstroke after placing sixth in 2024. Blake TeBeest attempts to win his second straight 200 individual medley championship, entering the meet with the third-swiftest qualifying effort at 1:58.97. Senior Julian Callender of Stoughton possesses the fastest qualifying time from sectionals at 1:56.15 after finishing runner-up last year and third in 2023. In addition, Callender is the two-time defending champion and four-time qualifier in the 100 breaststroke. He also finished fifth in the event in 2022 to go with his two gold medals. His time of 57.30 ranks third among qualifiers. There is a loaded list of experienced qualifiers vying to unseat Callender as the champion in the event. The top five finishers and seven on the top nine placers last year return to the event this season. Senior Preston Nygaard of McFarland, who was runner-up a year ago, has the top qualifying time of 56.96. Junior Gavin Reiser of Stoughton, who was third last season, has the second-fastest seed time at 57.27. In addition, junior Charlie Prince of Port Washington and senior Shawn Denis of Rhinelander placed fourth and fifth last year, respectively. Senior Shane TeBeest of McFarland, the brother of Blake, attempts to improve on his runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle last year after placing third in 2023 and seventh in 2022. He is the event’s fastest qualifier with a sectional time of 21.30. Senior Daniel Carns of River Falls and Reiser also have their sights on the gold medal in the 50 freestyle after finishing third and tied for fifth last year, respectively. Shane TeBeest also has the distinction of recording the swiftest seed time in the 100 freestyle at 47.08, edging Carns, who qualifies this season with a time of 47.09 after placing fourth last year. Seniors Mathias Fugle and Samson Shinners, both from Rhinelander, also return after placing fifth and sixth in the 100 freestyle in 2024. Sophomore Ethan Goodman of Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights could also be in contention for the title with a time that is less than a second behind TeBeest and Carns. Another TeBeest sibling, Cale, returns as the defending champion in the 100 butterfly. The sophomore returns this season with a time of 51.82, which ranks second behind junior Jack Borzynski of The Prairie School. Borzynski turned in a time of 51.30 at sectionals after placing eighth last year. Senior Jonah Caldera of Edgewood is also attempting to return to the award stand after placing sixth last season. Senior Ethan Shutten of Whitnall is positioned to be considered one of the favorites to win a pair of events. His qualifying time of 1:40.55 in the 200 freestyle is more than two seconds faster than the next-best competitor, and he possesses the best time in the 500 freestyle at 4:30.51. Freshman Grant Freeze of Nicolet appears to be the most likely to challenge Shutten for the gold with the second-fastest qualifying times in both the 200 and 500 freestyles at 1:43.07 and 4:31.69, respectively. Three of the top four divers return from last year’s State Meet. Senior Evan Zimbelman of Cedarburg is the top returner after placing runner-up. He enters the competition this week with the top qualifying performance of 429.75. Senior Sawyer Moore of Kiel/Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah is a four-time qualifier in the event and will attempt to return to the award stand after placing third in 2024. In addition, he finished seventh in 2023 and eighth in 2022. Senior Jacob Jondreau of Rice Lake is also seeking another medal after finishing fourth a year ago. McFarland possess the fastest qualifying times in all three relays. The 400 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay attempt to achieve a three-peat. The Spartans enter the championships with times of 3:14.73 and 1:33.49, respectively. The 200 freestyle relay quartet is on a quest to win the title for the second year in a row with the fastest seed time at 1:29.33.
STATE MEET INFORMATION: Information for the 2025 Boys Swimming & Diving Championships is available online on the Boys Swimming & Diving Tournament homepage. The page includes links to heat sheets, qualifiers and schedule information as well as the link to the State Tournament archives, which includes a brief history and State Meet records.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA-licensed apparel is available online for the 2025 State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://tier1sports.com/product/2025-wiaa-boys-swimming-and-diving-state-apparel/. Online purchases made by midnight on Monday, Feb. 17 will be available for pick-up at the venue Feb. 21-22. Apparel will also be available during the championships at Waukesha South High School.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaaswimdive. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: All qualifiers, lane assignments and qualifying standards are available on the boys swimming and diving page on the WIAA website.
NEED RESULTS?: Results of the State Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the Tournament Central page or the Boys Swimming and Diving Tournament Information page.
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