Madison West and Edgewood Lead Wisconsin HS Boys into State Meets

This weekend was Sectionals weekend in Wisconsin boys high school swimming. Besides crowning champions of each individual section, state qualifiers were awarded after the conclusion of the last pre-championship level of high school swimming.

• View the results of the individual sectionals here
• Division 1 Heat Sheet (large schools)
• Division 2 Heat Sheet (small schools)

Division 1

Given the psych sheets, we can learn quite a bit about what to expect next weekend. Scoring out the D1 psych sheet gives defending champions Madison West a 282.5 – 247 point lead over Middleton. Those two look like the clear front runners as the next best teams by seeded points are Hudson with 156.5, Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial with 141.5, and Franklin with 130.

Last year Madison West was seeded with 291 points and won the meet with a very similar 293 points. Middleton dropped off a little. They had 235 seeded points and actually scored 223.5. This would point to season long #1 Madison West as the favorite to defend; however, Middleton are close enough that a win is not assured. To catch West, Middleton will have to gain ground in the individual events. Middleton are seeded with 114 relay points (120 is the most possible), so there’s not much room to gain there. Fortunately, Middleton have the most individual swims of any team with 16; West are next best with 15.

West will be defending their title with a wealth of experience. 111 of their 176.5 seeded individual points come from seniors. The rest are from juniors. 8 of their 15 individual swims are from seniors. Fewer than half of Middleton’s projected individual points come from seniors (64.5 of 133).

Shane Blinkman of Hudson leads the way as the only swimmer with 2 #1 seeds. He had the best sectional time in the 200 IM and 100 back. Andrew Martin of Middleton and Michael Linnihan of Brookfield Central have a 1 seed and a 2 seed each.

Scroll down to see projected point totals for every team, qualifier numbers, projected points progression, team event totals, and projected points for every individual.

Division 2

In D2, Edgewood look well positioned to win their first title since 2014. They lead the way with 246 seeded points, enough for a 67 point lead over 2nd place Elkhorn Area. A psych sheet lead of that size is usually pretty safe at this meet, but it’s not untouchable. A relay DQ could make things interesting in a hurry.

However, the race for 2nd appears to be the real intrigue as 3 teams are seeded within 8 points. Elkhorn Area have 179 followed closely by Rhinelander with 172.5, and defending champions Monona Grove with 171. Baraboo are 5th with 144.

Of the 2nd place contenders Rhinelander stand out for their lack of a 3rd relay. They hold the top seed in the 200 medley and 200 free relays, but they weren’t deep enough to get their 400 free relay into the meet. Their 400 missed the meet by less than a second without Russell Benoy (seeded 6th seed at state in the 100 free) on the relay. If they had used Benoy to get this relay in, they would have been allowed to switch him back to their better relays at state. Given Rhinelander’s #1 seeds in the other 2 relays they should have had no trouble getting those relays in without Benoy. Their medley relay, for example, was 6 seconds better than the qualifying time. In Division 2, any relay that qualifies and doesn’t DQ at state scores points.  With how close the race for second appears it will be interesting to see if this ends up mattering.

By seeded points Rhinelander enter the last relay with a 172.5 -139 advantage over Elkhorn Area and Monona Grove (who are projected to be tied with 139). Elkhorn’s top seeded 400 free relay jumps them into 2nd and Monona Grove’s 3rd seeded relay gets them close. The margins between these teams headed into that last relay will be worth keeping an eye on Friday as a lot could be on the line in the final race. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places could all change hands in the last event.

Last year’s state performances might indicate a slight edge to Monona Grove. Monona Grove picked up 34 points over their seeds at state last year (299 seeded->333 at state). Rhinelander dropped 16.5 points (69.5->53), and Elkhorn Area dropped 14 (150.5->136.5). However, while Elkhorn’s seeded point total is pretty similar to last year, Monona Grove and Rhinelander are in pretty different spots from last year, so last year’s state performances may be a less reliable guide.

Edgewood lead the way with 14 individual qualified swims. 6 more than any other team. Rhinelander, Monona Grove, and Whitefish Bay each have 8.

Three swimmers enter the meet with 2 top seeds in individual events. Aidan Lohr of Baraboo has the top mark in the 200 IM and 100 back. Evan Szablewski of Shorewood leads the 200 and 500 free. Jeremiah Mansavage of Fort Atkinson leads the 50 and 100 free.

Scroll down to see projected point totals for every team, qualifier numbers, projected points progression, team event totals, and projected points for every individual. D2 is below D1.

2019 SECTIONAL TOP 3:

Division I (Big Schools)

• Greenfield Sectional – Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial 382, Muskego 360.5, Greenfield Co-op 318
• Homestead Sectional – Brookfield Central/East 373, Arrowhead 354, Menomonee Falls Co-op 335
• Middleton Sectional – Madison West 384, Middleton 383.5, Verona Area/Mount Horeb 301
• Neenah Sectional – Bay Port 387, Appleton North/Appleton East 294, Neenah 285
• Racine Park Sectional – Franklin 408, Kenosha Indian Trail 319, Badger Co-op 315.5
• Wisconsin Rapids Sectional –  Hudson 399, Eau Clair Memorial/North 374.5, DC Everest 289.5

Division II (Small Schools)

• Ashwaubenon Sectional – Ashwaubenon 286, Cedarburg 283, Plymouth 276
• Baraboo Sectional – Edgewood 375, Monona Grove 276, McFarland 253
• Rhinelander Sectional– Rhinelander 377, Lakeland Union 263, Menomonie 242
• Whitefish Bay Sectional – Whitefish Bay 364, Elkhorn Area 358, Nicolet 257

Team Data

D1

Score Projections

Projected Event Scores (top 10 teams)

Projected Score Progression (top 10 teams)

Individual Projections

Swimmers qualified for the meet but not listed below project to 0 points.

D2

Score Projection

Projected Event Scores (top 10 teams)

Projected Score Progression (top 10 teams)

Individual Projections