Brookfield East Nearly Sets National High School Relay Record, Wins WIAA State

2020 WIAA Girls Division 1 State Meet

With the help of three state records and a near national high school record, Brookfield East won the state title in Wisconsin’s Division 1 for the 2nd year in a row. The teams 340 points were the most scored by a team at the state meet since 2005.

Top 5 Teams

  1. Brookfield East – 340
  2. Arrowhead – 323
  3. Muskego – 226
  4. Waukesha West – 169
  5. Waukesha South – 163

On the diving board, Divine Savior Holy Angels’ Kathryn Kleczka posted the top score of 423.95, narrowly edging out Sydney Nelson of Arrowhead’s 422.00.

Brookfield East started the swimming portion of the meet strong, winning the 200 medley relay in record-breaking fashion. The team of Maggie Wanezek, Lucy Thomas, Reilly Tiltmann, and Abby Wanezek blew away the old state record of 1:42.54, set by the school last year, finishing in 1:38.36. They also very nearly set the national high school record, set by Fossil Ridge High School in 2018. Fossil Ridge’s record stands at 1:38.13. Brookfield East will return three of its four relay members next year, with only Tiltmann graduating.

The senior Tiltmann also added two individual state titles on the day. She started with a win, and the 5th fastest time in state history, in the 200 free. She beat out last year’s state champion in the event, Abby Carlson, winning the event in 1:47.60. Later in the meet, she led a 1-2 finish by Brookfield East in the 100 back. Tiltmann was joined by freshman Maggie Wanezek to take the top spots, finishing in 52.14 and 52.47 respectively. Tiltmann finished only .01 off of the state record in the event, held by University of Wisconsin standout and US National Team member Beata Nelson.

Arrowhead’s Campbell Stoll took the state title in the 200 IM, finishing ahead of two Brookfield East swimmers in 2:00.60. Last year, as a freshman, Stoll finished 2nd in the event.

The sophomore also added a first-place finish in the 100 fly. Swimming the 5th fastest time in state history, Stoll touched in 53.99.

The 50 free featured another strong showing from Brookfield East, as sisters Abby and Maggie Wanezek took the top two spots. A junior, Abby reset the state record in the event, beating Katie Drabot‘s record from 2015. Abby finished in 22.63 while Maggie, only a freshman, touched in 23.01. Maggie’s time ranks her as the 7th fastest in state history.

The elder Wanezek sister, Abby, added another state title in the 100 free. The only swimmer under 50.0 and the second-fastest performer in state history, Wanezek finished in 49.48. The state record stands at 48.55, set by Katie Drabot in 2015.

Following two consecutive runner-up finishes at the state meet, Waukesha South senior Abby Carlson led the 500 free in dominating fashion. Beating out Brookfield East sophomore Reese Tiltmann by five seconds, Carlson won the event in 4:53.61.

Brookfield East continued their relay dominance in the 200 free relay, winning in 1:34.46. The relay, which didn’t include a single graduating member, missed the state record in the event by less than a second.

After helping her school’s 200 medley relay reset the state record and leading off their state championship-winning 200 free relay earlier in the meet, Brookfield East’s Lucy Thomas returned to take the individual state title in the 100 breast for the second straight year. Only a sophomore, Thomas led the field by almost a second. Her time of 1:00.87 is only .22 off of the state record in the event.

The final event of the day featured Brookfield East’s Wanezek and Tiltmann sister’s combining to reset the state record in the 400 free relay. The relay’s time of 3:20.92 broke the 7-year old record in the event, previously held by Waukesha South. That record was, in 2013, a national public high school record in the event.

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Klorn8d
3 years ago

While most of the stars did compete it is hard to call this a full out state championships. No madison area schools competed, biggest name missing is sophie fiske

J-Hawk Proud
Reply to  Klorn8d
3 years ago

Nothing was “normal” about these state meets, however, they were still state championships for those that competed. Sophie will have an opportunity to hopefully race in the Feb-April season and go after that 50 free record that Abby just set. It was an incredible swim, as was their 200 medley relay and 400 free relays. It’s not often that one high school has multiple Olympic Trial qualifiers on it. Congrats to all the winners! Happy they got the opportunity.