WIAA Boys Swimming and Diving Championships Preview

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 98th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Swimming and Diving Championships will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19, 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://gofan.co/app/school/WIAA2.

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):

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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 $10.99 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 113 teams in the 2022 boys swimming & diving tournament series. The largest 68 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:  Sun Prairie won the Division 1 team championship by compiling 232.5 points. The Greenfield/Greendale/Pius XI co-op was runner-up with 211 points. In Division 2, Cedarburg won the team champion with 309 points after placing runner-up in 2020. Whitefish Bay placed second in the team standings with 231 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. Arrowhead and McFarland have each claimed six team championships. All six of McFarland’s Division 2 crowns came in succession from 2007-12. Madison Memorial has produced the most event champions with 89. Waukesha competitors won 77 titles before it split into a multi-school district. Madison West has won 75 events, and Wauwatosa and Whitefish Bay have 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 2021 champions attempting to retain their titles, and there are two returning relays attempting to win consecutive championships. Senior Jan Lanser of West Bend West/East is the returning champion in the diving competition after placing third in 2020. He enters the championships with a qualifying score of 619.5. Senior Drew Bennett of Madison Memorial returns after placing runner-up in 2020 with the second-best qualifying performance of 578.5. Senior Mason King of Wauwatosa West/East was runner-up last year and has qualified with a score of 509.5. Junior Nick Chirafisi of Middleton is the returning champion in the 200 freestyle. He also placed sixth at State in 2020. Chirafisi has the third swiftest qualifying time in the 200-yard freestyle this year at 1:40.00. Senior Ozan Kalafat of Bay Port recorded the top seed time at sectionals at 1:39.00. Senior William Hayon of Sheboygan North has the second-fastest time at 1:39.70. Senior Michael Long of Brookfield Central/East could also contend for the title in the event after placing third last year and fourth in 2020. He enters the meet with a time of 1:41.21. Long is the returning champion in the 100 backstroke after placing 10th in 2020 and 20th in 2019. He has the second-fastest qualifying time this season at 49.67. Junior Stuart Seymour of Brookfield Central/East has the top time in the backstroke at 49.51 after placing seventh a year ago and 18th in 2020. Chirafisi possesses the quickest qualifying time in the 500 freestyle at 4:33.96 after placing fifth last season and in 2020. Sophomore Andrew Hanson of Hudson is the top returning swimmer in the event, having placed runner-up last year. He’ll need to make up almost six seconds to compete for the crown with his seed time of 4:39.84. Kalafat could also contend for the title with the second-fastest qualifying time of 4:35.55 after a fifth-place finish in 2019. Junior Jack Madoch of Middleton is the fastest qualifier in a pair of events, including the 50 freestyle at 20.46 and the 100 freestyle at 45.10. Senior Ethan Braatz of Sun Prairie is the only swimmer in the 50 freestyle that placed in the top 10 last season, placing seventh. He is seeded seventh with a time of 21.36. Madoch was eighth in the 100 freestyle last season, and Braatz finished one place ahead of him in seventh. He returns to the event this year with the eighth quickest time in the event at 47.40. A number of returning swimmers return to compete for the gold medal in the 200 individual medley. Among them is junior Devin Testin of Homestead. He is the top returning finisher from last season’s State meet, placing second. Testin is seeded third with a time of 1:54.70. Junior Lance Johnson of Arrowhead has the fastest qualifying time in the 200 I.M. at 1:50.50 after placing third in 2021 and 11th in 2020. Hayon is the top returning finisher and the top qualifier in the 100 butterfly. He comes into the State meet with a qualifying time of 48.56 after a runner-up finish last season and a fifth-place standing in 2020. Senior Oscar Best of Verona/Mount Horeb has placed third in the butterfly the past two seasons and has qualified with a time of 51.06. Seymour is the second-fastest qualifier in the butterfly at 49.77. Johnson is also the swiftest qualifier in the 100 breaststroke at 55.23 after a third-place finish last year and finishing eighth in 2020. Senior Brady Miller of Brookfield Central/East is the top finisher in the breaststroke from last year’s championships, placing second after finishing fourth in 2020. He qualified this season with a time of 56.50. Junior Atticus Nordmeyer of Madison West is back in the event with the second-fastest qualifying time at 56.23 after placing fifth in 2020. The Waukesha North Co-op 200 medley relay seeks a second straight title in the event with the fourth-fastest qualifying time of 1:35.36. Brookfield Central/East has the fastest qualifying time of 1:33.33. Sun Prairie is the returning champion in the 200 freestyle relay with the second-best time among qualifying teams at 1:26.62. Middleton is the top qualifier at 1:25.07. In the 400 freestyle relay. Brookfield Central/East has the fastest qualifying time at 3:08.19 after placing sixth last season. Sun Prairie is the highest finishing relay from a year ago, having placed runner-up. They enter with the sixth-best qualifying time at 3:12.29.

EVENT NOTES-DIVISION 2:  Ten of the 12 events feature last year’s returning champions seeking repeat titles, including seven individuals and three relays. Three swimmers are seeking consecutive crowns in two separate individual events. Senior Colin Senke of Edgewood is the returning champion in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.  He looks to retain the titles as the top qualifier in each of those events. His time of 50.75 in the butterfly is a shade quicker than the 50.88 recorded by junior Adrian Bellido of Brookfield Academy, who is back at State after placing eighth in 2020. Senke also has a runner-up finish in the backstroke in 2020 as well as placing fifth in 2019. He enters action with a seed time of 50.73. Perhaps his stiffest challenge to repeat as champion will come from senior Kyle Griswold of Shorewood, who has qualified with the second-fastest time of 52.97 after placing fifth last season and seventh in 2020. Junior Matt Dedering of Cedarburg won both the 50 and 100 freestyles last year. He is the top qualifier in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.29. Dedering also has a third-place finish in 2020 on his resume. He can expect a challenge from Bellido, who is back with the second-best sectional qualifying time of 21.32 after placing eighth in 2020. Dedering is the second-fastest qualifier in the 100 freestyle at 46.51. In addition to his title last year, he was runner-up in 2020. Sophomore Jack Sullivan of Nicolet recorded the best qualifying time at sectionals with a time of 45.95. Sullivan is a defending champion as well, racing to the 2021 title in the 200 freestyle. He returns as the fastest qualifier with a time of 1:40.85. Sullivan will need to contend with five other competitors that placed in the top eight last season, including senior Jackson Hodek of Ashwaubenon, who has qualified with the time of 1:44.39 after a runner-up finish last season and a sixth-place standing in 2020. In addition, junior Evan Schmidt of Stoughton returns with the second quickest qualifying time of 1:42.81 after placing fifth in 2020. Junior Isaac Fleig of Cedarburg is the two-time defending champion in the 500 freestyle seeking a third consecutive title. He has a commanding edge among all challengers with a seed time of 4:30.35. The next-fastest qualifier is Hodek with a time of 4:43.49 after finishing runner-up last year, sixth in 2020 and 13th in 2019. Based on his qualifying times, Fleig is also the clear favorite to win consecutive titles in the 200 individual medley after a runner-up finish in 2020. He clocked a 1:52.75 at sectionals, which is three seconds better than the time of Griswold, who enters with a time of 1:55.76 after a runner-up finish last season and a sixth-place finish in 2020. The lone individual swimming event without a returning champion from last season is the 100 breaststroke. Freshman Finnley Conklin of Edgewood is the top qualifier with his qualifying time of 56.91. He will need to contend with three other individuals that placed  in the top four a year ago, including junior Sam King of Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, who was runner-up after placing fifth in 2020. He has the second-fastest seed time at 57.49. In the diving competition, junior Dylan Norby of Menomonie is the top returner after placing with a seventh a year ago. He also possesses the top qualifying performance this season at 406.90. The Cedarburg 400 freestyle relay team is the defending champion in the event. The quartet will challenge to defend its title with the fastest qualifying time of 3:15.02. Shorewood is the second-fastest qualifier in the event with a seed time of 3:16.01. Cedarburg, also the defending champion in the 200 medley, is seeded fourth with a time of 1:39.60.  The Edgewood 200 medley relay is pursuing its third championship in the past four years. It enters the championships with the top seed time of 1:37.53, which is a shade better than second-seeded Shorewood at 1:37.97. The Whitefish Bay 200 freestyle relay is returning to defend its title, but it will need to shave some time off its qualifying time of 1:31.34, which ranks eighth among qualifiers. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights is the top qualifier with a time of 1:29.44.

COVID PROVISIONS:  Fully vaccinated individuals should consider wearing a mask in areas of high likelihood of transmission. In addition, masks are strongly encouraged for individuals not fully vaccinated.

ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the 2022 State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://tier1sports.com/product/wiaa-boys-swimming-and-diving-state-apparel/. Online purchases will be available for pick-up at the venue Feb. 18-19. The online store closes Monday, Feb. 14 prior to midnight.

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 boys swimming and diving Tournament Information page.