Coaches don't give anything away in anticipation for state meet
North Shore teams do well at small schools swim event
Everyone was bobbing and weaving, feinting and dodging at the boys State Small Schools meet looking for the right angles to take at the upcoming WIAA State Division 2 meet.
Except the folks from Whitefish Bay, Shorewood and Brown Deer/University School all know who landed the knockout punch as McFarland dominated the 19-school event with Bay taking second, Shorewood third and BD/USM 13th.
"When you have nine of the top 10 ranked teams in D2 at a meet, what you see is people figuring out the best ways to get to state," said Shorewood coach Rob McCabe. "You look at their swims and compare them to yours."
Conference titles are close
The event was the regular season closer for all the teams. Bay will be looking for its first conference title since 1985 when it takes part in the North Shore meet at Port Washington on Saturday (11 a.m.) while Shorewood and Brown Deer/USM will take part in the Woodland meet at Greenfield also on Saturday (12:30 p.m.).
The Greyhounds will be in a tight dogfight with New Berlin for league honors this season.
Bay coach Jim Davis is taking a practical approach to the event and will not get too caught up in the idea of a league title at the expense of potential state honors. The Blue Dukes will likely be involved in a tight dual with Cedarburg, to whom they lost a three-point decision in a dual meet on Jan. 26.
"Guys will be swimming different events," he said, "and about half of them will be rested, but we won't rest the top guys. Don't get me wrong, our goal is to win it. We have a good senior group and they've got the experience and the drive to go out as champions."
That's why the Blue Dukes were careful not to expose too much at the Small Schools Meet held in Plymouth. McFarland won nine events en route to a dominating 357 point total as Bay scored 251, Shorewood 196 and the Falcons 66.
Individual meet results
The best finishes for Bay came from its opening and closing relays. The 200 medley relay of Chris Fink, Jason Castillo, Tommy Hiller and Rob Colton was clocked in 1:43.49 and the 400 free crew of Fink, D.J. Friesch, Castillo and Chuck Prestigiacomo was timed in 3:24.68, both good for second. Davis said the Blue Dukes had one flat split in the race and that cost them the event championship.
Prestigiacomo was third in the 50 free (23.01) as was the 200 free relay team of D.J. Friesch, Walker Brengel, Prestigiacomo and Colton (1:32.83).
Shorewood was also in a hard-working mode and had only two season-best efforts out of a series of sound swims. The 400 free relay team of Jay Tomasiewicz, Isaac Flegel-Mishlove, Stephen Meyer and R. J. Hayes was third in 3:24.96 to earn one of those and Hayes picked up another, with an eighth place in the 100 free (51.42).
Meyer was third in both the 100 butterfly (55.45) and the 100 backstroke (55.65) as was the 200 medley relay team of Meyer, Mike Ross, Asher Kaufman and Andrew Eder (1:44.99).
Brown Deer/University School co-coach Bob Van Lieshout was hoping for a little better performance heading into the Woodland.
The Falcons best finishes came in diving, as Collin Rice was fifth (291.7 points) and Sean Andryauskas was 11th and Keith Finch 13th.
"It was about half of the points I expected," said Van Lieshout, "but we're still confident of this team. It reminds us a little bit of that team two years ago (that took eighth at state). It'll come down to training but we should have good tapers (thanks to co-coach John Douglass)."
Tuning up for state
Conference meets next for Bay, Shorewood and BD/USM
OTHER TOP FINISHES AT THE STATE SMALL SCHOOLS MEET:
• BAY: 200 individual medley: Jason Castillo, fifth (2:04.64); 100 butterfly: Tommy Hiller, fifth (57.11); 100 free: Chuck Prestigiacomo, fifth (50.67); 100 backstroke: Chris Fink, fifth (56.47); 100 breaststroke: Castillo, sixth (1:04.19)
• SHOREWOOD: 200 free: R.J. Hayes, sixth (1:53.27); 200 individual medley: Jay Tomasiewicz, sixth (2:04.62); 200 free relay: Tomasiewicz, Mike Ross, Asher Kaufman and Hayes, fifth (1:34.55)
• BROWN DEER/USM: Billy Wong, 10th, 100 breaststroke (1:07.06)
