Sunday, September 15, 2024
By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON—Despite not winning a single individual event, the Ashwaubenon Jaguars swim team won the WIAA Division 2 Sectional, Feb. 9, by three points over the Cedarburg Bulldogs.
“It was a meet that I felt could go to either Cedarburg, Plymouth, or us,” said Ashwaubenon swim coach Jim Merner. “We started today’s swimming portion 40 points behind and knew our best events were at the back end of the meet. It was fun to see everything unfold during the last couple of events.”
Spencer Klika finished second in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle races, and Joe Steffel took home third place honors in the 200-yard IM and 100-yard breaststroke.
What better way than to have the meet come down to the last swim of the day!
With points doubled, the Jaguars needed to stave off Cedarburg to ensure the team title would be theirs.
It wasn’t easy, but Ashwaubenon edged out the Bulldogs by less than a second in the 400-yard relay race behind a raucous crowd at the Ashwaubenon Community Pool.
“Spencer gave us tremendous swims in the freestyle swims, but outstanding contributions in the relays,” added Merner. “Joe also contributed greatly with his third-place finishes. We have one of the faster sectionals for swimming, but we’ll have to see how the rest of the sectionals go as far as getting guys through to state as only the winner is automatic.”
Ben Bouchard was a double winner on the day for the Pulaski Red Raiders as he blitzed the field in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle races.
Ashwaubenon and Pulaski Results (Top 3 finishes)
Event 3: Boys 200 Yard Freestyle
1 Ben Bouchard, SR, Pulaski,1:45.28.
Event 4: Boys 200 Yard IM
3 Joe Steffel, JR, Ashwaubenon, 2:02.51.
Event 5: Boys 50 Yard Freestyle
2 Spencer Klika, JR, Ashwaubenon, 22.58.
Event 7: Boys 100 Yard Freestyle
1 Bouchard, SR, Pulaski, 48.86.
2 Klika, JR, Ashwaubenon, 49.47.
Event 8: Boys 500 Yard Freestyle
3 Jackson Hodek, FR, Ashwaubenon, 5:03.17.
Event 9: Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
3 Ashwaubenon, 1:31.99
1) Klika JR, 2) Nick Messamore SO, 3) Steffel JR, 4) Dylan Landsinger SR.
Event 11: Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke
3 Steffel, JR, Ashwaubenon, 1:01.61.
Event 12: Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay
3 Ashwaubenon, 3:24.43
1) Klika JR, 2) Cooper Herr FR, 3) Ryan Van Dyck SR, 4) Steffel JR,
WIAA Swim Sectional Team Points: Final Results
1 Ashwaubenon 286, 2 Cedarburg 283, 3 Plymouth 276, 4 Grafton 225, 5 Kiel/Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah 205.5, 6 Sturgeon Bay 196.5, 7 Chilton 195, 8 Pulaski 172, 8 Berlin/Green Lake 172, 10 Port Washington 139, 11 Two Rivers/Roncalli 48.
