Girls swimming and diving preview: What will Cassie Stegner do for an encore? Plus other athletes to watch.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
One and only: Who is the area’s best swimmer? It is Menomonee Falls/Sussex Hamilton junior Cassie Stegner right now. She won Division 1 titles in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle last year and might add more to her trophy case. In addition to her individual events Falls/Hamilton didn’t graduate anyone from a 200 freestyle relay that took third.
Coming back: Cedarburg finished in second last year to tie its best finish at state all-time, but coach Amit Kaul didn’t think the team swam well – he blamed himself for not preparing them better. Many of those competitors will have a chance to make amends. Cedarburg graduated just two seniors.
Missing stars: As you peruse the list of athletes to watch, you’ll notice some standouts are missing. Three of the area’s top performers – Arrowhead’s Alyssa Graves, New Berlin Eisenhower’s Emma Gatzke and Brown Deer/University School’s Katie Hayes, aren’t competing for their high schools this year, their coaches said. Graves would have been the top returner in the Division 1 500 free, Hayes would have been the No. 1 returner in the Division 2 100 butterfly and Gatzke was a top four finisher in Division 2 in the 100 and 200 freestyles.
ATHLETES TO WATCH
Nicole Beckman, sr., Whitnall: The three-time Division 2 qualifier in the 100-yard butterfly has moved up the ranks, making her third-place finish last season the top returner in the event.
Abby Carlson, soph., Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial: The freshman had a smashing prep debut, taking fifth in the 500 free in Division 1 in 5 minutes, 7.17 seconds, qualifying for the 200 free and helping the team’s 200 medley and 400 free relays reach state.
Maddie Guman, sr., New Berlin Eisenhower: Assuming no one changes events and everyone is healthy, Guman will be involved in one of the tighter showdowns at state. She took second in the 100 backstroke in 58.25, three hundredths of a second behind Monona Grove sophomore Mckenzie Hammer.
Isabelle Holbrook, sr., West Bend West/East: She placed in the top 10 in Division 1 in the 100 and 200 freestyle last year. She was better in the 200 where her seventh-place finish in 1:52.19 makes her the No. 3 returner.
Anna Kult, jr., Brookfield Central: She’ll be part of what figures to be a spirited competition in the 100 breaststroke as the season wears on. She took fourth last year in 1:04.48 in Division 1, one of eight competitors in the top 10 who wasn’t a senior.
Stephanie Marks, sr., Germantown: A three-time qualifier in the 100 backstroke, Marks has improved her place from 14th to fifth last year and her time from 58.21 as a freshman to 56.30 last season.
Olivia Meinberg, jr., Hartford/Slinger: Though injured last year, she advanced to state with school record times of 23.79 in the 50 free and 51.86 in the 100 free. At state, she topped that 50 free time with a 23.73 that was good for fifth place in an event that will be stacked this season.
Anna Oleniczak, jr., New Berlin Eisenhower: A two-time state qualifier in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley, Oleniczak really shined in the IM. Based on her fourth-place finish in Division 2 in 2:10.11, she is the No. 2 returner in that event, just a hair behind Deforest’s Haley Willis.
Erika Remington, sr., Cedarburg: The three-year state qualifier has won state relay titles the past two years. Last year was her best individual showing yet: a fourth-place finish in the 50 free (23.71) and a fifth-place effort in the 100 free (55.89).
McKenze Sanchez, sr., Racine Case: The three-time state qualifier keeps climbing the ranks. She took second in Division 1 diving last year with a score of 494.45. As a sophomore, she was fourth (459.15) and freshman year she took fifth (423.05).
Cassie Stegner, jr., Menomonee Falls/Sussex Hamilton: Stegner made a big jump from freshman year when she took ninth and fourth, respectively, in the 100 and 200 freestyles in 52.48 seconds and 1 minute, 51.58 seconds to last season when she won both events in 51.03 and 1:49.77.
Leah Tunney, sr., Homestead: Tunney has competed at state for the past three years, but last season was the first time she swam the 500 free. She took fourth in the event in Division 1 with a time of 5:06.73, for her best state showing. She is the No. 2 returner in the event.
Reilly Tiltmann, soph., Brookfield East: She made an immediate impact as a freshman, taking fourth in Division 1 in the 100 butterfly (55.78) and 100 backstroke (55.29) and swimming legs on the team’s 400 freestyle and 200 medley relays.