How does a native of England who swam at Southern Illinois and coached in Mississippi wind up making an impact coaching swimmers in Janesville? Follow along...
Whitewater junior Ella Houwers has all the tangibles necessary to be one of the top prep swimmers in the state. She proved it once again Friday night.
Milton High senior Danielle Cramer wrapped up her prolific prep swimming career Saturday by picking up two more medals at the WIAA Division 1 state swimming and diving meet.
Photo gallery: Images from the WIAA Division 2 state girls swim meet on Friday at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium.
Ella Houwers of Whitewater defended her state title in the 100 breaststroke Friday night at the WIAA Division 2 state swimming and diving meet.
The WIAA state girls swimming and diving meets for Division 1 and Division 2 will have plenty of local flavor.
Whitewater junior Ella Houwers won two events and swam on a winning relay team to lead area swimmers at Division 1 and Division 2 sectional meets Saturday
Milton High freshman swimmer Bailey Ratzburg improved her record in individual races this season to 28-0 with a pair of titles Saturday at the Badger South Conference meet at Madison Edgewood.
Bailey Ratzburg and Danielle Cramer won two events each Saturday to lead Milton's girls swim team to the Cougar Sprint Meet title.
Madison Memorial downs visiting Janesville Craig
The Janesville Craig and Janesville Parker/Evansville girls swim teams lost in Big Eight Conference duals Friday.
Kailee Sitter and Tadyn McCann finished 1-2 in the 500 freestyle to highlight Janesville Parker/Evansville’s Big Eight Conference dual meet against visiting Madison West
Sydney Guenther won two events and was a member of two winning relay teams as Janesville Craig defeated visiting Madison East 114-56 in Big Eight Conference girls swimming Friday.
Danielle Cramer, who has qualified for the WIAA state girls swim meet each of the past three years, announced last weekend she will swim for Minnesota, achieving a dream that began for her when she was 13 years old.
Danielle Cramer and Bailey Ratzburg won two events each Saturday to lead Milton High's girls swim team to a third-place finish at the Blackhawk Invitational.
Ally Donagan and Sydney Guenther each picked up an individual win and helped the Janesville Craig girls swim team win the 400-yard freestyle in a 100-62 Big Eight Conference dual winÂ
Gaby de Moya-Cotter is a three-time state swim qualifier. The Edgerton senior would like nothing better than to end her prep career with a fourth straight trip.
The Vikings won only five of 11 events but still finished well ahead of the host Lancers, 99-65.Â
Led by a pair of wins from Danielle Cramer and Bailey Ratzburg, Milton High's girls swim team finished second Saturday at the Elkhorn Invitational, while Craig freshman Ally Donagan continues to find success in her freshman season.
Visiting Sun Prairie downs Parker/Evansville 138-32, while host Verona/Mount Horeb downs Craig 121-49
Parker/Evansville finished with 258 points to win the five-team title, with Janesville Craig second with 246.
With Kailee Sitter and Tadyn McCann each picking up multiple wins in their home pool, the Vikings defeated the Cougars 92-78--beating their crosstown foes for the first time since 2009. Â
Visiting Beloit Memorial knocked off Janesville Craig 95-75, and host Verona/Mount Horeb downed Janesville Parker/Evansville 118-52.
The girls high school swim season begins Friday for Janesville Craig and the Janesville Parker/Evansville co-op team.
Ella Houwers spent the last year developing her skills in the butterfly and backstroke so she could be one of the most well-rounded swimmers in the state. And yet she was persistent in remaining elite in the breaststroke.
On Friday night, all of that added up to the first state championship in Whitewater’s girls program’s history, and Houwers added three other state medals earlier in the night.
The Milton High junior swam the 100-yard backstroke in 56.11 seconds Saturday, finishing fifth in the event and posting the top finish for any area swimmer at the UW-Madison Natatorium. Â
Houwers won a state title and set a school record in the 100-yard breaststroke, topping a 16-swimmer field in a time of 1 minute, 5.34 seconds to become the Whippets' first girls champion.Â
The WIAA state girls swim meets are Friday (Division 2) and Saturday (Division 1) in Madison.
WIAA girls swim sectional competitions were Saturday, with the top competitors advancing to the state meet later this week.
Janesville Craig was eighth with 34 points. Janesville Parker/Evansville was 10th with 10 points.
Rylee Coleman, Allison Blank and Sommer Rhodes were part of two winning relays to lead Janesville Craig's girls swim team to a second-place finish Saturday at the Cougar Relays.
Kailee Sitter won the 500-meter freestyle in 5 minutes, 46.47 seconds, while Megan Klinger won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:18.11 to lead the Vikings.Â
West Bend West/East easily took the team title with 605.5 points. Host Beloit was second at 375.5, with Badger High third at 346. Edgerton collected 308 points, while Janesville Parker/Evansville was eighth with 239, and Delavan-Darien/Wisconsin School for the Deaf had 84.
Sommer Rhodes and Rylee Coleman combined to win three events Friday as the Janesville Craig girls swim team fell in a Big Eight Conference dual at home against Madison West. Kailee Sitter picked up Janesville Parker/Evansville's only win against Madison Memorial.Â
The Regents defeated the Vikings 136-34 at Parker High School.
Division 2 powerhouses Baraboo and Madison Edgewood finished first and second with 418.5 and 410 points, respectively. Craig was third with 277 and Milton was fifth with 241.
Sommer Rhodes, Kaylee Oja and Rylee Coleman each secured two individual wins as the Janesville Craig High girls swim team defeated Madison East 117-53; Middleton downed Parker 137-33.Â
Danielle Cramer is a two-time Division 1 state qualifier in swim, and if the early results are any indication, the Milton High junior should be headed back to the UW Natatorium for a third straight year.
Five notable performances in area high school sports from the past week and five events to watch over the next seven days.
Kailee Sitter won two individual races and contributed to a winning relay as the Janesville Parker/Evansville girls swim team defeated Madison East on Friday.
The Spartans finished with 550 points, with Milton finishing a distant second with 313. Janesville Parker/Evansville was sixth.
The Thunderbirds finished with 376 points, with Bartlett (Ill.) finishing second with 346. Janesville Craig was third with 322 and host Parker/Evansville co-op team was ninth with 242.
Cassidy Carey won the 100-yard backstroke in 1 minute, 0.52 seconds to give the Vikings their only win in a 135-35 loss, while the Cougars fell 124-66 against Verona.Â
The Cougars (1-1 Big Eight) won the Big Eight Conference dual, 106-64. The Vikings fell to 0-2 in league duals.Â
Two freshmen topped the list of finishers as Janesville Parker/Evansville began its Big Eight Conference girls swimming season against visiting Verona/Mount Horeb on Friday night. Janesville Craig came up just short in its Big Eight Conference meet at Beloit on Friday night.
The 2018 high school fall sports schedule begins Thursday as Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker and Milton's girls golf teams tee off.
