Late rush nets relays title for GD/GF swimmers

Greendale - In his planning for the Dec. 7 Woodland Conference Relays, Greendale/Greenfield boys swimming coach Dale Schrank set up his team for a strong finish.

His strategy paid off in a big way, as the Panther-Hawks rallied to win the relays with 268 points to successfully defend their crown.

Greendale/Greenfield trailed by 38 points with only three races left in the meet at Cudahy High School but claimed both the 300 backstroke and 300 breaststroke events, then took third in the 100 freestyle to capture the crown. The Panther-Hawks had not led since the opening swimming event.

They edged out New Berlin's 258 points and Shorewood's 248 points in the nine-team meet.

Whitnall also did well in the meet, winning the 100 medley and tallying 228 points for a solid fourth place, well ahead of Wauwatosa's fifth-place score of 164.

Greendale/Greenfield's Schrank said he knew his team could come back from that imposing late deficit.

"Being 38 points behind could have been very discouraging to most teams, but we knew that our last three relays were 'loaded' (packed with top swimmers) and that we still had a chance to defend our crown," he said.

Zach Hogan, Ricky Perez, Shaun Fleischhacker and Andrew Staszak teamed to win the 300 backstroke in 2 minutes, 49.87 seconds to begin the comeback.

Jeff Jacobs, Ross Rybakowicz, Hogan and Perez followed by taking the 300 breaststroke in 3:18.22, then Adam Fleischhacker, Nathan Matecki, Shaun Lucchesi and Will Kivlin grabbed third in the 100 freestyle at 47.62 seconds to lock up the title.

The Panther-Hawks also won the 500 freestyle with Joey Hannah, Adam Fleischhacker, Lucchesi and Staszak in 4:35.04 and the diving with Kivlin, Liam Duffy and Jake Howard at 282.7 points. Howard was diving in only his second varsity meet.

Schrank needed many boys to come through, some in unfamiliar events, to win the meet.

"There were no fewer than 11 spots where athletes were competing for the first time in those events at this level," the coach said. "To keep all our relays legal, and for us to still be competitive, speaks volumes for the focus of the team."

Schrank said swimmers such as Cedric Olinger, Andrew Semancik, Matecki and Hannah all had to make contributions, while Kivlin, primarily a diver, had to also swim in three relays.

Taking second were Shaun Fleischhacker, Jacobs, Hogan and Perez in the 400 individual medley (4:13.03), Staszak, Adam Fleischhacker, Lucchesi and Hogan in the 800 freestyle (7:51.76) and Shaun Fleischhacker, Rybakowicz, Staszak and Jacobs in the 400 medley (4:01.81).

Earning third were Shaun Fleischhacker, Rybakowicz, Hannah and Kivlin in the 200 medley (1:53.34) and Semancik, Rybakowicz, Hannah and Perez in the 300 butterfly (2:54). Olinger, Adam Fleischhacker, Lucchesi and Hannah took fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:43.62).

Rybakowicz, Hogan, both Fleischhackers, Staszak, Jacobs, Lucchesi and Perez won medals in every event they swam, Schrank said.

Whitnall

The Falcons reached their team goal for the meet with their fourth-place finish.

"We placed sixth last year, so our goal was to improve on our placing," coach George Guddie said. "We were fourth and just 20 points shy of third place."

The 100 medley team of Ben Hinson, Jake Hodel, Nate Hinson and David Monteilh won its race in 52.18 seconds to lead five teams in the top three for the Falcons.

The 100 freestyle group of Monteilh, Evan Naumann, Nick Ratkowski and Alex Knighton came in second with 46.78.

Earning third were Knighton, Nate Hinson, Monteilh and Jake Arteaga in the 200 freestyle (1 minute, 42.84 seconds); Ben Hinson, Hodel, Nate Hinson and Ratkowski in the 400 medley (4:14.4); Naumann, Alex Bell, Jack Larson and Hodel in the 300 breaststroke (3:28.34) and Nick Bell, Jake Damro and Nick Olson in diving (234.65 points).

Taking fourth were the 200 medley unit of Ratkowski, Alex Bell, Larson and Nick Bell (1:58.33), the 300 butterfly squad of Alex Bell, Nate Hinson, Knighton and Larson (3:07.51) and the 400 freestyle group of Damro, Naumann, Ratkowski and Ben Hinson (4:00.03).

"Overall, we had a strong meet with everyone swimming well this early in the season," Guddie said.