D.C. Everest, SPASH swimmers qualify for Division 1 state meet

Scott A. Williams
Stevens Point Journal

STEVENS POINT - Stevens Point Area Senior High sophomore Drew Harris and Chad Franz are headed back to the WIAA Division I Swimming & Diving Meet again.

Freshman Ben Halambeck and Brennan Neitzel earned the right to compete in Madison for the first time for D.C. Everest.

The same can be said for Evergreens sophomore Payton Rudeen and junior Chad Franz of SPASH. The DCE trio will also be joined by junior Zach Rahn as part of the winning 200-yard medley relay.

All sectional champions automatically advance to the Division 1 state meet Feb. 16 and 17 at the UW Natatorium in Madison

Harris, who qualified for state in the 500 freestyle as a freshman, doubled his pleasure this time around. He'll represent the Panthers in the 500 and 100 backstroke.

The sophomore dominated both events. Harris cruised to a win in the 500 in 4:45.79 to beat his nearest competitor by almost six seconds. His winning time of 53.21 seconds in the backstroke was four and a half seconds ahead of the runner-up.

SPASH sophomore Drew Harris stands on the first-place platform after winning the 500-yard freestyle to qualify for state at the Wisconsin Rapids Sectional on Saturday at UW-Stevens Point.

"I definitely had some goal times that I wanted to hit and I definitely got them. I was really happy with my swims," Harris said. "The 500 just felt really good and I felt it from the very beginning.

"I still feel like I have something to prove and I'm very excited."

Halambeck and Neitzel lived up to their top seeds in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly, respectively.

After being pushed by Eau Claire Memorial/North's Ryan Biwer over the first two legs, Halambeck took charge in the breaststroke leg and cruised to a winning time of 2:01.18.

"In the breaststroke and freestyle I really emphasize pushing hard," Halambeck said. "It really feels great as a swimmer and an athlete. All of my life I've strived for things like this. All season I've been working hard to try and get this. It really felt good to win."

He broke a school record in the event, a theme that would hold true for a lot of area swimmers.

Neitzel turned in a record-breaking performance in the 100 butterfly to top the field by nearly two seconds with a time of 51.23 seconds.

He admitted being the top seed and a freshman seeking his first trip to state brought some nerves.

"I was nervous coming into that. I just used that as motivation to go faster. I don't know if I really coped with that," Neitzel said. "It's amazing. Actually. I think it's a little overwhelming making it (to state as a freshman)."

Rudeen may have pulled off the biggest surprise. He came in seeded third in the 100 breaststroke but pulled away from the field to win in a time of 1:01.31 — nearly four seconds faster than his seed time.

D.C. Everest sophomore Payton Rudeen stands on the first-place platform after winning the 100-yard breaststroke to qualify for state at the Wisconsin Rapids Sectional on Saturday at UW-Stevens Point.

Franz had the closest call of all the area swimmers guaranteed state berths.

He entered the sectional with the top seed time in the 200 freestyle and wound up nipping Hudson's Steven Asmus by two-hundreths of a second to become a sectional champion in 1:47.24.

"I was just hoping (Asmus) wouldn't get me at the end there. I was kind of looking at him the last 50 (yards) because I was hurting pretty bad," Franz said. "It was a lot closer than I wanted it to be.

"Last year I missed out (on qualifying for state) in my individual event by one place. I'm really glad to get back (to state) and be able to swim against some great guys at state."

The rest of the swimmers for DCE, SPASH, Wisconsin Rapids and Marshfield will have to wait and see if their times are good enough to qualify.

The next 18 fastest in each event from all six sectionals combined also earn spots at state. Those will be determined Sunday.

The Evergreens placed third in the team standings with 304 points, with SPASH right behind in fourth at 252 points. Eau Claire co-op took home the team title with 378.

Wisconsin Rapids placed seventh with 148 and Marshfield was eighth at 134.

 

Automatic State Qualfiers

200 medley relay: 1. D.C. Everest (Brennan Neitzel, Payton Rudeen, Ben Halambeck, Zach Rhan), 1:38.51. 200 freestyle: 1. Chad Franz (SPASH), 1:47.24. 200 IM: 1. Ben Halambeck (DCE), 2:01.18. 50 freestyle: 1. Garrett Wise (Holmen), 21.43. 100 butterfly: 1. Brennan Neitzel (DCE), 51.23. 100 freestyle: 1. Wise (Holmen), . 500 freestyle: 1. Drew Harris (SPASH), 4:45.79. 200 freestyle relay: Holmen co-op (Garrett Wise, Evan Weber, Harrison White, Issac Killilea), 1:31.81. 100 backstroke: 1. Drew Harris (SPASH), 53.21. 100 breaststroke: 1. Payton Rudeen (DCE), 1:01.31. 400 freestyle relay: 1. Eau Claire Memorial/North (Jack Merkatoris, Garrett Secker, Ryan Biwer, Sam Hower), 3:17.83.