Wes Jekel Leads Madison West to Dominant Performance at Wisconsin Boys DI State Championships

Photo Courtesy: MadisonWestAthletics Twitter (@WestRegents)

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The 2019 Wisconsin Boys DI State Swimming and Diving Championships took place on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium in Madison, Wis.

A total of four Wisconsin state records were shattered this weekend. Wes Jekel set a new 100 back mark and helped Madison West to two relay records, while Middleton etched their name in the books with a relay mark of their own.

Behind Jekel, Madison West used their impressive depth to secure their second-straight team title with 314 points ahead of Middleton (257) and Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial (161).

Click HERE for full results.

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Madison West – 314
2. Middleton – 257
3. Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial – 161
4. Franklin – 157
5. Brookfield Central/East – 131.5

Madison West began their winning ways as Jaden Weiss (23.54), Henry Miller (25.67), Jekel(21.00) and Charlie Feller (20.62) won the 4×50 medley relay in 1:30.83, crushing their own state record of 1:32.35 they set last year. Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial finished second in 1:33.69 and Middleton finished a close third in 1:33.78.

Brookfield Central/East’s Braden Rumpit dove to first on the 1-meter board after posting a final score of 486.55. Marquette’s Mike Konle finished second in 476.65 points while Madison Memorial’s Drew Bennett took third with a total score of 456.05.

Brookfield Central/East’s Michael Linnihan cruised to first in the 200 free, stopping the clock in 1:39.00. Also sneaking under the 1:40 mark was Andrew Martin in 1:39.75 for second and Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial’s Caleb Blischke was third in 1:40.98.

Stanford commit Shane Blinkman of Hudson dominated the 200 IM, winning by four seconds in 1:46.99 and was just shy of Paul DeLakis’ state mark of 1:46.18. Middleton’s Nathan Kim raced to second in 1:50.98 while Sauk Prairie Co-op’s Desmon Sachtjen took third in 1:52.80.

Sheboygan North freshman William Hayon splashed-and-dashed his way to first place in the 50 free after posting a final time of 20.76 – only three-tenths off the state record. Franklin’s James Kostrzewa was close behind in 20.82 for second and 20.84 was fast enough for Green Bay Southwest Co-op’s Kaiser Neverman to take third.

Future Wisconsin Badger Jekel flew to the top of the podium in the 100 fly, touching the wall in 48.14 for the win. Arrowhead’s Andrew Nixdorf raced to second with a time of 48.50, followed closely by Madison West’s Constantin Bensch (48.59) for third.

Linnihan added another gold to his hardware collection, this time sprinting to first in the 100 free with a final time of 44.94. Kostrzewa again earned the silver in 45.38 while Madison West’s Isaac Casey grabbed bronze in 45.61.

After taking second in the 200 free, Martin, who will head to Xavier this fall, was back in the water to shave off 10 seconds from his prelims time to win the 500 free in 4:31.12. Stevens Point’s Drew Harris (4:33.51) and Blischke (4:34.04) finished second and third, respectively.

Middleton’s Archer Parkin (21.33), Nate Lamers (20.70), Martin (20.74) and Forrest Peterson (20.35) combined to win the 4×50 free relay in 1:23.12, well under the old state record of 1:24.32 set by Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights in 2009. Madison West was also under the previous mark in 1:23.68 for second and Franklin finished third in 1:24.65.

The 100 back was perhaps the most exciting race of the night as the top three finishers were all under Blinkman’s state record of 48.84 set in 2017. Jekel ultimately got his hand to the wall first to etch his name in the record book in 48.09, followed by Blinkman (48.48) and Nixdorf (48.71).

Muskego’s Ben Gabbey, who has commited to Illinois-Chicago, lead the 100 breast from the start to touch the wall first with a time of 56.04. Madison West teammates rounded out the top three: Feller was second in 56.72 followed by Miller in 56.96 for third.

Madison West secured their team title by winning the 4×100 free relay in dramatic fashion. The squad of Casey (45.99), Andrew Fernandez (46.94), Bensch (45.00) and Jekel (44.31) won in 3:02.24, destroying Madison Memorial’s state record of 3:04.89 set back in 2013. Middleton was second in 3:05.33 and Franklin took third in 3:05.42.

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Isaak Webb

5 years ago

Jo Jekel

Kelley Krueger

5 years ago

Heidi Neverman-Congrats Kaiser!!