Klein, swimmers headed to state

At first, it appeared that if it wasn’t for bad luck, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights senior co-captain Daniel Klein would have no luck at all. A collapsed right lung – pneumothorax – cost him most of his junior swimming season and an opportunity to earn his first trip to the state meet. Then just when Klein appeared on course to earn a state berth in his final season, disaster struck. During practice on Jan. 8, that familiar feeling came flooding back. “It was hard to breathe, and I thought, ‘oh, no,’ ” Klein said Sunday evening. “When it wasn’t going away, I figured it had happened again. Klein soon discovered his worst fears had come true when he suffered another pneumothorax in his right lung. He was told his senior season was over and so were his dreams of swimming at the state meet. But last Saturday, Klein overcame his latest setback and competed in the 200-yard medley relay for Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights at the WIAA Division 2 McFarland sectional. The relay, which also included sophomore Carston Lamont, junior Adam Kaukl, and freshman Ethan Goodman finished second in a time of 1 minute, 40.38 seconds to earn a berth at the WIAA Division 2 state meet. The Eagles will compete in the fast heat at state Friday evening at Waukesha South and are seeded sixth. “We were seeded sixth, and we dropped seven seconds and got second,” Klein said of the Eagles’ sectional finish. “It was a great way to start off the meet.” Host McFarland repeated as the Division 2 Sectional champion with 392 points. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights also repeated as runner-up with 270 points. Madison Edgewood (265), Baraboo (219) and Stoughton (217) rounded out the top five. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights head coach Todd Wuerger said the 200-yard medley relay gave the Eagles a boost which they were able to capitalize on and qualify six individual swims and all three relays for the state meet. “Once you get the momentum on your side, there’s nothing stopping you,” Wuerger said. “All of their teammates watched that race and they were like ‘whoa’, and then it just got better after that. That was a great meet.” Remarkably, the state qualifiers for the Eagles included the 200-yard medley relay, and Klein had finally achieved his life-long dream. “We found out a little over a week ago that there was a possibility that Daniel could return,” said Wuerger, who added that two days into his hospital stay in January, Klein was originally told his season was over. “After undergoing surgery, the surgeon told Daniel there was no reason he couldn’t return this season. After a consultation last Tuesday, the surgeon wrote a letter stating that Daniel could return with no restrictions.” Klein said he never lost hope of competing. “I wasn’t going to give up on the season,” he said. “It was important to me.  “In individual sports like this, you’re usually just pushing yourself. But the team environment we have is extremely strong, like a family, basically.” Wuerger said the sectional lineup had already been submitted so he couldn’t enter Klein in an individual event. However, Klein was listed as an alternate for the relays, so he was able to compete on the medley relay in the 50-yard breaststroke. “We had a swim-off on Friday with Daniel and Caleb Gregg,” Wuerger said. “Daniel won by more than half a second, so boom, he was on the relay.” Wuerger said he was amazed when Daniel swam a 28.3 second split at sectionals. “He got some swims in during practice leading up to sectionals, but he hadn’t swam in a meet since the Marquette Invitational on Jan. 6,” Wuerger said.  Wuerger said it was an incredible story about a young man who had never been to state before and this was going to be his year.  “He likely would have gone (to state) in three races,” Wuerger said. “He was told he couldn’t swim any more, Then, he finds out he can swim again. We find a way to get him in a position where he can compete for a spot again. He wins the swim-off and is going to state.  “It’s amazing what Daniel has had to overcome the last few weeks. To step on the block and deliver. There was no guarantee that the relay was going to get in and here they’re the sixth seed at the state meet. Isn’t that crazy?” Senior co-captain Anthony Rosario agreed. “It’s inspiring for the younger kids,” Rosario said. “Even if you don’t think you can do it, you can do it.” Wuerger said the theme for the Eagles’ season was ‘Hold the rope’. “As the story goes, there is a guy hanging from a cliff by a rope and the rest of his team is holding him up to keep him from falling and dying,” Wuerger said. “The story there is ‘don’t let your team down.’ You’re always holding the rope for your teammate.” To honor Klein, Wuerger said the Eagles added another chant to their rallying cry at every meet — ‘For Daniel.’ “That means a lot. I put my heart and soul into the sport,” said Klein, whose brother, Jacob, is a sophomore on the team. “To see them support me has been really nice.” Rosario said this is something he will always remember about his senior year. “We have made a lot of improvement all year. I like the camaraderie,” said Rosario, a returning state qualifier. “Everybody got along. No one was left out. We’re all comfortable with each other.” With four underclassmen returning with state experience, Wuerger said he is excited about the Eagles’ future. “We’re looking forward to next year and beyond because these freshmen, even the ones who didn’t qualify for state, have a lot of potential,” he said. “The future looks great.” That begins with Goodman, who will make his state debut in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing fifth in 22.60 seconds. He earned the 12th seed at state after breaking the school freshman record. “That’s a big deal, to beat a freshman record,” Wuerger said. “The freshman records are fast.” Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights qualified two swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly, Lamont, who finished fourth in 52.85 seconds, is seeded seventh. Kaukl, who was seventh in 54.12, is seeded 11th at state. Rosario qualified in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing third in 5:04.48, 11 seconds better than his qualifying time for state in the event a year ago.  He is seeded 10th at state. Also making his state debut is freshman Caleb Gregg, who was fourth at sectionals in 5:09.99 and is seeded 16th at state. Lamont also qualified in the 100-yard backstroke with a fourth-place finish in 54.90 seconds and is seeded eighth. Both the Eagles’ 200 and 400 freestyle relays will also compete at state. Kaukl, Gregg, Goodman and Rosario placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:34.32 and are seeded 12th. Kaulk, Goodman, Rosario and Cranston took third in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:24.31 and are seeded eighth. Wuerger said a top-10 finish in the team competition is a reasonable goal. “Like they do every year, the guys will have to swim up and earn it,” he said. “But I definitely see the potential for us to move up or move down. McFarland is a fast pool just like Sauk Prairie for the sectionals was a fast pool last year. “But Waukesha South, in my opinion, is one of the fastest pools in the state, if not the fastest pool. So generally, there is room for your times to come down. You’re in a faster facility, but our guys are gamers.” For example, Wuerger said that last year, between sectional and state, Lamont re-tapered very well and came back stronger at state.  “Most of our swims last year, the guys continued to improve,” Wuerger said. “They’re going to have to swim inspired. There are some podium finishes within reach. That might be their inspiration. But any time you can finish top ten as a team, it’s great.” • On deck: Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights will compete at the WIAA Division 2 state championships meet on Friday at Waukesha South High School. The diving competition starts at 1:30 p.m. and the swimming competition begins at 5:30 p.m.   Feb. 10 WIAA Division 2 McFarland Sectional Team scores: 1, McFarland, 392; 2, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 270; 3, Edgewood, 265; 4, Baraboo, 219; 5, Stoughton, 217; 6, Monona Grove, 215; 7, DeForest, 154; 8, Milton, 108; 9, Mount Horeb, 83; 10, Platteville/Lancaster, 67; 11, Edgerton/Evansville, 60.                                              200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, McFarland (B. TeBeest, Nygaard, S. Tebeest, Morrison), 1:34.57; 2, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Carston Lamont, Daniel Klein, Adam Kaukl, Ethan Goodman), 1:40.38; 3, Stoughton, 1:40.76; 4, Madison Edgewood, 1:41.94; 5, Monona Grove, 1:43.28; 6, DeForest, 1:43.66.  200 Yard Freestyle: 1, VandenBrook, Edgewood, 1:41.40; 2, Hall, McFarland, 1:42.34; 3, O’Leary, 1:47.14; 4, Best, Mount Horeb, 1:49.52; 5, Vega, McFarland, 1:50.67; 6, Urzagaste, Edgewood, 1:53.14. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 7, Anthony Rosario, 1:53.37; 8, Levi Shadewald, 1:56.23; 18, Evan Schultze, 2:09.14.   200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, B. TeBeest, McFarland, 1:56.39; 2, Callender, Stoughton, 1:57.44; 3, Johnson, Monona Grove, 1:58.99; 4, Prahl, Edgewood, 1:59.66; 5, Caldera, Edgewood, 1:59.83; 6, Morrison, McFarland, 1:59.86. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 11, Jacob Klein, 2:09.53.   50 Yard Freestyle: 1, S. Tebeest, McFarland, :21.32; 2, C. TeBeest, McFarland, :21.54; 3, Wunderlin, Platteville/Lancaster, :21.72; 4, Reiser, Stoughton, :21.95; 5, Ethan Goodman, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :22.60; 6, Olson, Mount Horeb, :22.86. Other Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 16, Connor McQueen, :24.79.   100 Yard Butterfly: 1, VandenBrook, Edgewood, :51.18; 2, S. Tebeest, McFarland, :52.58; 3, C. TeBeest, McFarland, :52.72; 4, Carston Lamont, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :52.85; 5, Johnson, Monona Grove, :53.04; 6, Caldera, Edgewood, :53.06. Other Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 7, Adam Kaukl, :54.12; 9, Finnegan Ruyle, :56.57; 17, Connor McQueen, 1:01.86.   100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Hall, McFarland, :46.41; 2, Wunderlin, Platteville/Lancaster, :48.25; 3, Morrison, McFarland, :48.94; 4, Best, Mount Horeb, :49.25; 5, Wagner, DeForest, :49.87; 6, Reuter, Baraboo, :50.22.   500 Yard Freestyle: 1, O’Leary, DeForest, 4:49.94; 2, Vega, McFarland, 5:04.11; 3, Anthony Rosario, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 5:04.48; 4, Caleb Gregg, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 5:09.99; 5, Levi Shadewald, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 5:10.22; 6, Phillips, McFarland, 5:12.62; Other Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 10, Evan Schultze, 5:41.27.   200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, McFarland  (C. TeBeest, Nygaard, Morrison, Hall), 1:26.98; 2, Stoughton, 1:31.08; 3, Edgewood, 1:32.67; 4, Baraboo, 1:33.83, 5, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Adam Kaukl, Caleb Gregg, Ethan Goodman, Anthony Rosario) 1:34.32; 6, DeForest, 1:35.12.   100 Yard Backstroke: 1, B. TeBeest, McFarland, :50.91; 2, Reuter, Baraboo, :53.69; 3, Furst, McFarland, :54.88; 4, Carston Lamont, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :54.90; 5, Finnegan Ruyle, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :58.89; 6, Salzmann, Monona Grove, 1:00.13.   100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Callender, Stoughton, :57.62; 2, Nygaard, McFarland, :58.90; 3, Reiser, Stoughton, 1:00.04; 4, Prahl, Edgewood, 1:00.87; 5, McGlynn, Monona Grove, 1:01.64; 6, Sorg, Stoughton, 1:03.69. Other Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 7, Jacob Klein, 1:05.85; 14, Caleb Gregg, 1:09.49.   400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, McFarland (S. Tebeest, C. TeBeest, B. TeBeest, Hall), 3:09.20; 2, Edgewood, 3:16.59; 3, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Adam Kaukl, Ethan Goodman, Anthony Rosario, Carston Lamont), 3:24.31; 4, Monona Grove, 3:24.60; 5, Baraboo, 3:26.59; 6, DeForest, 3:29.71.