Eagles’ swimmers psyched for state

For Adam Kaukl, it was an easy choice. While Kaukl had his sights set on earning a trip to the state swim meet in two individual events, the Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights senior co-captain did what was best for the team. So, for the second year in a row, Kaukl will compete at state in the 100-yard butterfly, as well as all three relays at the WIAA Division 2 boys state swimming meet at Waukesha South High School on Friday night. “He was in the exact same four races as he was a year ago,” Eagles coach Todd Wuerger said after Kaukl competed at the Sauk Prairie Sectional last Saturday. “Without Adam swimming fly on the medley relay, we probably don’t get that relay in.  “So, that was strategic. Adam, being the team player he is, was willing to forgo one of his individual races to be on a third relay to give three other guys a chance to swim at state who might not otherwise get a chance. I think the world of Adam. He’s a team-first guy. For him to do that, two years in a row, says a lot about him and his leadership.” Wuerger said the 200-yard medley relay, which finished fourth at sectionals in 1 minute, 43.77 seconds, gave the Eagles a boost which helped them eventually qualify all three relays and eight individual swims for the state meet.  “I’m very excited. This year we’re sending quite a few guys, so it will be a fun meet,” said Kaukl, whose goal is to make his first podium finish in his final high school competition. “I’m happy to see guys who didn’t make it to state last year put in the work and rise above the challenge and make it. It’s awesome to see everyone making it.” Kaukl also placed third in the 100 butterfly (52.63) and is seeded sixth at state. He was 13th at state a year ago (54.85). “That’s something I’ll always remember, overcoming my time in the butterfly at sectionals,” Kaukl said. “That was a personal best. It was encouraging and exciting for me, by almost 1 ½ seconds. But I’m proud to be part of three relays at state.” The Eagles’ 200 medley relay team of sophomore Levi Shadewald (backstroke), junior Jacob Klein (breaststroke), Kaukl (butterfly) and senior co-captain Connor McQueen (freestyle) is seeded ninth at state. “Every coach just loves to have a medley relay to get the meet off to a good start, just to have a presence,” Wuerger said.  That was just the beginning, though, as Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights qualified both the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays, as well. Kaukl will swim the third leg on the 200-yard freestyle relay, along with sophomore Ethan Goodman, McQueen and sophomore Caleb Gregg. The Eagles finished fourth at sectionals (1:32.32) and are seeded ninth at state.  Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights will wrap up the meet with the 400 freestyle relay, which will include Kaukl, Goodman, sophomore Cy Welch and McQueen. The Eagles were fourth at sectionals (3:25.64) and are seeded 10th at state. Wuerger couldn’t have been more pleased with their state seedings and lane assignments. “I really like the seedings of all three relays. They are all seeded in a really nice spot,” Wuerger said. “Oftentimes, you don’t consider being in the first heat a great spot. But they’re all in an inside lane, lane four, lane four, and lane five.  “Why that becomes an advantage is if that relay is out ahead of everybody else, which it should be by their seed time, you have smooth water without having to break down waves. Often those relays can go fast enough to get into the top eight, if not make the podium.” The success of the Eagles’ three relays played a key role as Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finished runner-up in the team standings at the sectional meet for the third year in a row. McFarland repeated as a Division 2 sectional champion with 399 points, while Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights was second with 331 points. Baraboo (261), Edgewood (247) and Stoughton (233) rounded out the top five. Wuerger said the Eagles’ sectional meet performance has him optimistic that his squad can improve upon last season’s 10th-place finish at state. “With having a couple more individual qualifiers, and I think our seeds are better than they were a year ago, they’ve all gotten better,” he said. “I feel we can be better than last year.” Shadewald was the Eagles’ lone sectional meet champion, placing first in the 500 freestyle in 4:57.39. Gregg also qualified for state in the event with a runner-up finish in 5:12.25. They are seeded sixth and 14th at state, respectively. Wuerger said that was one of the meet’s many highlights for the Eagles. “I suspected Levi or Caleb would get under 5 minutes. Neither one of them had broken 5 minutes before in the 500,” Wuerger said. “For Levi to do it and be the sectional champ, that was awesome. We haven’t had someone break 5 (minutes) for a while now. It’s been many years.” Shadewald also advanced to state in the 200 individual medley, finishing fifth at sectionals (2:07.19). He is seeded ninth. Goodman also made it to state in his two individual events. He placed second in the 100 freestyle (47.76) where he is seeded third. He was third in the 50 freestyle (21.82), where he is seeded fifth. He was 14th in the 50-yard freestyle as a freshman, racing to the finish in 22.73 seconds.  Wuerger said Goodman’s finish in the 100 freestyle was a strong performance. “I figured in the 50, he would get under 22 seconds,” Wuerger said. “But I didn’t think he would go down to 47.7 in the 100 free. That’s fast. That was a bit of a surprise in a big way.” Klein rounded out the individual state qualifiers for Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights. He advanced in the 100 butterfly with a fourth-place finish (56.90) and is seeded 13th. He was fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1.04.60) and is seeded 14th.  “He is a talented swimmer, but had so many problems with injuries this year,” Kaukl said of Klein. “Seeing him get over them and making it to state is surprising, but not unwelcome by any means. I was very happy to see him make it in the fly.” With only Goodman and Kaukl returning from last year’s state meet, Kaukl was proud of his teammates’ continued improvement all season. “I’m happy for the new guys. I remember how excited I was last year making it for the first time,” Kaukl said. “To see them working so hard and having it pay off is rewarding, Having a team come with me is a lot of fun. “Last year we had a strong team culture, but this year tops that out by a mile. We’re here for each other. When one guy goes down, we step up and fix it and make it work until they come back. We’re encouraging all the way.” McQueen, who is making his state meet debut, agreed. “It was pretty shocking to see that many entries and guys go (to state),” he said. “The number one thing about the team that I appreciate is the atmosphere and how our friendship and our bond between teammates is not like any other sport in Sauk.  “It’s almost like a brotherhood. We’re close and are there for each other.” After spending the past three years at state as a fan, McQueen couldn’t be more pleased to finish his prep career on the deck at state as a competitor. “Part of it is getting rewarded for all of your years of hard work,” McQueen said. “Another thing is I get to have another high school meet.  “I went to every single state meet while I was in high school. It’s exciting sitting in the stands but I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in the meet, and I’ve very excited to be experiencing that.” • 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. 15 WIAA Division 2 Sauk Prairie Sectional Team scores: 1. McFarland, 399; 2. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 331; 3. Baraboo, 261; 4. Madison Edgewood, 247; 5. Stoughton, 233; 6. Fort Atkinson, 139; 7. Wayland Academy, 129; 8. Jefferson/Cambridge, 106; 9. Edgerton/Evansville, 102 ; 10. Platteville/Lancaster, 59; 11. Mount Horeb, 31.                        One-meter diving: 1 G. Powers, Edgewood, 311.45.   200 Yard Medley Relay: 1 McFarland (B. TeBeest, P. Nygaard, S. Tebeest, C. Tebeest), 1:33.49; 2 Stoughton, 1:40.01; 3 Edgewood, 1:42.77; 4 Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Levi Shadewald, Jacob Klein, Adam Kaukl, Connor McQueen), 1:43.77.   200 Yard Freestyle: 1. Caldera, Edgewood, 1:46.74; 2. Balfanz, Baraboo, 1:56.25; 3. Caleb Gregg, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 1:56.42. Other SP/WH finishers – 4. Cy Welch, 1:58.95; 5. Finn Sutherland, 2:00.82.   200 Yard Individual Medley: 1. Callender, Stoughton, 1:56.15; 2. Prahl, Edgewood, 1:57.28; 3. B. TeBeest, McFarland, 1:58.97. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 5. Shadewald, 2:07.19; 8. Reid Rinabarger, 2:18.38.   50 Yard Freestyle: 1. S. Tebeest, McFarland, :21.30; 2. Reiser, Stoughton, :21.80; 3. Ethan Goodman, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :21.82; 6. McQueen, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :23.59.   100 Yard Butterfly: 1. C. TeBeest, McFarland, :51.82; 2. Caldera, Edgewood, :52.61; 3. Kaukl, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :52.63. Other Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 4. Klein, :56.90; 10. Evan Schultze, 1:03.57.   100 Yard Freestyle: 1. S. Tebeest, McFarland, :47.08; 2. Goodman, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, :47.76; 3. Cabada, Edgewood, :49.57. Other Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 10. Cy Welch, :52.82; 11, McQueen, :52.86.   500 Yard Freestyle: 1. Shadewald, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 4:57.39; 2. Gregg, Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights, 5:12.25; 3. Voss, McFarland, 5:19.61.   200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. McFarland (P. Nygaard, C. TeBeest, O. Landolt, L. Rudie), 1:29.33; 2. Stoughton, 1:30.78; 3. Edgewood, 1:31.14; 4. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Goodman, Klein, Kaukl, Gregg), 1:32.32.   100 Yard Backstroke: 1. B. TeBeest, McFarland; :51.46; 2. Furst, McFarland, :55.49; 3. Rudie, McFarland, :56.36. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finishers – 5. Rinabarger, 1:02.55; 9. Finn Sutherland, 1:05.41.   100 Yard Breaststroke: 1. Nygaard, McFarland, :56.96; 2. Reiser, Stoughton, :57.27; 3. Callender, Stoughton, :57.30. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights finisher – 5. Klein, 1:04.60.   400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1. McFarland (S. TeBeest, C. TeBeest, L. Rudie, B. TeBeest), 3:14.73; Edgewood, 3:20.95; 3. Baraboo, 3:24.16; 4. Sauk Prairie/Wisconsin Heights (Kaukl, Goodman, Shadewald, Gregg), 3:25.64.