Posted: Jan. 19, 2010 |(0) Comments

Holding its own against top-flight competition, the Brown Deer/University school boys swimming team was fifth in the 10-team Appleton North Lightning Invitational on Friday.

The Falcons, who will host Woodland Conference crossover dual Thursday (TBA), scored 200 points for its spot while Bay Port dominated the event with 528 points while Whitefish Bay took second with 381.

Brown Deer/USM placed and scored in every relay, a first for the team this season and also placed and scored multiple times in five different events.

The highest individual finish was Billy Wong's fifth in the 100 breaststroke (one minute, 6.39 seconds). He was also sixth in the 500 freestyle (5:19.31) as was the 400 free relay team of Stephen Grambow, Rob Davis, Steve Lillie and Wong (3:37.56).

The 400 free team turned in a five-second season best.

Other top 10 places by event included the following: 200 medley relay: Jack Ladd, Matt Daniels, Wong and Lillie, eighth (1:51.34); 200 free: Grambow, seventh (1:58.01); 100 butterfly: Lillie, seventh (1:01.25); 200 free relay: Davis, Grambow, Adam Brostowicz, and Andrew Burant, eighth (1:39.35); and 100 backstroke: Grambow, seventh (1:00.62).

Shorewood boys swim

Still working hard looking at the big picture of the end of the season, the Greyhounds got a first from Stephen Meyer in the 100-yard backstroke and a career day from Henry Sanders en route to taking second in their own nine-school invitational on Saturday.

"I'm quite elated with how we swam today," said Shorewood coach Rob McCabe. "To finish second behind a Division I co-op team like Brookfield is a great showing for our squad. ... Many of our guys were able to leave happy with their pockets filled with hardware (medals)."

The Greyhounds will now be off until a pivotal Woodland dual at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at New Berlin West against the powerful New Berlin co-op team.

Shorewood scored 468.5 points in earning their spot at the invite, which was won by Brookfield with 519.5 with New Berlin in third (421).

Meyer was clocked in 55.34 seconds in claiming the backstroke. Taking seconds were Jay Tomasiewicz in the 200 individual medley (2:06.47) and the 200 medley relay team of Peter Morris, Asher Kaufman, Meyer and Andrew Eder (1:45.83) while thirds went to Eder in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.7), the 200 free relay team of Tomasiewicz, Kaufman, Eder and R.J. Hayes (1:32.9) and the 400 free relay team of Tomasiewicz, Meyer, Isaac Flegel-Mishlove and Hayes (3:26.23).

The breaststroke was a powerful event again for the Greyhounds as behind Eder, Mike Ross was fourth (1:06.76), Sanders fifth (1:07.2) and Kaufman seventh (1:08.24).

Sanders was also sixth in the 200 IM (2:13.87) and also made strong efforts on two backup relay teams (the 200 medley and the 200 free). All four efforts were lifetime bests, said McCabe.

Whitefish Bay boys swim

The Blue Dukes had a strong week, taking second in the 10-school Appleton North Invitational on Friday, after overwhelming long-time power Homestead in a North Shore dual Jan. 12.

"We're staying steady and really holding our own," said Blue Dukes coach Jim Davis. "The guys are a little frustrated that their times aren't dropping, but they know we're not lessening our workout intensity just yet. For right now, it's just a good steady series of performances."

Bay will be off until a dual at Cedarburg on Jan. 26.

The Blue Dukes scored 381 points for their spot behind a deep Bay Port squad (528) in the Lightning meet Friday.

Bay's only first came from Chris Fink in the 100 backstroke (55.89). Taking seconds were Chuckie Prestigiacomo in the 50 free (22.95) and the 200 free relay team of Jason Castillo, Fink, Prestigiacomo and Rob Colton (1:31.18).

A strong series of thirds back those finishes up, including the 200 medley relay team of Colton, Tommy Hiller, D.J. Friesch and Domi Lauko (1:46.59); Fink in the 200 free (1:52.82); Castillo in the 200 individual medley (2:05.97) and 100 breaststroke (1:04.86); Hiller in the 100 butterfly (57.18); and the 400 free relay team of Fink, Friesch, Castillo and Prestigiacomo (3:23.62).

Other notable finishes included Friesch (fifth in the 200 IM, 2:08.2 and fourth in the 100 breaststroke, 1:06.34); Colton (fourth in the 50 free, 23.69); Prestigiacomo (fourth in the 100 free, 50.67); and Hiller (fourth in the 500 free, 5:08.37).

Davis said that the win over Homestead was significant, even though the Highlanders are going through a bit of a down season after dominating the North Shore for many years.

Whitefish Bay girls basketball

A state track and cross country champion, Blue Dukes senior Megan Palmer has been squeezed in pressure-packed situations before and she came up big again Friday at the end of the second overtime against Cedarburg, as she hit two free throws for her only two points of the game to clinch a 51-48 victory for Bay.

"She was cool as a cucumber," said Bay coach Greg Capper. "She hit them as easily as she did the ones last year against Homestead (in another upset win)."

The win improved the Blue Dukes North Shore mark to 3-3 (5-6 overall), good for a tie for fourth with Grafton while Cedarburg fell to 4-2 and 8-5, respectively. They will host Milwaukee Lutheran (2-4, 3-6) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Bay's win was every bit as dramatic as it looked. The Blue Dukes had a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs' Carly Lythjohan hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to send the game into overtime at 43-all.

Both teams struggled in the first overtime, scoring only one-point apiece. Bay took the early advantage in the second overtime period and then was able to hold on as Palmer's charity tosses were the last of a strong second half effort from the line by the Blue Dukes (14 of 20 including the overtime sessions).

Bay had only eight turnovers in the game and was led by Alexa Herasimchuk (13 points) while Maggie Rice had 10, Elisabeth Johnston nine and Jessica Switzer eight.

"It was like one of the players on the bench told me right at the end," said Capper. " 'The kids never lost their focus.' "

Homestead girls basketball

A contender for North Shore honors for the last several seasons, the injury-riddled Highlanders are not used to bringing up the rear in the league race like they have so far this winter.

So to get a strong, defensive-minded, 49-20 win over Port Washington on Friday was a breath of fresh air for first-year coach Matt Heuser and his team.

"Oh my, we were due for one like that," Heuser said, "and our defensive effort really set the tone. Our whole focus this last week in practice was being aggressive, getting in their face and boxing out. We held them to four baskets the whole game, so I think we were pretty successful in that regard."

The win improved the Highlanders to 1-5 in league play and 3-8 overall. They will be at league runner-up Germantown (4-2, 9-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Homestead bolted out to a 14-2 first quarter lead against the Pirates (1-5, 2-8) and never looked back. It was 24-10 at the half. Heuser praised a number of players' efforts including those of Megan Geschke, Kate Wirthlin (nine points), Natalie Sperling and Lindsay Jagla.

Heuser has had to make a number of changes to the lineup as injuries have taken out co-captains Katie Smigelski (ligaments in ankle, maybe back next month) and Sarah Block (gone for the year with torn ACL). Injuries have also taken out Gabby Kailas (ACL) and Caitlin West (broken hand).

"The kids have really worked hard to stay positive," said Heuser said. "In our situation, it could be easy to stay negative, but we haven't done so. The girls have really picked it up and responded." Hannah Young led the Highlanders with 14 points.

Nicolet wrestling

After an inspired effort in a 42-32 North Shore loss to Germantown on Jan. 14, the Knights got a first place finish from Chris Morrell at 103 pounds in taking fifth in the 10-team Racine Case Eagle Invitational on Saturday.

"It wasn't our best effort," said Knights coach Gus Kaufmann. "Thursday we turned in a good effort, but since I want the guys to get used to wrestling hard three days in a row (like at the state tournament), we went hard at practice on Friday. I challenged them a little bit and mentally we weren't quite into all the matches (on Saturday)."

"We need to find a way to bounce back in situations like that."

The Knights, who will be at the Sheboygan North Invitational on Saturday, scored 117 points in the Case meet as Burlington won easily with 264.5 points.

Morrell improved to 13-3 overall in earning his first tournament title. He pinned a Case opponent, overpowered a Fort Atkinson foe (8-4) and then defeated Matt Pejovic of Union Grove (17-3 record) by an 11-9 count in overtime.

Morrell had fallen behind 7-2 in the first period, but then rallied to tie the score and got the decisive takedown late to win the title.

Dakota Mitchell at 130 (19-5) and Bobby Herrick at 145 (18-8), both took seconds while Ethan Klein at 112 (24-3) and Trevor Cole at 285 (6-3) were both third. Matt Dineen was fourth at 135 (16-9), while John McKay was fifth at 215 (9-5) and Tamir Klein was sixth at 119 (19-9).

In the loss to Germantown, an exciting rally and overtime win by Matt Dineen at 135 highlighted the Knights effort.

"He had to dig down deep to get that win," Kaufmann said.

Other victories went to Herrick at 145 (6-3 decision) and included pins by Wilhelm Fehlhaber at 160 (5:21), McKay at 215 (3:59) and Austin Bay at 125 (3:29). "They're all sophomores, so that's just terrific for them," said Kaufmann of the pinners.

Also winning for the Knights were Morrell at 103 (16-6 major decision) and Ethan Klein at 112 (12-0 major decision).

Nicolet girls basketball

A 24-9 second quarter outburst was the key as the Knights maintained their lead in the North Shore Conference race with a 55-35 win over a stubborn Milwaukee Lutheran squad Jan. 14.

"It was one of the first games we had this season where we couldn't get into a tempo that we really liked," said Knights coach Corey Wolf. "We really wound up playing at their pace, a bit slower than we wanted to."

The victory improved the Knights to 6-0 in league play and 11-1 overall. They will face another major challenge at 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host second-place Cedarburg (4-2, 8-5).

"They present a different problem," said Wolf. "They have a lot of length, tall guards and good basketball players. They'll try to slow us down, too. We're looking forward to it."

Sophomore guard Courtney Smith was the spark for the Knights in the first half against Lutheran, scoring 13 of her 14 points, guarding powerhouse Red Knights guard Johnikka Nash (to whom she gave away 6 inches) and helping break open a close game.

It was only 8-6 Nicolet at the quarter but by the half, the Knights were in firm control at 32-15.

"Courtney had a great game," said Wolf. "Lutheran showed us some things that hurt us. They're the first team that's done that. We'll have to learn from it."

Ashley Green had 14 points, Smith 14 and Brittney Fair eight and Gaby Bronson seven for Nicolet.

Nash led Lutheran with 15.

Shorewood boys basketball

The split the Greyhounds earned last week showed the truth of one of coach John Hoch's most deeply held tenets of the game: You get to the foul line more often, you generally win.

Shorewood made 24 free throws to Greendale's seven in a 57-51 win Jan. 12, but hit only four as compared to 18 for St. Thomas More in a 65-52 loss to the Cavaliers on Friday.

"Our goal is to get to the right side of that line every game," Hoch said. "We were very happy with that in the Greendale game, but against More, we settled for too many jump shots. We're a team that's still learning a lot, and we still have ups and downs with a few bad habits we need to shake.

"But our long-term future looks good."

The split left the Greyhounds at 3-7 in Woodland Conference Blue play and 3-9 overall. They will host Brown Deer (5-8) Friday and then visit nonconference area rival Whitefish Bay (9-2) on Jan. 26. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

In the win over Greendale (4-10), the Greyhounds took control with an 18-13 second quarter that left them up 32-24. They were then able to sustain the lead for the remainder of the game.

Shorewood was 24 of 34 from the line in that game as opposed to seven of 21 for the Panthers.

Deion Jackson-Body did most of his damage at the line (12 of 14) en route to 16 points while Austin Malone-Mitchell had 14 and Cameron Hood (4-for-4 from the line).

Against More (5-8), the Greyhounds were outscored every quarter and were a mere four of five from the line.

"They played a 1-2-2 match-up zone and we really didn't handle it very well," Hoch said. The Greyhounds were a mere four of five from the line while the Cavaliers were 18 of 26.

Jackson-Body had 13 points while Chase Miller came up with 11.

Homestead wrestling

Still struggling to find some depth, the Highlanders won their senior night dual, 51-28, over Whitefish Bay and then went 2-3 in the powerhouse Ozaukee Duals on Saturday.

"That was a good tourney," said Highlanders coach Barry Bernstein. "Some tough, tough teams out there, a few of which I think we hit before our eyes were even open."

The Highlanders will now entertain the likes of Burlington, Oconomowoc, Greenfield, New Berlin, Menomonee Falls and Sussex Hamilton in their own 13-team invitational this Friday in the field house at 4 p.m. (the boys varsity basketball game between the Highlanders and Germantown will be in the old gym later that same night).

"There are a lot of ranked kids coming in here," said Bernstein.

In the Ozaukee Duals, the Highlanders beat both Lake Mills and the Arrowhead reserve team. Oshkosh West won the tournament.

Going undefeated (5-0) were Ryan Greve at 215 and Taylor Ruffin at 160 while Nick Weyker at 130, Mike Kress at 171 and Jason Findling at 112 all went 4-1.

In the senior night match with Bay, the Highlanders honored Findling, Alex Fischer, Blaise Holter, Jason Ottem, Conley Brown and Greve.

Key wins were picked up by Ottem at 145 (forfeit), Ruffin at 160 (pin), Pat Farrell at 189 (forfeit), Greve at 215 (pin), Findling at 112 (pin), Fischer at 119 (pin), Spencer Bold at 125 (pin) and Weyker (forfeit).

Nicolet boys basketball

Knights coach Paul Hepp has been looking for a full 32 minutes from his team for most of the season now.

"It seems that we're averaging in the 20s at this point," said Hepp, after a fierce rally against Illinois power Brooks Academy came up short, 59-57, when Cameron Smith's last-second shot was blocked at the buzzer Monday night in the NY2LA Sports Extravaganza held in the Knights' gym.

The loss capped off an unsuccessful week for the Knights (3-3 in the North Shore, 9-4 overall), as they barely got by winless West Allis Hale on Jan. 12 and then dropped a frustrating decision to league foe Milwaukee Lutheran on Friday.

"When we play like we can, we can go up against virtually anyone," said Hepp, "but the last couple of weeks we've found ways to shoot ourselves in the foot and make it harder on ourselves."

Nicolet will now visit Cedarburg (5-6) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The fiercely contested tilt Monday night was the second of three games on the evening at Nicolet. It was the second time the Knights had hosted a NY2LA event this season. Hepp said he's good friends with the event's organizer Antonio Curl.

In Hepp's eyes, Monday's game with Brooks may still be going if the official's whistle had blown at the right time.

"The last 10 seconds of the game wasn't taped, so we're still trying to figure out if there was a foul on the (final) play," Hepp said. "It looked like it to us, and I would have liked our chances at the line. He (Smith) is a good foul shooter."

Instead, the Knights settled in for their third loss in four games. They had trailed since late in the first quarter (20-15 at period's end).

The advantage went up to 12 in the second period, as Nicolet, harassed by the long and athletic Eagles, missed its first 11 shots of the session. But two baskets by Christian Griggs-Williams (20 points) and a 3-pointer by Myles Henry (15), helped cut the margin to 31-24 at the break.

Nicolet got to within three at one point in the third quarter, but it was still 41-37 Brooks heading into the fourth quarter and it was 57-49 after Eagles' center Kevin Gray (12 points) dumped in a put-back at the 2:02 mark.

But the Knights had a lot of fight left. Clem Robinson hit a jumper from the wing and two free throws to make it 57-53 with 1:35 left, and after a defensive strip on the other end, Griggs-Williams got a post shot to fall to make it 57-55 with 1:12 remaining.

The place got very noisy when Henry got another steal, fought his way through traffic, gathered his own rebound and put the ball in with 33 seconds left to tie the score at 57. It was the first tie since midway through the first quarter.

Brooks eschewed a time-out and put the ball in hands of its Wisconsin recruit and point guard George Marshall, who scored the last of his 12 points on a strong drive to the hoop with 18 seconds remaining to give the Eagles the lead at 59-57.

The Knights called two time-outs in the final 15 seconds, the last one with 10 seconds to go, but the Eagles denied Henry the lane and the ball went over to Smith, who tried an off-balance jumper with just seconds remaining. The block occurred, and Brooks recovered as time ran out.

Whitefish Bay gymnastics

Paced by a solid all-around effort, the Blue Dukes defeated visiting West Allis, 137.75-128.7 in a North Shore/Greater Metro Conference dual meet Jan. 12.

The Blue Dukes got firsts from Kelly Danek on vault (8.9) and from Maggie Anderson in floor exercise (9.05). Anderson was also second in the all-around (35.2) while Danek was third (34.475).

Sofie Yang also had a good day, taking second in floor exercise (9.0) and third on balance beam (8.55).

Bay will now be at the Arrowhead Invitational on Saturday(11 a.m.).

Whitefish Bay wrestling

The short-handed Blue Dukes held a 28-24 lead on North Shore rival Homestead with five matches to go in their league dual Jan. 14, but could not come up with a single win in those final bouts as the Highlanders pulled away for a 51-28 win.

Bay, which will be at the Sheboygan North Golden Raider Invitational on Saturday, got wins in the Homestead match from Rashadeem Gray at 140 pounds (pin 4:44), Tim Carlin at 152 (major decision 13-3), Jake Beckert at 171 (pin 2:56), Austin Hill at 285 (pin 4:58) and Joey Davey at 103 (forfeit).

The Blue Dukes were short starters Logan Schwenker and Luke Davey.

Homestead boys swim

Despite two firsts from Ben Sjulson, the Highlanders couldn't quite match the depth of North Shore rival Whitefish Bay and dropped a 108-77 dual meet decision Jan. 14.

Sjulson won the 50-yard freestyle (22.64 seconds) and the 100 (48.64). He also helped the 200 free relay team of Erik Erlandson, Goetz and Cody Burkard to a close win in 1:34.11. The Bay top unit was second in 1:34.26.

Burkard won the 100 breaststroke (1:03.15) while Erik Larsen, fresh off his recent win over defending state champion Nathan Cox of Menomonee Falls, won the diving competition easily, with a 253.75 point score.

The Highlanders will host Port Washington in a league dual at 6 p.m. Thursday and then will be at the West Bend Invitational at 1 p.m. Saturday.

 

- Steven L. Tietz