Valley Swim Team member Tyler VanGompel qualified for next week's state meet in two individual and two relay events at a WIAA Division 1 boys swimming & diving regional at Neenah on Saturday. (Submitted photo)

Valley Swim Team (Appleton West Co-op) earns seven state berths at WIAA Division 1 Boys Swimming & Diving Regional at Neenah

February 11, 2024 plecker

AppletonSportsPage.com

NEENAH – The Valley Swim Team, a co-op of athletes from Appleton West, Kimberly, Kaukauna and Hortonville high schools, earned five individual and two relay berths to next week’s state meet after competition at a WIAA Division 1 boys swimming & diving sectional on Saturday at Neenah High School.

Each event champion as well as the next 18 best finishers (not including the sectional champs) statewide from the six Division 1 sectionals advance to the 2024 WIAA State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships at Waukesha South High School on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Tyler VanGompel will be representing the team in the maximum four events as he won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:56.83, placed second in the 100 backstroke in 54.63 seconds, and was part of the two Valley Swim Team relay teams that will move on to state.

VST’s 200 medley relay team of VanGompel, Hayden Hollenbeck, Cole Mursau and Ethan Bruce finished second in 1:40.21 and the 400 freestyle team of VanGompel, Ethan Bruce, Ethan Posholk and Hollenbeck was also second in 3:21.04.

The other qualifiers for the Valley team, which placed fourth in the team standings, were Hollenbeck in the 100 breaststroke (fourth, 1:01.07), Posholk in the 200 IM (third, 2:02.25), and diver Tyler Jossie, who placed fifth with a final score of 347.95 points.

Appleton North/East ended up ninth in the team standings and did not have any state meet qualifiers.

North/East’s top individual finishes came from Cal Woreck, who placed seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.08) and eighth in the 200 IM (2:11.98), and Cash Braun, who finished eighth in the 50 freestyle (23.22 seconds).

WIAA Division 1 Boys Swimming & Diving Regional
Feb. 10, at Neenah High School
Team scores: 1. Bay Port 363; 2. Neenah 319; 3. Sheboygan North/Kohler 264; 4. Valley Swim Team (Appleton West/Kimberly/Kaukauna/Hortonville) 248; 5. Green Bay Southwest Co-op 223; 6. Oshkosh West 166; 7. Sheboygan South/Sheboygan Falls 156; 8. Manitowoc 153; 9. Appleton North/Appleton East 116; 10. Oshkosh North/Lourdes 107; 11. Fond du Lac Co-op 45; 12. Shawano/Seymour 32.
Event winners, and Valley Swim Team and Appleton North/East finishers
Diving: 1. River Reeves (ONL) 478.70; 5. Tyler Jossie (VAL) 347.95.
200 medley relay: 1. Neenah (Drew Gaerthofner, Tanner Trustem, Braden Louden, Julian Kuehn) 1:35.00; 2. Valley Swim Team (Tyler VanGompel, Hayden Hollenbeck, Cole Mursau, Ethan Bruce) 1:40.21; 8. Appleton North/East (Mark Weed, Cal Woreck, Cash Braun, Abram Hansen) 1:48.00.
200 freestyle: 1. Aadin Terrazas (SNK) 1:45.93; 19. Mats Ridlehoover (ANE) 2:08.24; 22. Riley Matz (VAL) 2:15.17; 24. Sebastian Brown (ANE) 2:16.54.
200 individual medley: 1. VanGompel (VAL) 1:56.83; 3. Ethan Posholk (VAL) 2:02.25; 8. Woreck (ANE) 2:11.98; 11. Ian Bruce (VAL) 2:18.34; 12. Weed (ANE) 2:21.34.
50 freestyle: 1. Gaerthofner (NE) 21.26; 8. Braun (ANE) 23.22; 13. Mursau (VAL) 24.05; 14. Max Baade (VAL) 24.22; 16. Adam Nahm (ANE) 24.39; 23. Jason Hindman (ANE) 25.50.
100 butterfly: 1. Dominick Azzolina (BP) 54.15; 3. Mursau (VAL) 54.92; 6. E. Bruce (VAL) 56.38; 9. Braun (ANE) 57.90.
100 freestyle: 1. Trustem (NE) 48.35; 7. Hayden Hollenbeck (VAL) 50.44; 13. Baade (VAL) 52.91; 15. Hansen (ANE) 53.23; 16. Nahm (ANE) 54.62; 25. Ryan Campana (ANE) 58.41.
500 freestyle: 1. Terrazas (SNK) 4:44.62; 6. Pasholk (VAL) 5:02.90; 14. Ridlehoover (ANE) 5:46.39; 18. Caleb Hardy (ANE) 5:59.80; 19. Ethan Stalkhauser (VAL) 6:01.26; 20. Brown (ANE) 6:15.68; 21. Matz (VAL) 6:16.59.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Neenah (Gaerthofner, Trustem, Joshua Youngwerth, Kuehn) 1:28.14; 9. Valley Swim Team (Mursau, Baade, E. Bruce, Pasholk) 1:34.12; 9. Appleton North/East (Braun, Nahm, Hindman, Hansen) 1:36.68.
100 backstroke: 1. Trevor Graham (SNK) 53.53; 2. VanGompel (VAL) 54.63; 12. I. Bruce (VAL) 1:02.70; 15. Weed (ANE) 1:06.05; 20. Shalkhauser (VAL) 1:09.40.
100 breaststroke: 1. Gaerthofner (NE) 55.21; 4. Hollenbeck (VAL) 1:01.07; 7. Woreck (ANE) 1:04.08; 10. Hansen (ANE) 1:06.18; 20. Hindman (ANE) 1:13.41.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Sheboygan North/Kohler (Terrazas, Pascal Kirchner, Griffin Pond, Graham) 3:20.17; 2. Valley Swim Team (VanGompel, E. Bruce, Pasholk, Hollenbeck) 3:21.04; 11. Appleton North/East (Nahm, Weed, Campana, Woreck) 3:44.98.