Appleton West Co-op, Appleton North/East combine for 10 state berths at WIAA boys swimming sectional
AppletonSportsPage.com
NEENAH – The Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly and Appleton North/East boys swim teams will be well-represented at next week’s state meet after numerous high finishes at a WIAA Division 1 boys swimming & diving sectional at Neenah Middle School on Saturday.
The Appleton West Co-op won four events and had six state qualifiers to finish as the runner-up in the team standings, while Appleton North/East has two individuals and one relay team moving on in four events to state as it placed fifth among the 12 teams at the sectional.
Bay Port won the sectional team title with 387 points, with the Appleton West Co-op second with 235 and Appleton North/East fifth with 204.5.
Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly’s 200-yard individual medley team of Ethan Pasholk, Hayden Hollenbeck, Ethan Bruce and Emerson Middendorp won the race in 1:37.66, and the same group placed third in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:19.97 to also advance to the 2026 WIAA State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships, which will be held Feb. 21 at Waukesha South High School.
Each event winner and the next top 18 finishers from all of the six Division 1 sectionals qualified for the state meet.
Pasholk also won the 200 individual medley in 1:55.35 and the 100 backstroke in 52.07 seconds, and Hollenbeck won the 100 breaststroke in 58.79 seconds and took fifth in the 100 butterfly in 53.13 seconds to earn state berths.
Cash Braun picked up Appleton North/East’s lone sectional swimming victory, taking first in the 50 freestyle in 22.26 seconds, and teamed with Abram Hansen, Ryan Campana and Arthur Skorr to take third in 200 freestyle relay (1:31.90) to advance to the state meet. Braun also earned a state berth in the 100 butterfly as he placed fourth in 52.94 seconds.
North/East’s Owen Schmitz also qualified for state in the diving competition, taking second with 492.00 points.
WIAA Division 1 Boys Swimming & Diving Sectional
Feb. 14, at Neenah Middle School
Team scores: 1. Bay Port 387; 2. Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly 235; 3. Neenah 222; 4. Green Bay United 221; 5. Appleton North/East 204.5; 6. Sheboygan North/Kohler 191.5; 7. Pulaski 177; 8. Oshkosh West 166; 9. Sheboygan South/Sheboygan Falls 132; 10. Manitowoc 116; 11. Oshkosh North/Lourdes 86; 12. Fond du Lac Co-op 67.
Winners (State Meet qualifiers), and Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly and Appleton North/East finishers
Diving: 1. River Reeves (ONL) 545.70; 2. Owen Schmitz (ANE) 492.00; 6. Kegan Phalin (AWHKK) 213.10.
200 individual medley: 1. Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly (Ethan Pasholk, Hayden Hollenbeck, Ethan Bruce, Emerson Middendorp) 1:37.66; 4. Appleton North/East (Arthur Skorr, Abram Hansen, Cash Braun, Ryan Campana) 1:40.11.
200 freestyle: 1. Carter Tebon (BP) 1:40.62; 9. Skorr (ANE) 1:55.08; 14. William Zinth (ANE) 1:58.20; 15. Ethan Shalkhauser (AWHKK) 1:58.78; 21. Mats Ridlehoover (ANE) 2:07.51; 28. Elijah Keller (AWHKK) 2:22.73.
200 individual medley: 1. Pasholk (AWHKK) 1:55:35; 11. Sebastian Brown (ANE) 2:17.89; 14. Kellan Morris (ANE) 2;22.61; 17. Roan Hessleman (AWHKK) 2:52.88.
50 freestyle: 1. Cash Braun (ANE) 22.26; 8. Bruce (AWHKK) 23.28; 11. Hansen (ANE) 23.48; 17. Bauer Seefeldt (AWHKK) 24.79; 19. Jason Hindman (ANE) 24.87.
100 butterfly: 1. Caleb Bartolazzi (BP) 52.35; 4. Braun (ANE) 52.94; 5. Hollenbeck (AWHKK) 53.13.
100 freestyle: 1. Tebon (BP) 46.53; 3. Bruce (AWHKK) 49.87; 5. Middendorp (AWHKK) 51.24; 8. Campana (ANE) 53.38; 18. Seefeldt (AWHKK) 59.33; 21. Finn Brinkman (AWHKK) 1:02.42.
500 freestyle: 1. Griffin Schilz (BP) 4:45.29; 13. Zinth (ANE) 5:30.53; 14. Morris (ANE) 5:33.17; 16. Ridlehoover (ANE) 5:48.74.
200 freestyle relay: 1. Bay Port (Tebon, Bennett Daul, Andy Barden, Schilz) 1:28.82; 3. Appleton North/East (Braun, Hansen, Campana, Skorr) 1:31.90; 11. Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly (Seefeldt, Shalkhauser, Brinkman, Keller) 1:44.57.
100 backstroke: 1. Pasholk (AWHKK) 52.07; 6. Skorr (ANE) 56.87; 7. Middendorp (AWHKK) 56.92; 14. Brown (ANE) 1:02.89.
100 breaststroke: 1. Hollenbeck (AWHKK) 58.79; 8. Hansen (ANE) 1:04.73; 9. Shalkhauser (AWHKK) 1:07.34; 19. Hindman (ANE) 1:12.09; 20. Brinkman (AWHKK) 1:14.78; 25. Hessleman (AWHKK) 1:18.84.
400 freestyle relay: 1. Bay Port (Bartolazzi, Schilz, Barden, Tebon) 3:12.80; 3. Appleton West/Hortonville/Kaukauna/Kimberly (Pasholk, Middendorp, Bruce, Hollenbeck) 3:19.97; 9. Appleton North/East (Zinth, Brown, Hindman, Campana) 3:38.91.