Five guys, a swimmer and a prize

Nathan Kasdorf scored the second-most diving points in the state at last Saturday’s Division 2 sectional at Plymouth, and two of his Port Washington High School teammates will join him at the state meet.

Grafton’s Michael O’Connor qualified in two events and will be joined by two Black Hawk divers at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium on Friday.

Cedarburg won the 11-team meet with 378 points. Sturgeon Bay Co-op was second with 292. Grafton scored 148 points for seventh, edging Port’s 139 for eighth, flipping their finish in the North Shore Conference meet the week before.

Dennis Hubert coaches the Port, Grafton and Cedarburg divers, who took five of the top six spots and qualified seven for state.

Kasdorf scored a personal-best 434.5 points, Hubert said.

Ben Niswonger of Grafton was second with 411.85 points “and had a really strong last three dives,” Hubert said. “We just need for him to get off to a better start.”

Pirate Cale Theis was third with 397.7 “and has been close to having a really good meet. He just needs to put it all together,” Hubert said.

Port’s Dagan Daniels was seventh with 342.95 points and Grafton’s Caden Starr was ninth with a personal-best 298.15.

“All of the guys have experience at the state meet. They have been battling each other all season, and it keeps bringing out the best in them. This should be an intense State competition,” Hubert said.

“I am hoping for them to capture five out of the top six medal spots. That would be very exciting and a strong showing for Ozaukee County diving.”

O’Connor took third in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.34 seconds and third in the 100 freestyle in 50.08 seconds to qualify for the state meet.

“Michael did a heck of a job dropping his time in the 50 by almost a second and a full second in the 100 freestyle,” coach Mark Minz said.

“He had to do that to get there.”

Minz doesn’t expect those kind of drastic drops on Friday but said O’Connor has “a little left in the tank. He’s a quiet guy but a fierce competitor. He performs well in big meets.”

All of the Black Hawks’ entries but one tallied a personal-best time.

“Overall, I’ve got to give the whole team kudos,” Minz said.

He praised Todd O’Connor for gutting it out after missing practice the day before because he wasn’t feeling well.

“He still managed to drop time in the 200 and 500. For a kid not feeling well, that shows a lot of heart,” Minz said.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Jackson King, Todd O’Connor, Lance Greicar and Michael O’Connor was seventh in 3:41.02.

The 200 freestyle relay team of King, Gabriel Mietowski, Konzen and Michael O’Connor was eighth in 1:40.93.

The 200 medley relay team of Mietowski, Ian Konzen, Greicar and Todd O’Connor was 10th in 1:58.18.

Other point scorers for the Black Hawks were: Greicar, 11th, 200 individual medley, 2:24.34, and 12th, 100 backstroke, 1:06.39;  Todd O’Connor, 11th, 500 freestyle, 5:41.31, and 15th, 200 freestyle, 2:04.92; King, 13th, 200 individual medley, 2:26.55, and 13th, 100 butterfly, 1:06.21; and Konzen, 100 breaststroke, 1:13.04.

For Port, Alex Sharbuno had the best finishes with fifths in the 500 freestyle in a personal record 5:19.56 and in the 200 freestyle in a personal record of 1:55.21, coach Brittany Roecker said.

Including diving, Port had 14 personal records.

“We had a lot of time drops,” Roecker said.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Neil Tumey, Nick Hadacek, Joe Huebner and Sharbuno was eighth in 3:46.22.

The 200 freestyle relay team of the same swimmers as ninth in 1:41.61.

Tumey was ninth in the 100 backstroke in 1:03.34.

Other point scorers for the Pirates were: Huebner, 13th 200 freestyle, 2:02.41, and 13th, 100 freestyle, 53.52; Tumey, 14th, 200 freestyle, 2:03.29; and Chase Orvis, 14th, 100 breaststroke, 1:11.95.