Prince earns pair of conference crowns in pool

Yards or meters — the metric doesn’t much matter when Charlie Prince is swimming.

The Port Washington High School senior won two Glacier Trails Conference titles on Saturday in West Bend in the inaugural league meet.

Prince cruised to a four-second win in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1 minute, 5.72 seconds, his fourth conference title after winning the first three in the North Shore.

He won the 100 butterfly in nearly nine seconds, finishing in 58.55 seconds.

Most other pools are in yards but West Bend’s is in meters, so comparing times to Prince’s other races — he holds school records in every individual event except the 500 freestyle — isn’t the same.

“Not swimming meters often, I had no expectations so all outcomes were good outcomes,” Prince said.

“I’m really happy with the team, and the relays did well.”

Port’s 200 medley relay of Noah Blavat, Prince, Nathan Nisiewicz and Caden Hafele was third in 2:03.24.

The 200 freestyle relay of Ian Brown, Jakob Greene, Colton Pease and Nisiewicz was fourth in 1:55.11.

The 400 freestyle relay of Brown, Caleb Winker, Hafele and Prince was fourth in 4:12.12.

West Bend Co-op won the four-team league title with 648.5 points. Sheboygan South had 499, Plymouth had 282 and Port had 269.5 points.

“We had a great meet in the new conference,” coach Brittany Roecker said.

Brown was fourth in the 400 freestyle in 5:18.28. Blavat was fifth in 5:18.61 and Greene was sixth in 5:21.32.

Blavat was fifth in the 100 backstroke in 1:18.39.

Hafele was sixth in the 50 freestyle in 26.59 seconds, and Nisiewicz tied for seventh in 27.39. Nisiewicz was seventh in the 100 freestyle in 1:02.75 and Hafele was eighth in 1:04.28.

Port and Grafton compete in a Division 2 sectional in Plymouth on Saturday, Feb. 14. The winner of each event advances to state, along with the 12 fastest nonwinning times from the four sectionals. Sectional diving is Friday, Feb. 13, at Neenah.

Prince was third in the breaststroke last year at state and third in the butterfly.

Grafton’s highest finish is fourth

Grafton’s team scored 216 points and finished fifth of six squads in the North Shore Conference Meet at Whitefish Bay on Saturday.

Aiden Werdin was fourth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.27 and fifth in the 500 freestyle in 5:08.41. Shambav Ashwinkumar was fourth in diving with 224.3 points.

The Black Hawks got four sevenths: the 200 medley relay of Connor Thyes, Cole Burgos, Ashwinkumar and Matt Ciche finished in 2:00.48; the 200 freestyle relay of Sam Jacoby, Ciche, Jacob Butler and Werdin finished in 1:37.48; Jacoby swam the 100 freestyle in 1:00.69 and the 400 freestyle relay of Butler, Thyes, Werdin and Jacoby finished in 3:38.82.

Whitefish Bay won the six-team meet with 561 points. Homestead had 537.5.

Coach Adan Burgos, who coached the girls’ team several years ago, took over again this season and has about 20 on the squad.

“We’ve had a lot more success than I thought we could. They’re swimming fast and having a really good time,” he said.

The team has replaced a couple of seniors, including Gabe Salko, who qualified for state in the 200 and 500 freestyle races last season.

“To rebuild that depth has been awesome,” Burgos said.

The Black Hawks went 4-2 in dual meets in the NSC. One highlight was beating Port and hanging onto the traveling trophy, the Schooner.

“That was exciting. It’s always fun to have a little trophy,” Burgos said.

Jacoby has been a standout, Burgos said, both in the pool and as team co-captain.

“It seems like every time he swims we’re getting a best time,” he said. “He just has such great leadership. He gets everyone else warmed up; he gets them motivated. He models the type of swimmer we want for the team.”

Burgos also loves seeing his team build relationships, especially among different skill levels and ages.

“In warm-up, they can go wherever they want. They’re just jumping in random lanes and talking to whoever’s there. It just shows the camaraderie these guys have,” he said.

Burgos said he hopes a couple of divers, Butler and Ashwinkumar, can qualify for state, as well as Werdin in the 200 and 500 freestyle races.