By David Paulsen
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
It was their best finish ever at an invitational.
At least, that is what head coach Denita Jones said after consulting previous coaches for the Burlington-Waterford high schools co-op boys swim team.
The Demons took second at the eight-team Cudahy Packer Invitational Saturday, tallying 201.5 points to trail only Fond du Lac, which had 299.5 points.
“That was a big surprise for us,” Jones said of the second-place finish. “I was really happy with the guys. They did a great job.”
Although the squad did not win any events, its depth, due largely to the squad doubling in the past year, made the difference. That was due to the fact that any swimmer who finished in the top 16 in an event scored points for their team.
The best finish for the team was turned in by David Jones, who took second in the 50-yard freestyle. His time of 24.18 seconds was just .4 of a second out of first. Jones also placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:12.48.
Shaun Weber also stood out with a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (2:12.36) and fifth in the 500-yard freestyle (6:10.23).
Michael Heft was fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:11.70) and sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:12.37). Austin Harris was fifth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:11.57), Andrew Brutlag fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:16.33) and sixth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:37.24), and Bryce Filer sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (6:45.33).
Burlington’s freestyle relays also performed well.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Harris, Brutlag, Weber and Jones finished third in 1:43.25; and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Sam Weingart, Brutlag, Weber and Jones was third in 4:02.98.
In all, the co-op squad had 23 top 16 finishes.
SLC Relays
On Nov. 29, the boys placed fourth out of seven teams in the Southern Lakes Conference Relays held at Elkhorn. That was a good improvement over last year when the team finished last.
Burlington tallied 156 points in the event won by Elkhorn with 226 points.
“I thought the boys did a really good job,” coach Jones said.
The 200-meter freestyle relay team won their event, turning in a time of 1:52.37. Jones estimated that team would be in the top three, and was pleased that they won it.
The 100-meter freestyle relay team of the same four swimmers took second in 52.91.
The team had two fourth-place finishes, two fifths, and three sixths.
The squad will compete in the Milwaukee Riverside University Invitational on Saturday.
Next week, they will host a co-op team from Jefferson-Cambridge on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Burlington Wellness Center.
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