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Raiders get five wins, but depth sends Hawks to the GNC win

Raiders get five wins, but depth sends Hawks to the GNC win Raiders get five wins, but depth sends Hawks to the GNC win

MEDFORD BOYS SWIMMING

Medford won four of the first five races and five overall Tuesday, but the host Shawano Hawks had the deeper lineup and outscored the Raiders 83-58 in Great Northern Conference boys swimming.

Isaac Dittrich, Tahtankka Damm, Abe Miller and Adam Swedlund all earned individual wins in the meet and the Raiders also took the 200-yard medley relay.

Unfortunately down to six swimmers for this meet, the Raiders did not score in two races and couldn’t mathematically stay in front after leading 33-32 through five events.

The win by Ethan Kraemer, Swedlund, Miller and Damm in the medley relay came with a time of 2:02.31 that bettered their Dec. 29 time against Menomonie by 0.55 seconds. They beat Shawano’s top team by 0.72 seconds.

Dittrich followed that with a time of 2:20.61 in the 200-yard freestyle that beat Shawano’s Michael Dickman by two seconds. Nathan Sislo added a fourth-place time of 2:38.78 for the Raiders. Damm won the 50-yard freestyle sprint in 26.41 seconds, edging Shawano’s Carson Cummings by 0.07 seconds. Swedlund was fourth in 28.74 seconds in his second 50 freestyle race of the season.

Miller and Kraemer combined to score nine points in the 100-yard butterfly and give Medford its last lead of the meet. Miller won it in 1:13.33, 3.65 seconds ahead of Shawano’s Brenden Stempa and Kraemer was third in 1:18.92. Those two also did well in the 100-yard backstroke as Kraemer was second in 1:17.15 and Miller was third at 1:24.8 in a race won by Dickman in 1:08.83.

Late in the meet, Swedlund won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:16.78, his second- best time of the season. He easily beat Shawano’s Ben Langlois by 11.23 seconds.

Dittrich added a season-best time of 6:24.06 in the 500-yard freestyle, which Langlois won in 6:19.89. Damm nearly broke the 60-second barrier in the 100yard freestyle, taking second in 1:00.3, 1.33 seconds behind Hawk Jack Reed.

Miller, Dittrich, Kraemer and Damm set a new season-best time in the 400-yard freestyle relay at 4:26.78. Shawano won in 4:19.03. The Raiders had to swim the 200-yard freestyle relay as a non-scoring race, but Sislo, Swedlund, Dittrich and Damm finished in 1:57.67, nearly setting a season-best time for the Raiders. Shawano won the race in 1:52.24.

Now 1-4 in the Great Northern Conference and 1-5 overall, Medford hosts GNC powerhouse Rhinelander today, Thursday, at 5:30 p.m. before heading to Tomahawk Tuesday and hosting Lakeland Jan. 14 in their final league duals of the winter.

Mustangs 91, Raiders 60

On Dec. 29, the Raiders met their goals for personal bests and had a strong showing in a 91-60 non-conference loss to Menomonie at the MASH pool.

“Menomonie has four swimmers back that went to state last year,” Medford head coach Shari Bergman said. “You know that going into it, so tonight was just all about switching some of the guys around and getting some personal bests.”

The bests came from several sources, both in individual events and relay splits. The Raiders also posted the team’s best times of the year in the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays.

“Our times in this point in the season are better than what they’ve done in the past,” Bergman said. “We’ve got guys who have been with me for three or four years. They know what’s to be expected. They know what the so-called “hell week” is between Christmas and New Year’s. We did do a little negotiating for (the Dec. 30) practice depending on how many personal bests we’d get. I have to say, they won and I did not.”

Swedlund was Medford’s only winner, taking the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:19.17. He easily beat the Mustangs’ Dylan Norby by 11.97 seconds. Sislo, who slides into a breaststroke spot with Jacob Mitchell’s move out of the school district, took third in 1:32.43.

Sislo and fellow senior Ethan Kraemer have had the first halves of their seasons disrupted by COVID protocols but both had strong meets. Sislo added a seasonbest time of 1:07.72, which was good for third in the 100-yard freestyle. Kraemer filled a spot in the 100-yard butterfly and took third in 1:17.16, smashing his previous times for this year and he posted his best time of the year in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:15.95, finishing second behind Menomonie’s Kaleb Kazmarek (57.98).

“Just to get Ethan back into the training aspect and definitely Nate back into the training aspect that’ll be good to see,” Bergman said.

Dittrich was another senior that had a good night. He took second in the 200yard freestyle in a personal-best 2:22.02. Menomonie’s Austin Gjestson won in 1:59.7. Swedlund was one of the Raiders switching events. He took third in this race in 2:41.53, rather than swimming his usual 200-yard individual medley. Dittrich chipped away at his 500-yard freestyle time, taking second in 6:28.13 behind Kevin Leach (5:29.39). Medford’s Dylan Kraemer was fourth at 7:08.97.

“I pretty much figured Isaac was going to get a personal-best time tonight just with the way he’s been swimming and practicing,” Bergman said.

“I’m really excited about that time and, I hope I don’t jinx it, just the improvement I can foresee from him.”

Dittrich started the 400-yard freestyle relay with a personal-best split of 1:07.1. Miller, Ethan Kraemer and Damm finished up the race at 4:29.2 to place second and lower their time from the previous meet by almost a second.

Ethan Kraemer, Swedlund, Miller and Damm swam the 200-yard medley relay in 2:02.86, cutting nearly three seconds off their Dec. 22 time at Lakeland.

Dittrich, Dylan Kraemer, Sislo and Swedlund swam the 200-yard freestyle relay in 2:02.78, which is Medford’s secondbest time of the year.

Miller took second in the 100-yard butterfl y at 1:12.07, just off his personal best. He trailed the Mustangs’ Christian Bilse (1:01.4). He added a third-place time of 1:22.39 in the backstroke.

Damm had a good night in the sprints, taking second in the 100-yard freestyle in a season-best 1:02.08 third in the 50-yard freestyle in a season-best 26.4 seconds. Dylan Kraemer swam the 50-yard freestyle for the first time this year and was fourth in a personal-best 30.77 seconds.

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